‘The Idol’ Wins Emmy Despite Backlash and Cancellation

Tatiana Tenreyro
·2 min read
4

The Idol may have been one of HBO’s most controversial productions, but the series is now an Emmy winner.

During Sunday’s second night of the 2024 Creative Arts Emmys, the series won the award for outstanding choreography for scripted programming, with choreographer Nina McNeely’s work beating out Only Murders in the Building, Palm Royale and Physical. This means that The Idol, which was canceled after only one season, has more Emmys than critically-acclaimed shows such as The Wire (which was nominated for the Emmys twice) and Better Call Saul (which received a whopping 53 nominations but no wins).

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In July, McNeely shared her reaction to her Emmy nomination, The Idol‘s sole nod, with The Hollywood Reporter. “Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised,” she said. “But I am just over the moon and so excited and so honored to be recognized for my work and also to be in the running with the other choreographers because they’re all incredibly talented.”

McNeely admitted that the backlash the series received is what made her think that The Idol wouldn’t get a nomination, as well as it being the first TV production she has worked on. “I’ve done films, and I’ve done tons of music videos and tours and stuff like that, but I wasn’t expecting it for my first time doing a TV show,” she explained. “But I also knew that there were really long takes of the dance and it was such a focus of the episode [“Dollhouse”] that my fingers were definitely crossed.”

Upon hearing the news of her nomination, McNeely “shed a tear or two” and called her agent and her family to share the milestone. “It was really amazing,” she added.

In August 2023, HBO announced that The Idol was officially not going to continue, following the negative reviews from critics and reactions from viewers. “After much thought and consideration, HBO, as well as the creators and producers have decided not to move forward with a second season. We’re grateful to the creators, cast, and crew for their incredible work,” a spokesperson for HBO said in a statement.

The decision to end the series came after Rolling Stone published an exposé detailing behind-the-scenes issues with the production, including rewrites that turned the story from a young woman finding her voice after being trapped in a toxic dynamic in the music industry to an exploitative “love story,” according to the article. Following the exposé, The Idol star Lily Rose Depp denied turmoil on set, saying she was supported and respected by Levinson during the making of the show.

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