HBO’s new provocative show, The Idol, premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and was met with a five-minute standing ovation.
The Idol is the brainchild of Abel Tesfaye, most popularly known as The Weeknd, and Sam Levinson, the mastermind behind the popular and critically-acclaimed HBO series Euphoria.
It stars Lily-Rose Depp as pop star Jocelyn, who suffers from a psychotic break after her mother’s death.
Abel Tesfaye, Lily-Rose Depp, and Sam Levinson celebrating the premiere of The Idol during the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 22, 2023 (Credit: Abaca Press / INSTARimages)
The description reads: “After a nervous breakdown derailed Jocelyn’s last tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America.
Her passions are reignited by Tedros, a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or the deepest and darkest depths of her soul?”
Production Hell
Initial reviews are in, and critics were not too happy with what they’ve seen. In fact, while The Idol was still in production, it suffered from rumors of on-set turmoil because of a toxic working environment, issues concerning its budget, a lot of last-minute rewrites, and original director Amy Seimetz even exited the show due to differences in creative direction.
There’s also that controversial report that claimed that Abel Tesfaye felt that The Idol was leaning too much into a “female perspective.”
Abel Tesfaye, Lily-Rose Depp, and Sam Levinson dressed to the nines at The Idol premiere during the 76th Cannes Film Festival (Credit: DDP / INSTARimages)
Variety reported that HBO emphasized that the “initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so [they] chose to make a change.”
The network added, “Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative, and mutually respectful working environment, and last year, the team made creative changes they felt were in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew.”
The Weeknd and Sam Levinson’s new HBO series, The Idol, is generating controversy for its sexually explicit subject matter. Some critics say the show degrades its central female character and relies too heavily on shock value https://t.co/X690Afj2HR #TheIdol #TheWeeknd https://t.co/bG8U3QXGnQ
— Your Next Shoes (@yournextshoes) May 26, 2023
At the press conference during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, leading lady Lily-Rose Depp defended Sam Levinson against claims of a toxic working environment: “It’s always a little sad and disheartening to say mean false things said about someone you care about. It wasn’t reflective at all of my experience.”
Abel Tesfaye in a bespoke Loewe tuxedo and Lily-Rose Depp in a Chanel Fall 1994 embellished bustier dress with a blue camellia accent (Credit: Abaca Press / INSTARimages)
Off the Rails
Rolling Stone published an article in March entitled “‘The Idol’: How HBO’s Next ‘Euphoria’ Became Twisted ‘Torture Porn.’” It featured unnamed sources who claimed that the show “has gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails.”
In response to the article, Tesfaye posted a clip from the show on Twitter, showing a scene where Dan Levy’s character pitches a photo shoot for the cover of Rolling Stone.
Tesfaye’s character, Tedros, says, “Rolling Stone? Aren’t they a little irrelevant?” Tesfaye then tagged the publication and wrote in the caption: “Did we upset you?”
In March, Rolling Stone published an article titled “The Idol: How HBO’s Next ‘Euphoria’ became Twisted ‘Torture Porn.'” The article included quotes from unnamed sources who claimed that the show had deviated in a disturbing manner.
In response, Tesfaye, a character in the… https://t.co/Ae8QNFNdTK
— Your Next Shoes (@yournextshoes) May 25, 2023
Regarding the allegations of on-set turmoil and his response to the Rolling Stone article, Tesfaye told Vanity Fair: “I thought the article was ridiculous. I wanted to give a ridiculous response to it.”
At the press conference, Sam Levinson said, “We know we’re making a show that is provocative. It’s not lost on us.”
Abel Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp in their cool and chic all-black ensembles at the photocall for The Idol during the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 23, 2023 (Credit: IPA / INSTARimages)
Meanwhile, Tesfaye said that he wanted to “create something special, something fun, to make people laugh, piss some people off.”
Looking at the initial reviews, it seems like Abel Tesfaye managed to do exactly that. But mostly the latter.
What the Critics Are Saying
With 15 reviews, The Idol currently has a critics’ score of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.
According to David Fear of Rolling Stone, the show is “nasty, brutish, [feels] much longer than it is, and way, way worse than you’d anticipated.”
Robert Daniels of The Playlist wrote: “The Idol lacks the requisite self-awareness to be much of anything, really. It’s the extension of a music star’s misplaced self-belief of his potential movie star credentials. In short, it’s crude, gross, and sexist.”
Promo shot featuring Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye for the drama television series The Idol (Credit: HBO)
Peter Debruge of Variety noted that “[t]he script seems calculated to fool audiences into thinking they’re observing how Hollywood operates, when so much of it amounts to tawdry cliches.”
According to Therese Lacson of Collider, “What Levinson perceives as provocative and subversive is rather underwhelming. How can a show with so much nudity, sex, and eroticism be so bland?”
Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn and Abel Tesfaye as Tedros in the drama television series The Idol (Credit: HBO)
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph didn’t pull any punches, giving the show one out of five stars, and calling it “HBO’s sleazy new drama” that “has the worst line of dialogue you’ll hear all year.” Collin added, “This fatuously graphic TV show about an exploited pop star from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson makes Showgirls look like a masterpiece…even the music is dreadful.”
Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair was more understanding, writing: “Levinson’s whole deal is not for everyone – and often not for me – but The Idol offers up enough regular old entertainment to balance out his aggressive flourish and the bluster of his thematic ambitions.”
Abel Tesfaye as Tedros in the drama television series The Idol (Credit: HBO)
Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter noted that “Levinson applies his efficient and stylish direction to every scene. Some of them have momentum, others are contradictory and most of them are confusing. It makes you wonder if in trying so hard to be transgressive, the show ultimately becomes regressive.”
Damon Wise of Deadline praised Lily-Rose Depp, who “is quite rivetingly game with, to put it mildly, a highly sexualized performance that also is grounded and often vulnerable, discomfitingly addressing the fine lines between porn and art, power and exploitation that have faced young women in the music industry for years.”
Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn in the drama television series The Idol (Credit: HBO)
The Idol is set to premiere on HBO on June 4, 2023.