Yesterday, it was announced that the upcoming HBO drama The Idol, set in and around the music industry, would undergo extensive reshoots as the series shifted to a new creative direction. Now, according to Deadline, it seems that Amy Seimetz, who was previously signed on to direct all the episodes of the series, has left the project.
The Idol is a series created by Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, Reza Fahim, and award-winning musical artist The Weekend, aka Abel Tesfaye. The series is said to follow the story of a rising pop star as she gets into a romance with an L.A. club owner who secretly is running a cult. About the series’ overhaul, HBO put out a statement yesterday saying:
“The Idol’s’ creative team continues to build, refine, and evolve their vision for the show and they have aligned on a new creative direction. The production will be adjusting its cast and crew accordingly to best serve this new approach to the series. We look forward to sharing more information soon.”
It seems Seimetz is leaving the project in the wake of these creative changes, although there has been no official statement on the reason for her departure. Seimetz previously co-created and directed the drama series The Girlfriend Experience and also directed episodes of shows like Atlanta and Outer Range.
It is expected that Levinson will have a role in directing the series now, after having directed many episodes of Euphoria and the Netflix drama Malcolm & Marie.
Before the creative overhaul, The Idol was set to feature Tesfaye and Lily Rose-Depp in the starring roles with Troye Sivan, Suzanna Son, Steve Zissis, Melanie Liburd, Tunde Adebimpe, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Nico Hiraga, and Anne Heche in supporting and recurring roles. It is unknown how much of this cast is expected to stay onboard the series as it undergoes changes.
Tesfaye co-wrote the series with Mary Laws and Joseph Epstein. Laws has previously written for series like Preacher and Succession. Epstein is also set to serve as showrunner on the series. Additionally, the series will be executive produced by Levinson, Tesfaye, Fahim, Epstein, Ashley Levinson, Kevin Turen, and Aaron L. Gilbert. With Laws serving as a co-executive producer with Tesfaye's manager Wassim “SAL” Slaiby and La Mar C. Taylor. There is no word as of yet on whether any of these names will be leaving the project along with Seimetz.
Stay tuned to Collider for more news on The Idol as the specifics of its creative overhaul begin to develop.