HBO’s new drama series ‘The Idol’ is the first television series to be premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Let’s meet the cast.
Content warning: This article mentions fictional instances of domestic violence and rape.
On June 29, 2021, news broke that Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye would be creating, executive producing, and co-writing a drama series for HBO alongside Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, the latter of whom is best known for creating Euphoria.
The show, dubbed The Idol, centers on Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), an aspiring pop star who begins a complicated relationship with Tedros (The Weeknd), a self-help guru and the head of a modern-day cult.
Now that the series is available on the HBO streaming platform in June 2023, let’s know all the cast members and their roles as well as their current net worth and Instagram accounts. Keep reading for all the known details.
When will The Idol be released?
The show debuted on Sunday, June 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, HBO announced. It will air on the network and begin streaming on HBO Max at the same time. The series was also been selected to premiere at Cannes Film Festival, which ran from May 16-27.
HBO initially planned for the series to premiere last fall and take over the Sunday slot from House of the Dragon, but it never happened. Since then, the network has released three teaser trailers and offered vague answers regarding a release date.
The Idol premiered out-of-competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2023, where the series received a five-minute standing ovation following the screening of its first two episodes. It marks the first television series to be screened at the festival.
Who is in the cast of The Idol?
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye (as Tedros)
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye is a main character in the drama series. He plays the role of Tedros, a self-help guru, the leader of a modern-day cult, and Jocelyn’s love interest
Abel is also the voice behind the series’ soundtrack, The Idol Vol. 1, which will include songs supported/featured by cast member Mike Dean, among others. “Double Fantasy” (featuring Future) was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on April 21, 2023.
Who is The Weeknd? Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, also known as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. A prominent figure in contemporary popular music, he is noted for his unconventional music production, artistic reinventions, and signature use of the falsetto register.
After rising through the music industry to make platinum records and Super Bowl memes, Abel Tesfaye has set his sights on new terrain: television. The singer is starring in, co-writing, and executive producing HBO’s The Idol, the buzzy, controversial music industry drama he co-created with Reza Fahim and Euphoria’s Sam Levinson.
What is The Weeknd’s net worth? The Weeknd is a Canadian recording artist and record producer. The Weeknd has a net worth of $300 million. The majority of his wealth comes from his music career, with his albums and singles selling millions of copies worldwide. He has also banked good money through his tours and endorsements.
You can follow The Weeknd on Instagram @theweeknd
Lily-Rose Depp (as Jocelyn)
Lily-Rose Depp is also a main character in the drama series. She plays the role of Jocelyn, an up-and-coming pop idol and Tedros’ love interest.
Who is Lily-Rose Depp? Lily is a French-American actress and model. She is a phenomenal actress at the same time She is a beautiful woman. She began her acting career with a small role in Tusk, and went on to star in the period drama The Dancer, in which she played Isadora Duncan; Planetarium; and The King. You know her from the movie “ A faithful man”. She memorized the world while she was acting in the movie, The King.
She is famously known for being the daughter of famed actor Johnny Depp, and his ex-partner, Vanessa Paradis. Her parents were together for over a decade and started a family, Depp and Paradis never married.
What is Lil-Rose Depp’s net worth? Lily-Rose Depp is a French-American actress who has a net worth of $2 Million, per Celebrity Net Worth.
You can follow Lily on Instagram @lilyrose_depp
Finley Rose Slater (as younger Jocelyn)
Finley Rose Slater is an American young actress. The very cute little child star of the Hollywood industry is known for Playing with Fire (2019), Days of Our Lives (1965), and The Idol.
In HBO’s drama series “The Idol” she played the role of young Jocelyn.
Finley Rose Slater is a famous Movie Actress, born on January 26, 2015, in New York, United States. She has a younger sister named Emelia Rose Slater.
Young actress Finley Rose Slater is the daughter of former Hamilton resident Todd Slater and Jessica Slater and granddaughter of famed Colgate hockey coach the late Terry Slater. Her parents enrolled her in martial arts training
What is Finley Rose Slater’s net worth? As of 2023, Finley Rose Slater’s net worth is between $1 million and $5 Million.
