The series focuses on female pop idol Jocelyn Lily-Rose Depp and her complex relationship with Tedros Tesfaye , a sleazy nightclub owner, self-help guru, and cult leader. The Idol underwent significant creative changes during filming, with Levinson taking over directing duties from original director Amy Seimetz and reshaping the series to align with a new vision. This included a shift away from the initial storyline towards a focus on a "degrading" love story with heavier sexual content.
Production was paused and resumed several times, with scenes filmed during Tesfaye's tour. The series was shot using improvisation and featured scenes filmed at Tesfaye's mansion. It premiered its first two episodes at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May The series was widely panned upon release and was canceled after one season in August Jocelyn is a pop idol who resolves to reclaim her title as the sexiest pop star in the United States after her last tour was canceled following a nervous breakdown.
She begins a complex relationship with Tedros, a self-help guru and the head of a contemporary cult. Mary Laws was also announced as a writer and a co-executive producer, alongside Tesfaye's co-manager Wassim Slaiby and his creative director La Mar Taylor. On November 22, , HBO gave the production a series order for a first season consisting of six episodes. In the initial announcement, Tesfaye revealed that he would be starring in the series. On April 25, , Variety reported that the show was set to undergo a major overhaul, with "drastic" changes in the cast and creative directions.
On March 1, , Rolling Stone reported that Son and Sivan remained in the cast despite the overhaul. Principal photography began in November in and around Los Angeles, California. The production will be adjusting its cast and crew accordingly to best serve this new approach to the series. Levinson reportedly took over Seimetz's directing duties sometime in April Production resumed in late May and was paused again in early July, just as Tesfaye began embarking on his After Hours til Dawn Tour.
Audience members were notified of the filming before the concert commenced. The series was shot using two to three cameras, with the cast improvising, leaving the editors with long first cuts. The series' soundtrack, The Idol, Vol. The soundtrack was set to include songs created by the Weeknd himself and supporting cast member Mike Dean , among others.
