HBO has cancelled “The Idol” starring The Weeknd and Lily Rose Depp.
The short lived series garnered terrible ratings and atrocious reviews. Sam Levinson, creator of “Euphoria,” originated this show with The Weeknd.
But the show had problems from the get-go. The original writer left amid accusations of a toxic backstage atmosphere. Levinson replaced her, and amped up all the grim sex scenes. There was also no understanding of the music business, and less about how a pop star would be developed and survive.
What a mess. Levinson will go on to “Euphoria” and other projects. Depp could still have a very good career. But The Weeknd really imperiled his pop star career. He released a lot of bad music no one wanted, and his participation in those sex scenes revealed that he couldn’t — and shouldn’t — do any more acting.
HBO, meantime, has plenty of terrific shows like “The Gilded Age” coming up on its 2nd season. They would be smart just to put “The Idol” in a drawer somewhere– no streaming. Just forget it.
