The Idol: Release date, trailer, cast, & more

Here’s everything you need to know about The Idol, HBO’s controversial series from Sam Levinson and The Weeknd, from its release date, trailer, cast, and more.

Ever wondered what it’s like to be rich, famous, successful, and on the verge of a breakdown? Have you ever wanted to pull back the curtain of Hollywood to get a glimpse of its inner workings? Well, if so, then you’ll need to check out HBO Max’s The Idol.

The Idol is a up-and-coming show with a lot of potential but, unfortunately, a lot of scandal surrounding it. Much like its premise, everything seems to be a bit darker beneath the surface.

So, let’s dive in on everything we know about The Idol from its release date, trailer, cast, and more.

The Idol release date: When is it out?

The Idol will premiere on June 4, 2023 through HBO Max.

The show’s episodes will drop weekly, which is a different scheduling type from shows found on other streaming services that drop their show’s seasons in one go. However, HBO Max has done this format for other shows in the past, so it’s not too uncommon.

But, it should be noted that The Idol is taking up the primetime Sunday slot for HBO Max, which is huge. Other HBO Max shows that have taken this spot include House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, and Euphoria, which are known as some of the streaming service’s biggest shows. For The Idol to receive such a spot from the platform means they must have a lot of faith in the series.

Two episodes of The Idol was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and the reception from critics has been mostly negative. Rolling Stone referred to it as “toxic,” The Hollywood Reporter said the show “runs almost exclusively on vibes,” and The Playlist called the two episodes showcased “crude, gross, and sexist.” It’s not the best sign that critics are already harshly calling out the show for its scandalous nature, but critics have been wrong before, so maybe it’s not too bad.

Is there a trailer for The Idol?

There is a final trailer for The Idol released through YouTube on May 30, 2023. Check it out below:

The final trailer leans more into Jocelyn’s fall from grace and her futile attempts to climb back onto her pop star pedestal. We also see more of her toxic relationship with the nightclub promoter/cult leader who seems to be “brainwashing” her under the faux guise of making her a music icon.

The season finale trailer for The Idol dropped on June 26, 2023. Check it out below:

The finale of the show sees Jocelyn and Tedros’ relationship come to a head as she tries to headline her tour once again despite the obstacles thrown her way.

And when the finale finally aired this past Sunday, Twitter users were quick to denounce the show as trash as the end of the show revealed that Jocelyn was the mastermind the entire time and was in control of her abusive relationship with Tedros.

The Idol cast: Who’s in it?

The cast of the Idol is a mix of established actors, pop stars, and up-and-coming talent. Check out the list below:

• Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn
• Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye as Tedros
• Troye Sivan as Caleb
• Dan Levy as Jocelyn’s agent
• Jennie Kim as Angel
• Hank Azaria as Jocelyn’s father
• Melanie Liburd as Jenna
• Suzanna Son as Chloe
• Moses Sumney as Izaak

Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp, will be making her debut as a lead actress with the show’s premiere. She’s known as mostly as a model and one of the ambassadors for Chanel, but has acted in supporting roles over the years. Her most notable role before The Idol was in the movie Tusk, where she played a store clerk opposite Kevin Smith’s daughter, Harley Quinn.

According to some of the early reviews of the show, Rose-Depp is being praised for her acting. Deadline called her performance “riveting,” giving her props for being able to work with the show’s highly sexualized scripts. And Yasmine Kandil, a senior film critic at DiscussingFilm, called Rose-Depp’s performance “the strongest to date.”

The Weeknd is mostly known as a Grammy award-winning singer as he’s produced five critically acclaimed albums since 2013. While he hasn’t had much acting experience, he did make a cameo in Adam Sandler’s film Uncut Gems as himself and helped write an episode of American Dad, in which he guest-starred.

Along with co-starring in The Idol, Weeknd is also co-writing executive producing the series with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, who is also directing. However, the road to production was not a smooth one as scandals started to circulate in the media due to an explosive article by Rolling Stone magazine.

In their article, Rolling Stone claimed that the show had gone “gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails.” The magazine also reported that their sources said the show had “suffered constant delays, reshoots and rewrites” with Levison and The Weeknd removing the show’s “female perspective” from the majority of the storylines.

Naturally, The Weeknd, HBO Max, and Depp have all disputed Rolling Stone’s claims. In a statement given to Variety, HBO Max said, “The initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change.” Depp defended Levinson to Variety as well, saying that he is the “the best director [she has] ever worked with” and that she never felt “more supported or respected in a creative space [and had her] input and opinions more valued.”

The Weeknd had a different approach to the backlash. The singer posted a clip from The Idol to his Twitter in which his character called Rolling Stone “irrelevant” after they offered Depp’s character a spot on the cover of their magazine. He goes on to say that most of Rolling Stone’s Instagram followers on Instagrams are “probably bots” and that they have nothing to offer Depp’s character in terms of money or clout.

Naturally, the internet roasted The Weeknd for his seemingly tone-deaf response but, at the end of the day, this interaction brought more attention to The Idol ahead of its premiere. And, in the world of Hollywood, all press is good press.

The Idol plot: What is it about?

The Idol follows a down-on-her-luck pop star as she meets a sleazy cult leader on her journey to fame and fortune.

Pop star Jocelyn (Depp) is trying to reclaim her title as the “sexiest pop star in America” after suffering an intense nervous breakdown. When Jocelyn meets Tedros (The Weeknd), a nightclub promoter and cult leader, they begin a passionate, toxic relationship that could either end with Jocelyn cementing herself as a Britney Spears-like pop icon or her star crashing and burning.

That’s everything we know about The Idol, but we’ll continue to update this page as announcements roll out. In the meantime, check out our other TV and movie coverage here.

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