An Eyes Wide Shut meets Once Upon a Time in Hollywood drama is coming to screens, courtesy of Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and The Weeknd.
By Juno Kelly.
When Euphoria began its addictive spin (pun intended), Sam Levinson solidified his status as one of our time’s prolific and culture-defining directors. He was both celebrated and critiqued for his vivid staging of the teen behaviors that cause parents to avert their gaze, and made previously considered scandalous teen dramas like Gossip Girl and 90210 watch like PG13 Disney movies. The director’s latest brainchild, HBO’s The Idol, promises to transport viewers to the “gutters of Hollywood,” where, just like at the suburban East Highland High School, drugs, sex, and general debauchery abound.
Below, we hypothesise what Levinson has in store for The Idol, by analyzing what clues we could find about the show so far.
The Cast
While Euphoria was renowned for its off-the-streets casting (with the exception of Hollywood mainstays Zendaya and Hunter Schafer), Levinson’s newest offering has gone in the opposite direction. Unlike Angus Cloud, an acting novice, an HBO casting agent discovered on the street in Manhattan, or Chloe Cherry, the former adult film star Levinson himself found on Instagram; The Idol cast list reads like a who’s who of Hollywood cool kids.
That’s not to say that the whole cast are veteran thespians. Levinson has long been partial to a celebrity collaborator (Drake executive produced Euphoria), and The Idol is no exception. Abel Tesfaye (musician name The Weeknd) both co-created and stars in the show. Blackpink’s Jennie Kim also makes her acting debut in The Idol. “I found the script very intriguing, so I wanted to be part of the series,” the singer said in a statement to the Korean news agency Yonhap. Model and actor Hari Nef and musician-cum-actor Troye Sivan are also part of the cast. Levinson, however, wasn’t taking any risks with the lead, which seasoned actor Lily-Rose Depp will embody.
The Plot
The story follows ascending pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), who enters into a toxic relationship with Tedros (Abel Tesafe), a nightclub owner and wellness guru—tall about an oxymoron—who moonlights as a cult leader. Schitt’s Creek‘s Dan Levy also stars in the show, suggesting that there will be some much-needed comic levity amid the debauchery. The trailer warns us the show is “from the sick and twisted minds of Sam Levinson and Abel’ The Weeknd’ Tesfaye” and promises us “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood” (phrases re-used by the cast when promoting the show on Instagram).
The Style
Tarantino-style block letters intercept high-octane scene clips in the show’s teasers. The high-budget set consists of lush mega-mansions, slick record label offices, and sleazy clubs. Reza Fahim, a real-life nightlife entrepreneur who Tedros is presumably based on, co-created the show, so we can likely expect a realistic depiction of the club scene’s seedy underbelly, perhaps sprinkled with real-life anecdotes.
The trailer is scored by niche electro-house duo Justice’s Planisphère (Part 1), and perhaps some original scores by the Weeknd, as Zendaya, Angus Cloud, and Dominic Filke’s music all featured on the Euphoria soundtrack. It cuts between dramatic shots of choreography, sex, and close-ups of Jocelyn smoking in a sauna, staring into the camera, mischievous, evoking flashes of Euphoria‘s Maddie. A24 was behind the show, the arthouse-style-with-mainstream-recognition studio that created the likes of Spring Breakers, Midsommar, Irma Hep, and 2 Dope Queens.
The Release
HBO is yet to announce an exact release date, but the show is slated to hit screens around the end of 2022/ beginning of 2023.
With the above taken into account, we can likely expect a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood meets Eyes Wide Shut meets Euphoria binge-worthy drama. Although the show won’t feature much previously untapped talent, we’ll be waiting with bated breath to see if Tesfaye and Kim’s acting chops measure up to their musical proficiency. At the very least, they bring publicity and star power, a Hollywood TV shows’ most essential supporting acts.
Images courtesy of Creative Commons
