LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: For a program that has only recently premiered, Max's new drama 'The Idol' has been rife with controversy. It appears like 'The Idol' has a lot going against it, from extensive reshoots to early reviews that branded the show "graphic." The show's original director, Amy Seimetz, leaving behind the scenes is one of its biggest controversies, though. Sam Levinson, the program's creator, has been accused of allegedly trying to create a more sexist vision for the series and dumping Amy's female-led plot arc. There have also been rumors and claims regarding the reasons Amy departed the show.
'The Idol' created by The Weeknd, Reza Fahim, and 'Euphoria' writer Sam, follows an aspiring pop star as she tries to retrace her route to success following a canceled tour and a nervous breakdown. Jocelyn, the primary character in the HBO series, is played by Lily-Rose Depp. The Weeknd co-stars with Lily in the role of Tedors. Jennie Kim from Blackpink appears in the dark satire drama. When the project was first announced, Amy was slated to direct all six episodes of the upcoming drama. However, it was reported last year that Amy would be leaving the HBO series, with Sam taking over as director on 'The Idol'.
Amy abruptly quit after directing roughly 80% of the six-episode series
A spokesperson for Max (previously HBO Max) told Deadline that the show was "evolving" its creative vision, saying, "The Idol’s creative team continues to build, refine, and evolve their vision for the show, and they have aligned on a new creative direction. The production will be adjusting its cast and crew accordingly to best serve this new approach to the series."
Amy, the co-creator of 'The Girlfriend Experience,' quit her post as director, and Sam, who has been a Max favorite since he developed and directed their successful program 'Euphoria,' took over.
Amy's abrupt departure from the six-episode series was chronicled in an explosive story published by Rolling Stone. Alleged rumors that The Weeknd believed the program was moving too far into a "female perspective" were one way the show's artistic vision was evolving, as per the outlet.
The Weeknd's reported screenplay difficulty, along with Sam taking over as director, prompted the two to ditch the almost completed $54-75 million production in order to rewrite and reshoot the entire thing. This resulted in significant delays, leaving team workers in the dark about when the show will air.
'Sam Levinson and The Weeknd really bring it down'
Blaming The Weeknd and Sam for the show's not-so-good reception, fans took to social media to call out the duo. One of the tweets read, "Watching The Idol you can see the crumbs of what the show could have been. Lily Rose Depp is great but can only do so much with what she’s given. Sam Levinson and The Weeknd really bring it down especially this episode.The rest of the cast is great but the writing YIKES." Another person chimed in, "The fact that the idol had a director change cause they were going "too much into the woman's perspective" and then sam levinson took the role and made every scene involving a woman incredibly sexual (including rape fantasies) should be enough to not support the idol." A third user tweeted, "Yeah, The Weeknd doesn’t need “saving” from anyone, especially when considering that he’s the main reason THE IDOL fired its original female director to de-emphasize the “female perspective.”
One viewer sighed, "The idol seemed to have such a good plot with the female director and then using britney in the trailer, the main popstar objectified by hollywood only for that man to ruin it bc he wanna make hbo after dark…" Calling out the show for its current 'male gaze', one wrote, "I watched the first 30 mins of #TheIdol tonight. Absolute trash It could have been so much better. Firing your female Director so that it could be told in the male gaze. @SamLevinson and @TheWeekend can get in the bin." Another user tweeted, "The Idol could have been great if it had stuck with being done in the female gaze. Instead, it is just creepy and cringe." One user further slammed the current makers saying, "The idol is what happens when you let weird misogynistic creepy men tell stories of female sexual exploitation."
'The Idol' airs new episodes every Sunday on Max at 9 pm ET.
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