10 TV Shows That Weren't Worth The Controversy

10. The Idol

HBO's drama series The Idol arrived less on a tidal wave of buzz than an avalanche of controversies. 

In April 2022, it was reported that Sam Levinson and The Weeknd's series about a female pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) falling prey to an abusive nightclub promoter (The Weeknd) was undergoing a major creative overhaul.

Original director Amy Seimetz left the show due to creative differences mid-production - apparently due to The Weeknd's feeling that it "lean[ed] too much into a female perspective" - leaving Levinson to reshoot most of the series himself.

Naturally this sparked plenty of ire online, that this apparently feminist drama series had been morphed into another edgy skin parade from Levinson, by literally nudging out the female creative hired to do the gig.

Crew members spoke anonymously about Levinson's revised version of The Idol being more exploitative in tone, and so few were surprised when the show eventually debuted to critical scorn across the board, before being cancelled after a single season.

And while The Idol was a can't-look-away car crash of a TV event for a few weeks last summer, the most shocking outcome is how swiftly it's been forgotten. 

For all of the pre-release hype about the show crossing lines and broaching TV taboos, it's only concerned with sex and nudity in the most conventional, arbitrary fashion.