Everything we know about HBO's sleazy music industry drama The Idol

"When was the last truly f---ing nasty, nasty, bad pop girl?"

That's the question posed at the beginning of a teaser for The Idol, the HBO and A24 series co-created by Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. the Weeknd), Reza Fahim, and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.

Protagonist Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) is prepared to answer that question. After being the subject of "brutal" press coverage, she goes about reinventing herself with a darker, sexier image with the help of self-help guru and secret cult leader Tedros (the Weeknd).

"You have the best job in the world. You should be having more fun," he tells her. The pair soon strike up a toxic relationship that could destroy them both. "Los Angeles is where all of the monsters of the world come to gather. Trust no one." Except him, of course.

The series' final trailer, released May 30, centers on the passionate relationship blossoming between Jocelyn and Tedros — and the concerns from those in her life that he's brainwashing her.

If The Idol is any bit as gritty, brutal, and resolute in its depiction of the music industry as Levinson's Euphoria is with teenage life, then it's going to be music to our ears.

Here's everything we know so far about The Idol.

What is The Idol about?

The Weeknd stars as a modern-day cult leader and self-help guru who starts a turbulent relationship with up-and-coming pop star Jocelyn, played by Depp.

Trailers for the series have featured drugs, cash, club scenes, more drugs, a possible orgy, unsafe behavior in a moving convertible, and yes, even more drugs. Francesca Orsi, the executive vice president of HBO programming, has described the series as a "subversive, revelatory take on the cult of the music industry."

Who stars in The Idol?

Other than Depp's pop star and Tesfaye's cult leader, HBO has yet to release specific character descriptions for its remaining cast. However, we do know the pair will be joined on screen by Kim, Roth, Troye Sivan, Jane Adams, Mosey Sumney, Mike Dean, Suzanna Son, Da'vine Joy Randolph, Dan Levy, Rachel Sennott, and Hari Nef.

What do we know about the people behind the scenes?

Levinson's HBO hit Euphoria is known for its depiction of teenage life that simultaneously pushes boundaries and terrifies the adults in the audience with its glossy, gritty representation of addiction, sexuality, violence, drugs, and mental health struggles. Teasers and trailers for The Idol share a similar hard-partying nihilism, but these characters are (presumably) at least out of high school.

A24, the production company behind The Idol, is known for the Adam Sandler adrenaline-fest Uncut Gems, the breathtaking Michelle Yoeh flick Everything Everywhere All At Once, and the horror-comedy film Bodies, Bodies, Bodies. On the television side, it has a pair of Netflix shows — Beef and Mo — along with season 3 of Hulu's critically acclaimed Ramy.

Tesfaye first made his name as the Weeknd with a trilogy of mixtapes in 2011 (House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence) before evolving into one of the world's biggest pop stars with subsequent albums like Beauty Behind the Madness and the more recent Dawn FM. He made his acting debut in Uncut Gems, but the starring role in The Idol is quite a step up from that.

How has The Idol changed?

In April 2022, Deadline reported that The Idol would be undergoing multiple story, casting, and stylistic shakeups before airing. "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," an HBO spokesperson told the outlet. "The production will be adjusting its cast and crew accordingly to best serve this new approach to the series."

A year later, the show became the subject of controversy when Rolling Stone published a story alleging that the production had become a "s--- show" under Levinson, who took over directing the series after the departure of original helmer Amy Seimetz. The story finds 13 members of the cast and crew lambasting Levinson's creative approach, with three sources claiming Seimetz "seemed set up to fail from the start," citing "half-finished scripts," a "first-time showrunner" in Joe Epstein, a "tight schedule," and "near-impossible expectations from HBO."

Staffers in the report described a production plagued by delays, rewrites, and reshoots. Some maintained that Levinson "weaken[ed] the show's overarching message by dialing up the disturbing sexual content and nudity to match — and even surpass — that of his most successful show, Euphoria," citing certain scenes that allegedly played out like "rape fantasies."

Tesfaye initially responded to the controversy by tweeting a clip from the series that features his character calling the magazine "irrelevant." Later, in an interview with Vanity Fair, he said he found the article "ridiculous," adding that "shows get reshot every day."

Speaking during a press conference at the Cannes film festival, where the first two episodes of The Idol premiered, Levinson said the allegations in the article "felt completely foreign" to him. "My only slight grievance is they intentionally omitted anything that didn't fit their narrative. We've seen a lot of that recently," he added.

"When my wife read me the article," he continued, "I looked at her and I said, 'I think we're about to have the biggest show of the summer.'"

How to watch The Idol?

The Idol will premiere Sunday, June 4, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. It will air on HBO and stream on Max.

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