![]() This story notes how Seimetz's take (about “a troubled starlet falling victim to a predatory industry figure and fighting to reclaim her own agency”) differs from what Levinson and Tesfaye made (“a degrading love story with a hollow message”) The critical knives were out for Tesfaye and Levinson, with the early reviews recalling the scene in This Is Spinal Tap where Marti Di Bergi reads the band their worst reviews. Which was all as you might expect – HBO was deploying every available PR ruse to build anticipation for the show.Īll in all, there was feverish anticipation when The Idol finally debuted at Cannes in May, with hacks elbowing each other to get a glimpse of a show whose budget had now soared to $75 million, with reshoots adding an eye-watering $20 million to production costs. All things considered, The Idol was unlikely to prove another Glenroe.Ĭlues as to what to expect came via a selection of early trailers last year, which amped up the salaciousness, and billed the series as coming “from the gutters of Hollywood”, having been devised by the “sick and twisted minds who brought you Euphoria”. It has also routinely sparked heated debate in its treatment of sex, drug abuse, self-harm and sundry other issues. ![]() In many ways the anti- Normal People, Euphoria is a brilliantly fearless look at modern teen life, with a transgressive aesthetic influenced by Gen X touchstones like Trainspotting, Kids and Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero (after which Tesfaye named a track on Dawn FM). ![]() The 38-year-old Levinson, meanwhile, has become notorious as the creator of Euphoria,which has deservedly launched its star Zendaya to international stardom on its way to becoming one of HBO’s flagship series. Since sending critics into raptures with his debut mixtape in 2011 – which blended slick R&B with samples of Siouxsie & The Banshees and Cocteau Twins – Tesfaye has cultivated a louche fuckboi persona across a series of mega-hit albums, including Beauty Behind The Madness, After Hours and last year’s Dawn FM. World class provocateurs, both like to push the envelope as far as taste allows – and usually a little further for good measure. In pairing Tesfaye with Levinson, HBO undoubtedly knew what it was letting itself in for, and to some degree was even deliberately courting controversy. No doubt impressed by the kudos his fellow Toronto rapper Drake was receiving for his role as producer on the zeitgeist-defining Euphoria, Tesfaye fancied getting in on the TV action himself, and two years ago, The Idol was announced. ![]() Having just hit the airwaves on both sides of the Atlantic after a torturous production and stinging early reviews, the show centres on aspiring pop star Jocelyn, played by Lily-Rose Depp.Īfter suffering a nervous breakdown, Jocelyn descends into the most sordid depths of Hollywood nightlife, with sleazy nightclub manager and ‘self-help’ guru Tedros (Tesfaye) guiding her through the debauchery. In attempting to hype their new HBO series The Idol, Abel ‘The Weeknd’ and Tesfaye and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson may not have proceeded wisely, but too well. ![]()
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