Lily-Rose Depp has made a steady name on the Hollywood scene in recent years. And as a result, he is slowly but surely emerging from the shadow of his famous father, Johnny Depp. The 23-year-old actress has had roles in films such as The King, Silent Night and Wolf and is now venturing into television for a new show. Depp has been selected to direct the upcoming HBO drama The Idol, which will combine it with The Weeknd. The series released a trailer last weekend and social media has a lot of ideas about it. But Depp isn’t exactly at the center of the talk.
The Idol is a creation of The Weeknd, Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. Those who are familiar with Levinson’s work in his Emmy-winning drama surely know that he tends to tell stories focused on young adults and that he uses themes such as love, trauma, sexuality, and identity. He has also excelled at creating graphic sex scenes, with some issues with the way he has portrayed some of his female characters. After the release of the trailer for his latest show, many people like it @AIaaAshraf took to Twitter to share some sincere thoughts:
sam levinson’s obsession[i]Continuing the nudity and over-sexualization of its female protagonists must be studied because this is not normal
The Idol has a very different backdrop from Euphoria, as the new series tackles the music industry. It tells the story of a self-help guru (who also happens to be the leader of a modern cult), as he begins a relationship with an emerging pop star. Despite the differences in narration, some like it Twitter user @diornowhere I still see similarities:
Sam Levinson’s storytelling is just drugs, sexualization, partying and breasts.
Euphoria’s graphic nudity and intense drug-related scenes have been widely discussed by commentators. Star of the series Sydney Sweeney has talked about her nude scenes, even discussing his grandfather’s own surprising reaction to them. Its co-star, Jacob Elordi, has also spoken of being naked to the show. While it looks like he had to adapt, now Elordi seems comfortable “undressing in front [his] family “, (also known as the crew). When it comes to the drug use of the characters, the leaders of the DARE program are among those who were upset with its depiction of addiction. Leading actress Zendaya finally responded to DAREarguing that the series “is by no means a moral story to teach people how to live their lives or what they should do.”
Aside from the arcs of the story and suggestive content, Sam Levinson has also established a very specific visual aesthetic for the youth show. And a fan called him to use, what appears to be, exactly the same approach for The Idol:
sam levinson begins to be a pony of a trick with his photography as if it were really the same light show with each scene July 17, 2022
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Another aspect of the trailer in which commentators seem to have thoughts is the way the director of Malcolm and Marie is known as a creator. A fan seems to find humor in the various creative titles he has in his various projects:
“from the visionary director” in the trailer for Malcolm and Marie to “from the sick and twisted minds of euphoria” I’m crying, sam levinson always giving himself fake titles because no one else bothers to give it 😭😭 17 of July 2022
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Despite any criticism directed at Sam Levinson, many are likely to have their eyes set on this new show when it begins. He certainly has a high bar to overcome, given the acclaim his other program has received. We’ll see if Levinson, Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd can offer an engaging play to an audience that seems to be looking for something fresh.
The Idol will be released later this year as part of the Television programming 2022. While you wait, you can play the first two seasons of Euphoria with one HBO Max Subscription.