The Weeknd’s HBO Series ‘The Idol’ Undergoing Reshoots and Casting Changes

Big changes are afoot on The Weeknd‘s HBO series The Idol, which is currently in production. We just don’t know exactly what they are yet.

The six-episode series, which was co-created by The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim, is about a self-help guru and cult leader who develops a relationship with an up-and-coming pop star. Lily-Rose Depp was also announced as part of the cast when the series was first greenlit in 2021.

In a statement released by HBO, the network revealed that, “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.”

Variety revealed that several of the production’s six episodes were already completed prior to the announcement that changes would be made. There is no word on what the actual changes to the cast and crew will be, but it had been previously announced that Troye Sivan, Suzanna Son, Steve Zissis, Melanie Liburd, Tunde Adebimpe, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Nico Hiraga and Anne Heche would all co-star, and that all episodes would be directed by Amy Seimetz, who has previously worked on The Girlfriend Experience and Atlanta. The showrunner for the series is Joe Epstein, who has worked, up until now, primarily as a screenwriter.

This isn’t the first HBO show EPed by Sam Levinson to have behind-the-scenes issues. Though there’s been a lot of back and forth, reportedly the second season of Euphoria had severe issues with last minute script pages, changes, and a lack of shot lists. However, HBO later denied reports of a “toxic” work environment. A premiere date for The Idol has not been announced.