Choreographer Nina McNeely Receives Sole Recognition for The Idol
When the Emmy nominations were announced last week, heads turned when Sam Levinson and The Weeknd’s The Idol scooped up a nomination. And Nina McNeely, who earned the nod for choreography, feels like the axed HBO show deserved more Emmy love.
“Definitely cinematography,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I thought Lily [Rose Depp]’s acting was absolutely incredible. Even the makeup was fantastic on The Idol. I would definitely say directing for Sam. He is really incredible to work with, and even watching him work with the other actors, he trusts them so much and really asks their opinion, and you never know how creatively involved people are on projects like films or television. And that was really cool to see — how collaborative of a director he is.”
The Idol starred Depp as a pop star who falls under the sway of a Hollywood club owner (The Weeknd) and was canceled after one season as it suffered mostly negative reviews from critics and viewership fell short of some other recent HBO shows. “I have a feeling it could be a cult classic down the road — maybe a little ahead of its time or before its time or something like that,” McNeely reveals. “I think it was a really special show. And I think there aren’t many television shows that have kind of a neurotic thriller theme, not since the ’90s at least, so I say we bring them back. I’m ready to see more of that.”
McNeely’s surprise nomination for outstanding choreography for scripted programming — which Levinson’s Euphoria won in 2022 — pits her against popular shows like Only Murders In the Building (John Carrafa), Palm Royale (Brooke Lipton) and Physical (Jennifer Hamilton). McNeely moved to Los Angeles at 18 to pursue her dance career, and her resume is impressive: She’s worked with Rihanna, Björk, Sam Smith, Nick Jonas and Foo Fighters, earning a 2021 MTV Video Music Award nomination for best choreography for the rock band’s “Shame Shame” music video. She’s collaborated with The Weeknd on several occasions — helping her land her gig on The Idol — and she’s also worked as a creative director, visual artist, animator and music video director, helming the clip for Doja Cat’s Grammy-nominated smash “Paint the Town Red.”
Being Emmy-nominated feels life-changing for the versatile artist. “The cool thing is, even if it’s just a nomination, that title can go in front of your name forever,” she says.
In an interview with THR, McNeely talks about working on her first scripted series, hearing from The Weeknd and Levinson about being Emmy-nominated and how dancing for Britney Spears (sort of) helped her prep for The Idol.
Eddy Chen/HBO
How does it feel to see your name up there as an Emmy nominee?