HBO Continues to Target Children with Immoral Content With Upcoming Drama THE IDOL
By Movieguide® Contributor
HBO doubles down on immoral content for kids and teens with THE IDOL a series even more perverse than their previous drama EUPHORIA.
THE IDOL was originally meant to criticize the entertainment industry for the exploitation entertainers are forced to endure if they want to make it in the scene. However, production issues, including director Amy Seimetz leaving the show after 80 percent of the series had been shot, lead to rewrites and a complete change in the show’s direction.
“What I signed up for a was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century. The things that we subject our talent and start to, the forces that put people in the spotlight and how that can be manipulated,” a production member told Rolling Stone. “[However,] it went from satire to the thing it was satirizing.”
A driving factor in that change came from the introduction of Sam Levinson as director of the show after Seimetz left production. Levinson altered the show’s trajectory by dialing up the nudity and disturbing sexual content to rival that of his previous show EUPHORIA.
As the show approaches its release on the streaming site, Max, it is being targeted toward a teen audience, promising an even more provocative and sexually disturbing show than the extremely perverse EUPHORIA.
“EUPHORIA has normalized these destructive behaviors and marketed them to impressionable teens and children. No doubt HBO will do the same with THE IDOL. Young viewers will stand to lose the most by yet another program that will desensitize them to glamorized sexually exploitative content. Parents must be aware and take action to protect their children, both on the HBO streaming platform and from content marketed to them by HBO on social media,” Melissa Hanson, Vice President of the Parents Television and Media Council, said.
Movieguide® encourages parents to have conversations with their children about the media they are consuming. Shows like THE IDOL and EUPHORIA expose kids and teens to graphic sexual material and desensitizes them to such acts, which can result in them performing those acts themselves. These shows also promote the usage of drugs alongside excessive profanity.
The Bible urges us to dwell on what is pure and true and disallow Satan avenues into our hearts. People should seek out entertainment that is uplifting and morally sound rather than support immoral content.
Movieguide® previously reported on EUPHORIA’s immoral content:
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or D.A.R.E., recently condemned HBO’s teen drama EUPHORIA for excessive drug abuse, sex and violence.
The second season of EUPHORIA, which stars SPIDER-MAN actress Zendaya, depicts the life of a high school student who battles a drug addiction.
“Rather than further each parent’s desire to keep their children safe from the potentially horrific consequences of drug abuse and other high-risk behavior, HBO’s television drama, ‘Euphoria,’ chooses to misguidedly glorify and erroneously depict high school student drug use, addiction, anonymous sex, violence, and other destructive behaviors as common and widespread in today’s world,” D.A.R.E. said in a statement.
D.A.R.E. warned parents of the excessive and immoral content in EUPHORIA and that its target audience is teenagers.
“It is unfortunate that HBO, social media, television program reviewers, and paid advertising have chosen to refer to the show as ‘groundbreaking,’ rather than recognizing the potential negative consequences on school age children who today face unparalleled risks and mental health challenges,” the statement reads.
