The Weeknd and “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson have teamed up for a new HBO series, “The Idol,” which focuses on a female pop singer who starts a romance with an enigmatic L.A. club owner that happens to be the leader of a secret cult, because what else would you expect from Levinson?
Amid HBO’s announcement of a “new creative direction” on the music industry show, it has led to some prominent crew members exiting. Deadline names director Amy Seimetz as one of those folks leaving “The Idol” as Levinson is said to be taking a bigger role as a director for the series.
Actors assembled for the project would include Abel Tesfaye (“Uncut Gems“) the real name of the Canadian musican, Lily-Rose Depp (“The King“), and Suzanna Son (“Red Rocket“) in lead roles.
The writing team consists of Tesfaye, Mary Laws, and showrunner Joseph Epstein.
While it’s unknown what the reasoning was behind the departure it seems like creative differences are part of it and there seem to be indications from the tone of the report that more exits are expected.
Could another shake-up be announced on the writing side of things? Time will tell.
Seimetz co-created, co-wrote, and directed “The Girlfriend Experience,” an anthology series at Starz that is based on the Steven Soderberg film of the same name that starred former porn actress Sasha Grey and focused on sex workers. She’s also helmed episodes of “Atlanta” and “Outer Range.”
Meanwhile, HBO has officially renewed the popular Levinson series “Euphoria” for a third season that stars “Dune” and “Spider-Man” actress Zendaya.