The Idol Creator Sam Levinson Discusses Premiere Episode

Apr 27, 2023

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Sunday's premiere of HBO's The Idol.

The Idol is finally here. HBO unveiled the first episode of the somewhat controversial series from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson on Sunday.

The premiere, titled "Pop Tarts & Rat Tails," introduces the audience to Lily-Rose Depp's Jocelyn, a global superstar who is ready to make a comeback on tour after suffering a nervous breakdown. The episode opens on a close up of Jocelyn's face, as she receives directions from a photographer giving her cues for specific emotions from joyful to vulnerable to upset.

"The first shot of the show, I think, tells you everything you need to know about Jocelyn, how gifted she is as a performer," Levinson said in a segment about crafting the series, which aired after the episode. "She can laugh on cue, cry on cue. You see how good this character is at manipulating us emotionally. What's so brilliant about Lily's performance is that despite the fact she tells you that up front, you forget how she's able to deceive the audience."

The camera pans out, and we see that this is part of a photoshoot for her new album. As Jocelyn lays on a table, clad in only a red, silk, backless robe (inspired by a Slim Aarons photograph of Marilyn Monroe), the intimacy coordinator rushes over to make sure that she follows her nudity rider. She tries to explain that she's perfectly comfortable showing more of her body, and an argument ensues — almost exclusively between the men in the room — about whether it's appropriate for her to have her robe open in the photos.

As the episode progresses, it becomes clear just how many people are making decisions for Jocelyn, often without her involvement at all. From her assistant to the music label to her plethora of publicists, Jocelyn is often the last to be clued in on details about her own life. When a reporter from Vanity Fair asks her who she answers to, Jocelyn says, "God." But, it's clear that she's not quite as free as she’d like to imagine. That is until she meets Tedros (Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd), a nightclub impresario with a sordid past.

"Jocelyn is a pop star who is constantly surrounded by people that she's not sure if she can trust," Depp said in the same segment, adding that Tedros "offers her a freedom she hasn't felt in a while."

While Jocelyn feels an immediate connection to Tedros, it's not clear what his motives are.

"When Tedros comes over, you can see how desperately he wants to be taken seriously. He wants to be suave…yet there's something about him that Jocelyn is attracted too," Levinson added.

A preview for the remainder of the series teases that Tedros will begin to have quite a bit of power over Jocelyn, who will start to push away the team around her as she deepens her connection with him.

In the segment after the episode, Levinson said that it wasn't long after production wrapped on Season 2 of Euphoria that he and Tesfaye began discussing the concept for The Idol. Ultimately, he explained, the series is about "an artist who feels stuck, who also feels pressured by the expectations of the world at large, and is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to say."

"The cinematic approach is actually derivative of reality television, because that's how we normally see celebrities," he said. "Part of what this show is about is having a little bit more skepticism about celebrities who we ultimately idolize."

The Idol airs Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. ET/PT. It is also available on Max at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.