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Do Levinson's Euphoria and The Idol Take Place in the Same Universe?

Do Levinson's Euphoria and The Idol Take Place in the Same Universe?
Image credit: HBO, Legion-Media

Some details suggest there is a crossover between the two shows.

On June 4, HBO premiered the first episode of The Idol, a series about the sordid side of the music industry, in which a young pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) tries to rebuild her career after a mental breakdown but finds herself in a toxic relationship with a greedy nightclub owner (The Weeknd) who is also the leader of a modern-day cult.

Critics who saw the first two episodes at the Cannes Film Festival in May were quick to slam the new show, arguing that the attempt to satirize the industry resulted in very sloppy and unpleasant caricatures. Something similar happened with another HBO series, Euphoria, when it was released back in 2019 — and this is actually not surprising, considering that Sam Levinson created both shows, and they even seem to share the same universe.

Aside from the fact that both series are set in Los Angeles and feature characters with addictions, there was one notable cameo in The Idol Episode 1 that made fans think the events take place in the universe of Levinson's earlier project.

In the first episode, there is a scene in a nightclub where the main character, Jocelyn, and her backup dancer, Dyanne, are joined by another character, played by Alexa Demie who portrayed one of the main characters in Euphoria, Maddy Perez. Even though Demie only appears for a few seconds and is listed in the credits as 'club girl number two,' many people thought this was Maddy from Euphoria, which means that the two shows are interconnected.

Furthermore, the fact that it was indeed Maddy was indirectly confirmed by Levinson himself, as he reportedly admitted at Cannes that The Idol and Euphoria exist in the same universe. Whether it was a joke to get attention or not, it got fans intrigued, and some are wondering, what was highschooler Maddy doing in the upscale club?

'The timeline of Euphoria Season 1 = 2019, special episode + Season 2 = end 2019-summer 2020, in The Idol we see the guy stuck at the gate in a car, it's a McLaren 720s Spider (and it looks like the one from 2022),' one fan noted, suggesting that The Idol takes place after the events of Euphoria. Alexa Demie's character must have graduated from high school by then, so she can enjoy her adult life at Los Angeles clubs.

If anything, this means that we can expect some more cameos from Euphoria stars in the upcoming episodes of The Idol. The second one is set to air on HBO on June 11, 2023.

Source: Reddit.