The Idol is a show that tries desperately to be a provocative and edgy drama about the dark side of fame, but ends up being a laughably, painfully cringey mess.
The show takes itself ultra seriously when from top to bottom it's actually an atrociously pretentious piece of garbage that would have been at home at 3AM on Cinemax in 1995.
The show stars Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, an aspiring pop star who has a nervous breakdown and falls under the influence of Tedros, a self-help guru and cult leader played by The Weeknd, who delivers perhaps the worst performance on any show that ever aspired to "prestige" TV status.
The Weeknd is so flat, boring, un-charming, wooden and monotone that he makes Keanu Reeves look like Daniel Day-Lewis. He has zero charisma or presence, and his attempts at being mysterious and seductive are laughable. He delivers his lines with such a lack of emotion and conviction that they seem to be coming from a teleprompter. His character is supposed to be a charismatic manipulator who lures Jocelyn into his cult, but he comes across as a boring, creepy utterly unattractive weirdo who spouts nonsensical platitudes like some clownish Rasputin parody.
Lily-Rose Depp is not much better as Jocelyn, the naive and troubled pop star who falls for Tedros. She has the acting range of a cardboard cutout, and her character is so bland and unlikable that it's hard to care about her fate. She spends most of the show either crying, pouting, or having sex with Tedros in graphic and gratuitous scenes that serve no purpose other than to attempt to titillate an audience that the show runners seem to have forgotten has effortless access (it's 2023, folks!) to *actual* pornography at all times and will find it odd, not shocking, to witness B-grade schlocky softcore fare in the once-hallowed hour of Succession and the Sopranos.
Depp's character is supposed to be a complex and sympathetic victim of the music industry, but she comes across as a spoiled and stupid brat who makes inexplicably terrible decisions entirely lacks a personality.
The rest of the cast is made up of some very strong actors who been terribly served by the writers. Jane Adams as Jocelyn's cynical manager does nothing but smoke and swear; Dan Levy as Jocelyn's flamboyant stylist does nothing but make semi-lame jokes and wear outrageous outfits; Hank Azaria does nothing but play an ambiguously exploitative father-ish figure with a terrible and pointless 'Israeli' accent and persona... and on and on.
The writing of the show is atrocious, with dialogue that sounds like it was written by a teenager who watched Euphoria and sat down to write, like, a really HOT script about the music industry, dude. The show thus far shows no signs of knowing what it wants to be-- a critical commentary on the perils and damage of pop fame or a cheap pop-sploitation series that simply commercializes those exact 'sins' under the ultra-thin guise of critiquing them.
The tone is inconsistent, with moments that are supposed to be dramatic or tragic being unintentionally hilarious or absurd. The themes are shallow, with messages that are either obvious or contradictory. The show appears poised to *try* (ugh) to tackle issues such as mental health, fame, sexuality, identity, artistry, creativity, morality, spirituality, etc., but will, with total certainty, fail miserably at exploring them in any meaningful or original way.
The Idol is self-indulgent and pretentious, with gratuitous references to pop culture, philosophy, religion, literature, art, music, etc., that are either irrelevant or inaccurate. It tries to be meta and clever by using intertextuality or symbolism or irony or satire or parody or homage or pastiche or whatever else it can think of to impress the audience... but instead of being smart and creative, it all just ends up being transparent, annoying and confusing.
The show is a huge disappointment and embarrassment by creator and director Sam Levinson. Levinson, who previously created the critically acclaimed and popular show Euphoria, appears to have completely lost his touch and and vision whatsoever with The Idol. He has wasted his talent and his potential on a show that is a complete disaster and an utter waste of time. It is baffling how he could possibly have made something this execrable.
The Idol is a show that deserves to be canceled and forgotten as quickly as possible. It would be a mercy for all involved.
