• Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, an up-and-coming young pop star reeling from the death of her mother
• Abel Tesfaye as Tedros, a sinister nightclub owner and talent scout leading a cult-like group of aspiring musicians
• Suzanna Son as Chloe, a young aspiring musician loyal to Tedros
• Troye Sivan as Xander, Jocelyn's creative director and childhood friend
• Jane Adams as Nikki Katz, a cynical record label executive
• Jennie Ruby Jane as Dyanne, a backup dancer and close friend of Jocelyn
• Rachel Sennott as Leia, Jocelyn's best friend and assistant
• Hari Nef as Talia Hirsch, a Vanity Fair writer looking to write an article on Jocelyn's mental state
• Moses Sumney as Izaak, a follower of Tedros
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Destiny, Jocelyn's co-manager
• Ramsey as herself, a follower of Tedros
• Hank Azaria as Chaim, Jocelyn's other co-manager
• Dan Levy as Benjamin, Jocelyn's publicist
• Eli Roth as Andrew Finkelstein, a Live Nation representative
• Alexa Demie (uncredited cameo)
• Melanie Liburd as Jenna, a follower of Tedros
• Mike Dean as himself, hired by Tedros to produce Jocelyn's new album
• Karl Glusman as Rob Turner, an actor and Jocelyn's ex-boyfriend

On June 29, 2021, Tesfaye announced that he would be creating, executive producing, and co-writing a drama series for HBO alongside Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson. On the same day, Ashley Levinson and Joseph Epstein were announced as executive producers for the series, with Epstein also serving as a writer and the series' showrunner. Mary Laws was also announced as a writer and a co-executive producer, alongside Tesfaye's co-manager Wassim Slaiby and his creative director La Mar Taylor. Amy Seimetz was signed on as the director and as an executive producer.

On November 22, 2021, HBO gave the production a series order for a first season consisting of six episodes. Following a creative overhaul in the spring of 2022, the season was condensed to five episodes. On January 14, 2022, Deadline Hollywood reported that Nick Hall had joined the production as an executive producer, following his move to A24 to oversee creative for the company's television slate. On August 28, 2023, HBO announced that The Idol was canceled after one season.
In the initial announcement, Tesfaye revealed that he would be starring in the series. On September 29, 2021, it was reported that Lily-Rose Depp had signed on to play the female lead opposite Tesfaye. On November 22, Suzanna Son, Steve Zissis, and Troye Sivan joined the main cast, while Melanie Liburd, Tunde Adebimpe, Elizabeth Berkley, Nico Hiraga, and Anne Heche were announced as recurring characters. On December 2, Juliebeth Gonzalez joined the cast as a series regular, while Maya Eshet, Tyson Ritter, Kate Lyn Sheil, Liz Caribel Sierra, and Finley Rose Slater were cast in recurring roles.

On April 25, 2022, Variety reported that the show was set to undergo a major overhaul, with "drastic" changes in the cast and creative directions. On April 27, Deadline Hollywood reported that Son, Zissis, and Gonzalez were not expected to return. In July, actors Rachel Sennott and Hari Nef, along with Jennie Ruby Jane, joined the cast; Moses Sumney, Jane Adams, Dan Levy, Eli Roth, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Mike Dean, Ramsey, and Hank Azaria were confirmed as cast members on August 21 in the second teaser trailer. On March 1, 2023, Rolling Stone reported that Son and Sivan remained in the cast despite the overhaul. It was later announced that Heche (in what would have been her final television role) and Berkley were no longer in the cast as HBO took the series in "a new creative direction".
Principal photography began in November 2021 in and around Los Angeles, California. Production was temporarily paused in April 2022 due to Tesfaye co-headlining the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with Swedish House Mafia on short notice. On April 25, Variety reported that Seimetz had left the project amid its creative overhaul, with roughly 80% of the series already filmed. HBO released a statement following Seimetz's exit, saying: "The Idol's creative team continues to build, refine, and evolve their vision for the show and they have aligned on a new creative direction. The production will be adjusting its cast and crew accordingly to best serve this new approach to the series."

Levinson reportedly took over Seimetz's directing duties sometime in April 2022. According to IndieWire and other sources, Tesfaye wanted to tone down the "cult" aspect of the story, and felt concerned that Seimetz's initial work on the show "lean[ed] too much into a female perspective." Reporting by Rolling …

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The series' soundtrack, The Idol, Vol. 1, was originally set to be released on June 30. The soundtrack was set to include songs created by the Weeknd himself and supporting cast member Mike Dean, among others. "Double Fantasy", featuring Future, was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on April 21, 2023. "Popular", a collaboration with Playboi Carti and Madonna, was released as the second single from the soundtrack on June 2, 2023. On June 8, 2023, it was announced that new music was set to be released following or preceding the premiere of each episode in an EP format, abandoning the soundtrack format altogether.