The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing and last night's premiere of the first two episodes of Sam Levinson's HBO show The Idol has everyone talking. The upcoming music industry drama series has faced controversies since its very inception. The show has a stacked ensemble cast including Lily-Rose Depp, Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye, Hank Azaria, Dan Levy, Rachel Sennott, Jane Adams, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Moses Sumney, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Troye Sivan, and Jennie Kim garnered strong attention right out of the gate. The show will feature the acting debut of Abel Tesfaye, more popularly known by his stage name The Weeknd, as well as the first acting role of Jennie from the K-Pop sensation Blackpink.
But aside from the exciting names attached to the show, the attention around it has been anything but positive. From accusations of on-set toxicity to the exit of its female director, The Idol is looking to be the most controversial TV release of the year. And based on the reviews of just the first two episodes, that theory is looking more likely than ever.
What Is 'The Idol' About, Anyway?
The series follows the story of pop star Jocelyn's (Depp) comeback after a nervous breakdown and her affair with nightclub impresario Tedros (The Weeknd). The show has faced controversies due to its explicit content, with the story exploring their relationship and pushing them to the extremes of their own psyches. Despite the controversies, The Idol has unveiled a manic new trailer and the series premiere date. The trailer features Jocelyn posing in a photo shoot, while the Britney Spears song "Gimme More" plays in the background, setting the tone for the story. Lily-Rose Depp’s involvement in the series was also criticized with many looking at it as an example of neo-baby casting. Furthermore, Sam Levinson has come under much scrutiny for the treatment of his female characters in Euphoria with many dreading The Idol’s depiction of female characters.
Why Is 'The Idol' So Controversial?
However, things quickly started to go awry toward the end of the production. In April 2022, HBO announced that it was receiving a total overhaul, with Euphoria maestro Sam Levinson stepping in as director, replacing Amy Seimetz. The controversies surrounding The Idol began with its creative direction. The series is co-created and produced by Sam Levinson and The Weeknd. Tesfaye's creative direction led to delays, cast and crew changes, rewrites, and reshoots. While it is unclear how much of the reports about the behind-the-set chaos are entirely factual, the controversies suggest that The Weeknd has an auteur problem. The show has faced allegations of toxicity on set following Seimetz's departure, which HBO denied. The first inkling of this emerged when reports surfaced that the creative reworking of the show was due to The Weeknd thinking the show focused too heavily on the female perspective and wanted it centered on him instead. Rolling Stone soon followed suit and published an exposé featuring allegations from 13 crew members that the show started as a feminist project but turned into a "rape fantasy" after script rewrites and delays.
The report also stated that Jennie didn’t have much of a role in the series, with her job being to “sit there and look pretty." This came as a big disappointment to the fans as Jennie is a big part of the promo campaign. Crew members also reported a frenzied working environment with scripts being handed in last minute and major changes that completely changed the tone and theme of the show. Due to these controversies, public sentiment has shifted from excitement to wariness, and some viewers are now discouraged to watch the show, understandably so.
'The Idol's Stars Defend the Show
The stars of the series have jumped to the show’s defense in different ways. Depp has defended the risqué scenes in The Idol, as well the show's challenging themes. "I'm not interested in making anything puritanical," she told Elle. "I'm not interested in making anything that doesn't challenge me, or challenge other people, honestly. I think this show is fearless, and that's something that I've been really excited and proud to dive into. I can't wait for you guys to see it." The Weeknd, however, did not take too kindly to the Rolling Stone criticism writing, "@Rollingstone did we upset you?" on Twitter alongside a clip from the series that pokes fun at the music mag.
The show's premiere was followed up by a press conference this morning. According to Vulture, when asked about the infamous Rolling Stones piece, Depp said "It’s always a little sad and disheartening to see mean, false things said about somebody you care about. It was not reflective at all of my experience shooting the show.” Levinson went on to say "When my wife read me the article, I looked at her and I just said, ‘I think we’re about to have the biggest show of the summer.’ And in terms of the specifics of what was in the article, it just felt completely foreign to me. "
What Are Critics Saying About 'The Idol'?
Collider's Therese Lacson gave The Idol a D rating. She writes in her review, "Levinson's version of The Idol is sex-obsessed, shallow, and oftentimes painfully predictable, at least as of the first two episodes." Lacson goes on to say that the show, despite its extensive nudity and sex scenes, fails to elicit any exciting reaction from the audience: "This blossoming romance between Tedros and Jocelyn almost immediately becomes sexual, and while I'm sure these sex scenes will scandalize some viewers, they often just feel lazy." Many critics took to Twitter immediately following the premiere, with The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan calling it "A Pornhub-homepage odyssey starring Lily-Rose Depp’s areolas and The Weeknd’s greasy rat tail." Variety said that the show's script "seems calculated to fool audiences into thinking they’re observing how Hollywood operates, when so much of it amounts to tawdry clichés lifted from Sidney Sheldon novels and softcore porn. "
We all know that if the Cannes Film Festival loves anything, it's a standing ovation. The Idol reportedly garnered a five-minute standing ovation which, in the grand scheme of things, is pretty mild. That didn't stop Levinson from having an emotional and tearful response when making a speech after the short applause stopped.
The Idol kicks off its six-episode run on HBO starting June 4, 2023.