Disclaimer: The author of this post is a committed stan of The Weeknd
The day is finally here. After months of reshoots, recasting, rumors and Rolling Stone articles, The Idol Premiere is officially live on HBO. In the weeks leading up to the premiere, reviews from its debut at the Cannes Film Festival were overwhelmingly negative. It has been referred to as “glorified torture porn” and a prime example of a writer using a tv script to see their personal fetishes acted out. However, after watching the first episode, those concerns feel overstated, especially by HBO’s standards of vulgarity and nudity. It is hard to speculate how successful this show will be, but the first episode gives me the impression that this show is far from irredeemable and has the potential to succeed in presenting a satirical critique of the industry at large. So let’s get into what The Idol has working for it and what obstacles it will have to overcome to thrive and get a second season.
Rachel Sennott, The X-Factor
The single most encouraging part of episode 1 was the amount of screen time and lines given to Rachel Sennott, who plays Leia, Jocelyn’s friend/assistant/cousin. HBO has not produced a statistical breakdown of screen time or the number of lines per character, but it felt like Sennott was probably 2nd in both, only to Lily-Rose Depp. For those unfamiliar, Sennott is in the midst of a meteoric ascension in Hollywood and the comedy scene. Her breakout came in 2020 with Shiva Baby, a movie whose pace and anxiety building is reminiscent of a Safdie Brothers film. However, The Idol presents Sennott an opportunity to fully break into the mainstream and become a household name. Her performance in episode 1 stood out, as she provided some much needed comedic relief and created a tonal balance for the show. She is as adept as any comedian in the game right now with her deliveries. Episode 1 also heavily hints at her being the only person who actually cares about Jocelyn and spots Tedros’ mal intent from a mile away, making her a lock as the fan favorite. With the top-billed part of the cast lacking collective acting experience , specifically Abel, Jennie Kim, and Troye Sivan, it was great to see them lean on a skilled, up-and-coming star to carry dialogue. If this show is going to be successful, it is going to require the same involvement from her every episode. She is a bonafide scene stealer. Highly recommend hopping on the Rachel Sennott hype train before it is too late.
The Score
In theory, the strength of this show has to be its incorporation of original music. While the jury is still out on The Weeknd as an actor, even his biggest skeptics have to admit that he has had an illustrious musical career. Outside of the questionable closing metal-rock song, the music delivered. Most notably, they debuted Lily Rose-Depp’s first song as Jocelyn, which is titled World Class Singer. This has not been included in the singles for The Idol soundtrack, but is safe to assume it will be on the album. And when it does come out, I will be spinning it nonstop. It is a certified smash and the vocals are incredibly impressive for a first time singer. It is also safe to predict that The Weeknd contributed to the writing of this track, as it essentially sounds like everything he has ever written, just from a female perspective. Along with this new original, Mike Dean’s fingerprints are all over the first episode’s score, with the synths that have made him famous popping up about every ten minutes. So as referenced in our previous blog post, even if the show flops, it will be a fun one to listen to, if nothing else.
The Set
As part of keeping production costs balanced and ensuring there was enough of a budget for the numerous reshoots, The Weeknd lent his LA mansion to be one of the primary sets for the show. This made for some beautiful shots in episode 1, including The Weeknd’s much discussed villain intro. People seem somewhat split on whether this shot was corny or creative, but as a fan of The Weeknd, I loved seeing him have that moment. The intro scene also stood out, as it gave Lily Rose-Depp a chance to flex her acting chops, with a creepy but cool background that made for an overall beautiful scene to kick off the show. People may have their gripes with director Sam Levinson, but he is a talented cinematographer and the LA mansion provides him a great tool to excel in this department.
Make or Break
After episode 1, it is clear that there are a few things that will need to go the show’s way in order for it to be successful. It is impossible to speculate how they will pan out after one episode, but there were some major indicators of what will make this show successful.
- Lily Rose-Depp, the actress – For an actress of her age, she already has a ton of acting credits to her name. However, this is certainly the largest project she has ever led. For The Idol to be great, she will need to put on a career defining performance that categorizes her more as a potential award winner and less of a good enough to beat the nepotism hire allegations. She is off to a hot start after episode 1 and did an excellent job showcasing her range, but she will need to repeat that weekly for this to be a hit.
- Sam Levinson, the writer – The work that Sam Levinson and Zendaya did chronicling the struggle of addiction in Euphoria is nothing short of a cinematic triumph. He does an incredible job of bringing his experience as an addict to the script. However, there are legitimate concerns about his writing on topics outside of addiction, specifically as it pertains to female characters. He made it very clear in the way he wrote Cat in season 2 of Euphoria that he is disinterested in writing a complex female character. For The Idol to work, he needs to show significant improvement on this skill, given that the star of the show is female.
- Abel, the actor – Unlike Lily Rose-Depp, The Weeknd has incredibly limited acting credits in his career. He was in Uncut Gems in a minor role and has done guest spots lending his voice to animated shows, but this is the first real acting test of his career. He does not need to be great for The Idol to work, but he at least needs to be decent. And with the way he was utilized in episode 1, he should be capable of doing this. My impression after episode 1 is he seems like he is playing second fiddle, a role that will work better for him then being the star of the show.
- The Sex and Graphic Content – The most discussed and controversial part of The Idol has been the accusations that the production of the show was overly focused on the sex and pushing the boundaries of what is appropriate to include on tv. After episode 1, I did not find that it was any more graphic or explicit than any HBO ever. HBO has created a brand on pushing the limits in this category, and episode 1 seems to be consistent and standard with their typical content. However, the sex and kinks on the show feel like the least compelling part of the storyline. An overemphasis on this part of the show will end with it being a shitty 50 shades of gray type story and an overall miss. The success of The Idol hinges on kinks and fetishes being a subplot and used responsibly, rather than being the driving force of the show
The rollout and controversy around this show has been fascinating and disconcerting all at once. The critical reception from Cannes painted a picture that the show was dead in the water before it even premiered. I doubt this will be the next Sopranos, Succession, or even Euphoria, but the potential definitely exists for a high quality show and makes me question the motivations of critics who were insistent on burying the show. In my opinion, Sam Levinson’s involvement and the Rolling Stone article created a sense of confirmation bias in critics and moral equivalency in supporting or enjoying the show and being misogynistic. Critics themselves did not want to be slandered for liking what is perceived to be a show created solely in male perspective. However, there is a scene in episode 1 that is a direct parallel to the reactions to The Idol thus far. In the beginning of episode one, Jocelyn is wanting to be topless for her album cover. However, she has multiple people on set saying that that will not be allowed, leading her to question the autonomy she has over her own body. She correctly pushes back on this and reiterates that as a consenting adult, she should have the ability to show her body as she chooses. This is incredibly similar to how she has advocated for The Idol. She has referred to The Weeknd and Sam Levinson as geniuses and has insisted that there was nothing exploitative about production and that her perspective was valued in the creation of the story. So it begs the question. If Jocelyn and Lily Rose-Depp are telling us they did not feel exploited, then who are we to tell them otherwise?