You can follow the little actress on Instagram @finleyroseslater
Jennie Kim (as Dyanne)
In July 2022, Jennie alongside other actors joined the cast. Kim, of the K-pop group Blackpink, will play the role of Dyanne, Jocelyn’s backup dancer.
Jennie Ruby Jane is another friend of Jocelyn’s, Dyanne. The two are together when Jocelyn first meets Tedros. Similar to Jocelyn, it seems that Dyanne also has a wild spirit and doesn’t turn down a good time with her friend.
Who is Jennie Kim? Jennie Kim, known mononymously as Jennie, is a South Korean singer and rapper. Born and raised in South Korea, Jennie studied in New Zealand for five years before returning to South Korea in 2010. She debuted as a member of the girl group Blackpink, formed by YG Entertainment, in August 2016.
What is Jennie Kim’s net worth? Jennie, who is from a wealthy family, has a net worth of USD 20 million and is one of BLACKPINK’s richest members. Her work with the group has led to her own wealth.
You can follow Jennie Kim on Instagram @jennierubyjane
Rachel Sennott (as Leia)
Rachel Sennottas is also a cast of HBO’s drama series “The Idol”. She plays the role of Leia, Jocelyn’s assistant.
Who is she? Rachel Anne Sennott is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her online comedy television series Ayo and Rachel Are Single with Ayo Edebiri and for her starring role in the film Bodies Bodies Bodies. Sennott is best known for her role as Danielle in Shiva Baby, a 2020 comedy film written and directed by Emma Seligman. Her role was a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman who attends a shiva with her parents, Joel (Fred Melamed) and Debbie (Polly Draper).
Rachel was born on September 19, 1995, in Simsbury, Connecticut, the daughter of Donna (Virzi) and Jack Sennott. She is of Italian and Irish descent and was raised Catholic. She graduated from Simsbury High School in 2014.
What is Rachel Sennott’s net worth? Sennott net worth is estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million as of 2023. This includes her assets, money, and income.
You can follow her on Instagram @treaclychild
Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Destiny (Jocelyn’s co-manager)
Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Destiny is an important person in Jocelyn’s life. She is one of Jocelyn’s close friends and confidantes. Based on the trailers so far, it also seems like Destiny supports Jocelyn in her endeavors, offering words of encouragement to keep Jocelyn on track.
Randolph has acted in a variety of film and television projects, more recently starring in the adaptation of On the Come Up, The Lost City, and lending her voice to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. In TV, she recurred in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building as Detective Williams and starred in the voice cast for Chicago Party Aunt as Tina. Some of Randolph’s other notable projects include Dolemite Is My Name, High Fidelity the series, and The United States vs. Billie Holiday, among others.
Her Net Worth is estimated to be around $2 million
Forllow her on IG @davinejoy
Jane Adams as Nikki Katz (a label executive)
Jane Adams as Nikki is another person involved with Jocelyn. Nikki is a record label executive who doesn’t seem to be fully on board with Jocelyn’s new rebranding. Despite her reservations, she continues to try and promote Jocelyn as best she can. Previously, Jane Adams has starred in several recognizable projects, most recently starring in Max’s original series Hacks. Viewers may also recognize her from shows like Sneaky Pete and Frasier, and movies like She Dies Tomorrow and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, among others.
Jane Adams’ net worth is estimated to be around $1.5 million
Dan Levy as Jocelyn’s Publicist
Jocelyn’s publicist obviously is a major part of Jocelyn’s career. His only goal is to promote her in the most beneficial ways, including trying to land Jocelyn on major magazine covers. However, Tedros doesn’t always seem to agree with the character’s decisions. Whatever Tedros’ motives are, he seems to want to maintain control over Jocelyn’s image, causing quite a bit of clashing with her publicist.
