If, like me, you’ve been doing everything in your power to avoid The Idol like a bad smell, you’ll likely have woken to a serious stench following its premiere on HBO on June 4.
For those not au fait (how can you not be?!), The Idol is a new six-part drama from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, and a series described as “twisted torture porn” following previews earlier this year.
Staring Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Lily-Rose Depp and Blackpink’s Jennie, The Idol — which was originally directed by Amy Seimetz before an unexpected departure in April 2022 and a complete overhaul by an incoming Levinson — has been described by HBO as “sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood,” although according to critics it may have overstepped the line.
Following a controversial build up and a slew of damning reviews, The Idol was given a five-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival on May 22, which, by Cannes standards, is extremely below par.
So, needless to say that when The Idol finally premiered on HBO on June 4, the bar was set pretty low and, if the internet’s reaction to episode one is anything to go by, rightly so.
For all the controversy that surrounded the show ahead of its release, it also appears that The Idol episode one was a pretty drab affair.
“The real scandal of The Idol is how the show drummed up all this controversy prior to release but still managed to be super fucking boring,” wrote one Twitter user.
“The Idol first episode was kinda boring with The Weeknd’s performance being even worse than I thought it would be,” Tweeted another.
It's hard to judge a series from just one episode, but the mounting evidence that suggests The Idol is just a very bad show is too much to ignore.
Still, if you are going to watch it (I wouldn't blame you if you didn't), you should be well prepared for both The Weeknd's greasy rat tail and his inability to act: together they make for extremely painful viewing.
