The first two episodes of HBO’s The Idol arrived in Cannes, where I saw it, steeped in scandal, the series’ original director Amy Seimetz having jumped ship with a rumoured 80 per cent of the series already in the bag. Anonymous sources told Rolling Stone that this was at least partly due to musician turned actor-producer The Weeknd – AKA Abel Tesfaye – objecting to the show’s attention on the female perspective, and wanting more focus on his character Tedros. Following an overhaul, Euphoria’s Sam Levinson then took the helm. With HBO billing it as “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood”, all eyes were on The Idol.
The series opens with a close-up of pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) being photographed. When asked to run through a gamut of emotions, she is superb at instantly reacting to the photographer’s requests. The camera then pans out, showing the many people working on the shoot.
