All Your Burning Questions About ‘The Idol’ Answered
Guys, it’s finally over. The fifth and final episode of The Idol dropped on Binge this week, and we no longer have to suffer through any more Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye graphic sex scenes.
In the end, director Sam Levinson and The Weeknd chucked in a twist: apparently, Lily Rose-Depp’s character Jocelyn was the real manipulator … and The Weeknd’s character Tedros was the victim all along? Yep, the male-led show told audiences that Jocelyn needed to go through some insane trauma (like being choked), so she could make better music. I’m not totally buying it.
But anyway, there’s been a few questions raised about the controversial HBO show, so we decided to do some digging.
We’ve got all the goss, including who fans think the show was based on, if there’s a Season 2, and leaked snaps of what The Idol was supposed to look like:
Is there going to be a Season 2 of The Idol?
HBO has yet to make any official announcement about the future of The Idol, but with so much buzz (even if it’s negative), people have been watching, so there’s a chance we haven’t seen the last of Jocelyn and Tedros.
In an interview with Variety, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who played Destiny, confirmed that both Levinson and The Weeknd are hoping to continue telling the story.
“I think that everyone’s intention is to have a second season. This was never intended to be a limited series,” she said. “Nothing is official, but HBO is quite happy.”
Fans share wild theory that The Idol is based on Selena Gomez
With Tedros uttering some truly cringe dialogue during a sex scene, some fans have compared the show to being a Wattpad fan fic about Selena Gomez, his ex. One TikToker has even gone to great lengths to draw similarities between Selena’s career and Jocelyn.
Now, some of these claims are a bit of a stretch, but it’s always fun to entertain the bizarre theories that fans come up with.
@kingselenator wtf… abels weird for this #selenagomez #theweeknd #theidol #like #comment #follow #fyp #makemefameous #getmefamous #getthisonthefyp #makemeviral #viral #queen ♬ original sound – selenagomez
The hospital bracelet photoshoot
In Episode 1, Jocelyn was seen posing in a red robe with a hospital bracelet sitting around her wrist. Now, let’s go back to 2017, when Selena also wore a “Fall Risk” hospital bracelet for her ‘Bad Liar’ cover art. Hmm…
Their child star history
Selena first started working when she was 10, first appearing on Barney & Friends alongside Disney alum Demi Lovato. After Barney, she stepped into the spotlight as Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place.
Jocelyn’s background wasn’t mentioned much on The Idol, but a journalist did say they watched the star on TV while growing up.
Jocelyn and Selena’s topless photos
Selena shed her Disney Channel image when she appeared completely nude on her 2015 Revival album cover. In The Idol, Jocelyn ends up posing topless for a photoshoot, and many fans claim her pose is similar to Selena’s.
Cancelled tours due to “mental health”
While Selena was touring in 2016 for her Revival Tour, she ended up being unable to finish due to her mental health. After revealing she had the chronic illness lupus, she told People she was suffering from side effects including “anxiety, panic attacks and depression”.
Similarly, on the show, Jocelyn couldn’t complete her world tour once her mother passed away.
Fans claim both Jocelyn and Selena “moan” in songs
This one could be just a little bit delulu, but some Selenators believe that Selena moans during her “Bad Liar” single… mainly when she sings “oh” in the bridge. In the same vein, Tedros has Jocelyn moan during one of their recording sessions.
Jocelyn and Selena are BFFs with their assistants
Selena’s assistant Theresa Mingus is one of her BFFs, and the star even poses for Theresa’s swimwear business. Jocelyn’s assistant Leia, played by Rachel Sennott, is also one of her closest friends.
Tbh, many of these theories could fit quite a few pop stars in the industry today, and it’s possible that The Weeknd took inspiration from a number of careers he’s witnessed. It’s unlikely he’ll come out and address this theory, but I’m dying to know the truth.
Leaked snaps of Amy Seimetz’s version of The Idol appear
That horrific sex scene was giving written by a man, and with Levinson and Tesfaye at the helm, that tracks. Let’s pour one out for Amy Seimetz, the original force behind The Idol, before she exited over creative differences.
According to Rolling Stone, about 80% of the then-six-episode drama had been shot when she walked. A Twitter account has now released a bunch of images from Amy’s version and it looks like we were robbed.
It’s crazy how everything about Amy Seimetz version of The Idol looks better down to the styling was way better in comparison Sam Levinson took over, HBO really fumbled making an iconic show lmao https://t.co/INHq8AM7Sc
— p*tri (@fujoheavenly6) July 6, 2023
— v (@ViralMaterialz) July 5, 2023
kinda gasping at amy seimetz’s original version of “The Idol” looking like a disney channel original movie pic.twitter.com/1iNnLFhohz
— Jon Snyder (@sny6r) July 3, 2023
The snaps are full of pastels, women having fun, and gives major sleepover vibes. Yep, completely different to what we ended up with: gross sex scenes, knife play, and a shitload of trauma.
amy seimetz needs to drop her directors cut of the idol i need to know what could’ve been
— X needs a lobotomy (@dayquilatnite) June 28, 2023
oh my god all the wasted potential of the og of the idol with amy is genuinely insane like the amount of things we found out this show could have been today https://t.co/AK616erUBe
— ɖ (@mattelipliner) July 5, 2023
I’m so sad the idol turned out to be the mess that it is because amy’s version looked so fun and girly and it actually would’ve been successful
— e🐚 (@divineysl) July 7, 2023
Can Amy pls take a leaf out of Taylor’s book and release The Idol (Amy’s Version)?
How The Idol stars Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd have responded to negative reviews of The Idol
Both Lily-Rose and The Weeknd have addressed the backlash, saying that the show isn’t supposed to please everybody.
“When I first started making music, it was the exact same thing,” The Weeknd told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was provocative, and I knew it was going to be tough for people. And a lot of people didn’t like it…. this is not going to be for everybody, and that’s fine. We’re not politicians.”
Lily-Rose also said that the show was always intended to be “provocative” and “not for everyone”.
“There are many women who have felt exploited by the nudity they’ve done and have thought, ‘I didn’t feel great about that’. But I’m comfortable performing in that way, I enjoy it. It informed the character,” she told the publication.
–
Image credits: HBO, The Idol, Selena Gomez, Revival, Instagram/@selenagomez, @petrafcollins