While Dan Levy has many projects under his belt, he is best known for co-creating, executive producing, writing, and starring in the beloved Emmy-Award-winning sitcom Schitt’s Creek. The series ran for six seasons and also starred Levy’s father Eugene Levy, his sister Sarah Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Annie Murphy. More recently, Levy created, executive produced, and judged for the cooking competition show The Big Brunch.
Dan Levy’s net worth is estimated at $14 million
Follow Dan Levy on IG @instadanjlevy
Moses Sumney as Izaak
Moses Sumney plays Izaak, a member of Tedros’ cult who often time around Tedros and Jocelyn. Izaak is deeply loyal to Tedros, something that Tedros may very likely take advantage of. In the trailers, it also seems that Izaak has worked his way into Tedro’s closest circle of confidantes and befriended Jocelyn along the way. Sumney fits right into the series as a singer-songwriter, composer, and music video director. He has several singles, EPs, and a couple of full-length albums under his belt, including his 2020 release Græ.
The Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter is worth between $1 million and $5 million.
Follow Sumney on IG at @moses
Other casts include:
- Suzanna Son as Chloe
- Troye Sivan as Xander, Jocelyn’s creative director
- Eli Roth as Jocelyn’s uncle
- Hari Nef as a Vanity Fair writer
- Mike Dean as a music producer
- Ramsey as herself
- Hank Azaria as Chaim, Jocelyn’s co-manager
- Melanie Liburd as Jenna
- Tunde Adebimpe
- Elizabeth Berkley
- Nico Hiraga
- Anne Heche
- Maya Eshet
- Tyson Ritter
- Kate Lyn Sheil as Amy
- Liz Caribel Sierra
- Karl Glusman as a bartender
- Sophie Mudd
- Charly Summer
- Mitch Modes as a drummer
Several sources claim that production on ‘The Idol’ has been a nightmare.
On March 1, 2023, Rolling Stone published a report in which various production sources said they have little to no idea about what the final version of the series will look like due to delays, reshoots, and rewrites. “It was, let’s just say, a s–tshow,” one source said.
In April 2022, director Amy Seimetz suddenly exited the show after completing nearly 80 percent of the six-episode series.
HBO eventually addressed the situation, stating that The Idol would undergo a significant creative overhaul and adjust the cast and crew. There was little reason given for the changes, but reports claimed The Weeknd was unhappy and felt the story was leaning too much into a “female perspective.”
But now, several members of the cast and crew revealed that the delay was caused by Sam Levinson taking over as director and tossing the nearly finished project in the trash to rewrite and reshoot the entire show. Many sources claimed that Sam “weakened the show’s overarching message” by “dialing up the disturbing sexual content and nudity” to match that of Euphoria.
“What I signed up for was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century,” one production member said. “The things that we subject our talent and stars to, the forces that put people in the spotlight and how that can be manipulated in the post-Trump world.” However, they added, “It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing.”
Many crew members said they were massive fans of the original script, but Sam ultimately changed the story and made it less about a “troubled starlet falling victim to a predatory industry figure and fighting to reclaim her own agency, and more of a degrading love story with a hollow message.”
“It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one source explained of Sam’s version.
Another added, “It was a show about a woman who was finding herself sexually, turned into a show about a man who gets to abuse this woman and she loves it.” Other sources reiterated this comment, revealing that Sam’s scripts contained deeply disturbing sexual and physically violent scenes between Lily and The Weeknd’s character.
“In one draft episode, there allegedly was a scene where Tesfaye bashes in Depp’s face, and her character smiles and asks to be beaten more, giving Tesfaye an erection,” sources told Rolling Stone. “Another proposed scenario was for Depp to carry an egg in her vagina, and if she dropped or cracked the egg, Tesfaye’s character would refuse to ‘rape’ her — which sent Depp’s character into a spiral, begging him to ‘rape’ her because she believed he was the key to her success.”
Thankfully, neither scene was filmed.
The Idol is now available on HBO and HBO Max.