It's been nearly two years since it was announced that The Weeknd will be starring and producing the highly-anticipated HBO show "The Idol" and many fans have been waiting for it to be released. However, it appears that the show has not made any significant progress after the musician reportedly lost his interest.
According to Uproxx, the show is being co-created by the singer. initially, Amy Seimtz was set to direct the series but she was replaced by Sam Levinson. The big change is said to have prompted chaos among cast members and crew.
Unnamed production staff and stars spoke to a new piece from Rolling Stone where they alleged a toxic work environment. They also noted how The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, became less hands-on with his work.
"It was really frustrating because they were working so hard to make it possible to shoot and be released with his concert or whatever his timeline was [and] it all got thrown out the window," the insider said, explaining that production was having a hard time with the singer's schedule.
The massive production changes began in April of 2022 and due to the new creative direction, it appears that the show is heading the wrong way due to the dark undertone of the new story.
In early press releases, the show was said to revolve around a dark satire of fame in the 21st century. However, the new script was described to be much darker as it involves "any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show."
Actress Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd's characters will reportedly have explicit nudity and violence as the latter would beat up the star in the series. Another source described the new material as "sexual torture porn."
As of this writing, anonymous insiders aren't sure whether the new script and storyline would make it into the final cut as the scripts are still being changed every day, leading production to go way over their budget and schedule.
Elsewhere in the piece, a source noted that BLACKPINK's Jennie's appearance on the show might be a disappointment to most of her fans as many of them expect her to have a big role after she was heavily featured on the teaser.
However, a crew member noted that her main job is "to sit there [and] look pretty" and only has a few lines to say every episode.
A release date has yet to be announced, but the outlet noted that production is aiming for a 2023 release. As of this writing, The Weeknd has yet to comment on the issue.
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