Even before the premiere, The Idol received quite a bit of criticism. Was this justified? Since 2019, the world has been under the spell of the grotesque and provocative Euphoria. It's also a fantastic series that Zendaya won an Emmy twice in a row for a reason. When it was announced that the creator of Euphoria, Sam Levinson, would be coming up with a new series about the dark side of today's pop industry, it was promising news. As the premiere date of The Idol approached, more and more nasty stories came out from behind the scenes. The Idol, like Euphoria, would be an unsafe work environment. The product would be an over-sexualized fantasy from the brains of Levinson and The Weeknd. So a lot of rumbling. We have now seen and judged the first episode ourselves.
The perspective of the series would have been too feminine, so that Levinson and Tesfaye turned around and with many reshoots would have turned The Idol into 'twisted sexual torture porn'
The Idol tells the story of Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp); a pop idol who is about to make a comeback after an absence due to mental problems. Jocelyn is targeted from all sides, asked to do all kinds of things, and told how to do all kinds of things to make it. She doesn't always feel like it herself. In the first episode, she meets Tedros (Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd); according to the description of the series, an alleged cult leader. Although we don't see much of that in the pilot yet. Other roles include Troye Sivan, Suzanna Son, Jane Adams (Hacks), Jennie Kim, Rachel Sennott (Call Your Mother), Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murder in the Building) and Dan Levy (Schitt's Creek).
The pilot episode of The Idol starts strong. Yes, there is definitely a lot of nudity to be seen. But no more or less than you are used to these days. Actually the whole first half in Jocelyn's house I find quite strong and intriguing. As soon as Tesfaye comes into the picture, I think it gets a bit more tedious. It becomes less clear what feeling the series wants to convey and where the story wants to move. I am therefore very curious how this will develop in the coming episodes. I feel like the first episode isn't going to be representative of the atmosphere for the rest of the season.
Whether the criticisms have a grain of truth, I think, will become apparent in the coming episodes. In the first episode, I couldn't find myself in what has been trumpeted online lately. But who knows if that will change. Allegations such as 'the perspective of the series would have been too feminine', as a result of which Levinson and Tesfaye turned around and turned The Idol into 'twisted sexual torture porn' with many reshoots, are of course not mild and probably not written without reason. All the more interesting to see was awaiting us.
The atmosphere that the cinematography conveys is fantastic, I would like to put that first. Just like in Euphoria, Levinson knows how to serve a young generation well with a haunting image full of fear, existentialism and Instagram-worthy shots and filter colours. I imagine myself back in the Tumblr times. It captures that feeling well.
The Idol is definitely not for everyone. It's also definitely not as good as Euphoria. Is it as problematic as has been claimed lately? That will become apparent.
I definitely agree with your review! I was eagerly looking forward to this first episode, also because of all the commotion (negative attention is also attention, as it turns out :-)). The cinematography is indeed fantastic, Levinson really does a good job! Tesfaye's acting really disappointed me so far. Perhaps it will get better, but I would have preferred to see an actor with more experience in this role. The dialogue sometimes feels a bit forced and cringey. I am very curious about the rest of the episodes, but the success of Euphoria will not be matched by The Idol.
