X
- 2023
- TV-MA
- HBO
- 2023
- TV-MA
- HBO
Summary Pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) falls for nightclub owner Tedros (Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye) in this drama series co-created by Sam Levinson, Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim.
Created By: Reza Fahim, Sam Levinson, The Weeknd
- 2023
- TV-MA
- HBO
- 2023
- TV-MA
- HBO
The Idol (2023)
Season 1 Premiere: Jun 4, 2023
27
1.6
Where to Watch
Summary Pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) falls for nightclub owner Tedros (Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye) in this drama series co-created by Sam Levinson, Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim.
Created By: Reza Fahim, Sam Levinson, The Weeknd
Where to Watch
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 23 Critic Reviews
27
4% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
30% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
65% Negative
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 23 Critic Reviews
27
4% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
30% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
65% Negative
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
It comes close to some profound insight into our times. Striking and sordid, you’ll want to jump straight in the shower after an hour in The Idol’s polluting company.
Here is a show purporting to satirise sexual exploitation while relishing it.
User Score
Overwhelming Dislike
Based on 456 User Ratings
1.6
14% Positive
66 Ratings
66 Ratings
2% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
84% Negative
382 Ratings
382 Ratings
User Score
Overwhelming Dislike
Based on 456 User Ratings
1.6
14% Positive
66 Ratings
66 Ratings
2% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
84% Negative
382 Ratings
382 Ratings
I dont understand all the bad reviews i ve been reading so far. Sam Levinsons genius is obvious throughout this entire series, comparable to tarantinos pulp fiction even. Abel is great in this role. I can see his perspective while playing Tedrose and all the snowflakes that have been saying that his performance is mysoginistic dont understand the nuanced
method acting. Deserved at least one reward at the golden globes. People that complained about the unnecessary nudity failed to notice that this is a form of art expression... Dont listen to sjw like the rolling stone. I strongly advise you to form your own opinion after watching this masterpiece and fingers crossed for season two. At last, the series finale got me choked up and almost on the brink of tears...( that plottwist)....
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You start to wonder if this is building to anything, and by episode two it seems likely that it’s probably not. .... The Idol shows glimmers of potential when it stops trying so hard to be shocking. There’s a strenuousness to the sex scenes between Depp and Tesfaye that kills any sense of eroticism.
It’s all a lot and yet not enough. Skin-deep when it thinks it’s being profound. Almost like The Idol wants to be a hot-take discourse machine first and a television show second.
Lily-Rose is fully committed. She gives everything: body, soul, and heart. And yet, you can’t help but wonder why she must answer for this much while receiving only morsels of a character. She deserves better. Unless “The Idol” changes drastically in the next few episodes, she will be nothing more than the window dressing of a concept in service of a misguided, gross, unaware, and untenable vanity project.
Sex talk that manages to be a turn-off in two different ways is some screenwriting feat.
Even the music is dreadful.
The only thing shocking about this vanity production from The Weeknd, whose acting runs the gamut from A to B, is how shockingly bad it is. From its leering male gaze to its juvenile eroticism and cringy dialogue, the premiere episode hits a new low in creative ineptitude.
Sam Levinson (Euphoria) co-created this series, so raw emotions and edgy encounters are expected. Lily-Rose Depp plays a pop star who's recovering from a breakdown, while facing pressure to repair her image and prep for a tour. Along comes an enigmatic character (played by The Weekend, who also co-created the series) and he disrupts everything in the most depraved ways. This includes intense, intimate sex scenes and lots of depraved actions, including torture. All this is supposed to give us insight into the star's feelings, while creating an oppressive cult-like environment. This has gone much further in every direction than Euphoria, but it feels intentionally provocative and shamelessly prurient. Although Depp and the other actors handle the serious intent well, the whole enterprise feels sordid more for effect than for introspection. BTW, the final ep wraps things up in an absurdly happy ending.
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The only redeeming quality that this show has is how ironically funny it can be, cause it thinks it's teying to be deep, but really it justmakes it look stupid.
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As much as I love The Weeknd. The critics were right. It's so bad. There is potential for a really good plot but for the first 4 episodes there really isn't one. Just sex scene after sex scene with no substance. Ironically produced by Abel yet the best episode was the finale which didn't even have a sex scene. On a whole, the acting wasn't.... That bad.... Okay it might be. The Weeknd should stick to music it's what he is good at.
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Production Company:
- A24 Television
- A24
- BRON Studios
- HBO Entertainment
- Home Box Office (HBO)
- Little Lamb
- Manic Phase
- The Reasonable Bunch
Initial Release Date: Jun 4, 2023
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-MA
Awards
Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards
• 2 Nominations
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
