The six-episode limited series stars Lily-Rose Depp as rising pop star who falls under the sway of a self-help guru/cult leader played by Tesfaye. The Weeknd unveiled The Idol teaser trailer Saturday (July 16) night at the New Jersey stop of his “After Hours Til Dawn” tour. It’s packed with excess and debauchery, with glimpses of cocaine, cash and clubs — and so, so many barely clothed beautiful people. Depp is seen writhing on the dance floor, cruising down the strip, recording music in the studio and seductively eyeing everyone in sight. The Idol also features K-pop group Blackpink founding member Jennie, gay pop idol Troye Sivan, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe (who has acted before, in miltiple films including Marriage Story and Rachel Getting Married) and Anne Heche (Six Days Seven Nights). The series has been through a bit of a rollercoaster in the past few months, making several major changes and undergoing significant reshoots. In April, HBO said in a statement, “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,” which is coming to HBO Max at a later date. That “new creative direction” saw series director Amy Seimetz (co-creator of The Girlfriend Experience), who was initially supposed to film all six episodes, depart midway through the project. Additionally, Red Rocket actress Suzanna Son departed and was replaced by Disney Channel star Debby Ryan. Deadline (opens in new tab) reported that sources said The Weeknd “felt the show was leaning too much into a ‘female perspective’” and focused too much on Depp’s character over his own.
