What to Watch in June: 13 Notable TV Shows & Streaming Movies

Drama series debuts June 4 on HBO and Max

No, this is not a recommendation—it's an advisory. And, as one of the worst-reviewed shows in the history of a network known for its consistent high quality, a curiosity. Plagued by delays, a ballooning production budget, and major controversy, HBO's six-episode, darkly comedic music industry drama series from Euphoria's Sam Levinson and Grammy-winning pop star Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) finally arrives to the public this month a little over a week after a Cannes premiere that (as the Metascore suggests) didn't exactly get a warm reception from critics.

The Idol follows an up-and-coming pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) who suffers a nervous breakdown while on tour and then attempts to restart her career with the help of a mysterious nightclub owner (Tesfaye). The sprawling cast also features Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Suzanna Son, Jane Adams, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Elizabeth Berkley, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Blackpink's Jennie, and Hank Azaria, plus the late Anne Heche in her final TV performance. Original director Amy Seimetz was replaced toward the end of production—when the series underwent a drastic creative overhaul that also necessitated cast changes and lengthy reshoots—and Levinson now has a directing credit as well. A recent report in Rolling Stone—later challenged by HBO and the show's producers—detailed the chaotic production process and likened the revised series to "torture porn." Critics, meanwhile, have called it shallow, chauvinistic, nasty, and lazy.