Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched the series premiere for HBO’s The Idol, so be warned!
With only a week having passed since viewers said farewell to a pair of HBO’s critically acclaimed original series through Barry and Succession’s final episodes, the cable network unleashed its latest headline-maker, The Idol, onto audiences to kick the summer off with glitz, quasi-glamour, and enough sleazeball energy to fill a backyard swimming pool. Co-created by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson, Reza Fahim, and co-lead Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye, the drama is a vaguely heightened take on pop stardom and the music industry, as anchored by Lily-Rose Depp’s emotionally off-centered attention-magnet Jocelyn, who becomes enamored by Tesfaye’s self-made cult guru Tedros.
Beyond The Idol’s stacked cast, the new series made pre-premiere waves for a host of behind-the-scenes issues. One was the creative overhaul that happened after the original director Amy Seimetz (The Girlfriend Experience) left the show, with her 80%-finished work being ditched in favor of Levinson’s vision, creating a lot of additional work for various crew members. Other reported issues involved the hyper-sexualized subject matter creating discomfort, and so on. And now it’s no longer just hype, as The Idol has premiered on HBO (and for those with Max subscriptions), so let’s get into some of the thoughts this series provoked from yours truly.
1. Lily-Rose Depp Is Solid Enough That I Almost Empathize With Her As Much As I Do With Jocelyn
Like, I’m aware that Depp has spoken very highly of her experience working on The Idol, and that she isn’t the inspiration for the character’s mental health issues or her self-destructive impulses. And by all means, the life that Jocelyn is living is a bazillion times more lavish and enviable than my own humble situation, but the entire episode is draped with this cautionary-tale cloak that makes it harder for me to separate life from fiction, and I just feel sorry for everyone in this slimy predicament. Which I guess is a credit to Sam Levinson, but I’m not sure how positive the vibe should be when it’s presented.
2. So Much Smoking, Sort Of
One can always count on HBO shows to appear as if they have their own special budget just for cigarettes, and The Idol is no different. At least when it comes to Depp’s Jocelyn, who gives the characters played by the actress’ father Johnny Depp a run for their money, as she seemingly lights up at least once in every scene she’s in, regardless of the setting. But then she may be the only main character who smokes, which is itself kind of an odd choice. Pretty sure someone should be putting the kibosh on all that, though, considering they’re all in album-making mode.
3. Gawdamn, I Love Jocelyn’s Bigass Glass Door
Jocelyn’s house in The Idol is in real-life the home of The Weeknd himself, so I’m actually super-effing-jealous of the singer-songwriter for having that bigass glass door that would be perfectly suited for the front of a high-end department store.
4. I Can’t Tell If This Show Knows What Satire Is
I dunno what to think when The Idol takes a judgmental dump on safety-minded nudity clauses and hypes up the sexiness of mental illness imagery. Because there’s no satire-friendly comeuppance (at least so far) for Jocelyn’s inner circle, it’s not entirely clear what the intention is.
5. Thank Goodness They Only Showed THE Picture Once
Honestly, I’m kind of shocked that the episode didn’t end with Jocelyn’s cum-face picture being painted as a giant mantle-topping portrait, given how much verbal attention it received — the “twitter’s calling her a cumsock”-ness of it all — on top of the few seconds it was actually shown. But I’m absolutely happy that it didn’t end with that portrait’s existence.
6. Why Is Hank Azaria Doing A Voice?
I love Hank Azaria, and I’m all about his character breaking out and becoming the true hero of this show, which obviously isn’t going to happen. But I’m not sure we needed to see/hear him delivering a Simpsons-ready voice for the role. I guess I hope it pays off in some way, but I kinda just wish it wasn’t a thing. “What do they call it? The bugooki? The bunooki? The banocki?” Eesh.
7. How Does Tedros Have That Hair Without Knowing It’s Called A Rat Tail?
Maybe this was viewers’ first major sign that Tedros is a shallow dork, and not the amorous and powerful cult leader he projects himself to be. Has there ever been a fully grown adult who rocked a mohawk and was later surprised when someone told them it was a mohawk?
8. It’s Hard To Know Whether Viewers Are Supposed To Actually Like Jocelyn’s Music
The Idol obviously hypes up everything that’s seen and heard in the episode, as it goes with most TV shows. But unlike most shows, the music that recurs throughout was canonically created by the main character, who herself thinks it’s not that great, and doesn’t believe anyone else’s not-entirely-convincing attempts to tell her it’s a great song. So like…who is this song for? I’d think the same to a lesser extent about the dancing and choreography, but those elements seemed to inspire only genuine compliments.
9. First-Episode Masturbation Scenes Probably Aren’t Ever Necessary, Even If The Show Was Called “Only Masturbation Time”
I’m sure it was integral to the plot.
10. Chekov’s Basic Instinct Clip
Considering The Idol had already gone above and beyond all of Basic Instinct’s sexually charged moments by the time Jocelyn and her bestie assistant Leia were shown to be watching the movie, it would seemingly be safe to assume that the clip is indeed foreshadowing a murder (dun-dun-dunnnn) coming somewhere down the line. The second somebody talks about ice sculptures being brought in for a party or even, keep an eye on those ice picks.
11. I Never Want To Be My Super-Famous BFF’s Assistant
Leia’s life surely has all kinds of positives, but being completely responsible for a dismissive bestie sounds like hell in any capacity, much less with fame added into the mix. But then my BFFs wouldn’t do any of this kind of shit, so it wouldn’t be as bad. It would still be annoying though, especially on cum-picture day.
12. Eli Roth Is Great At Playing An Annoying Shitbird
I hope we get a scene where Eli Roth's Andrew Finkelstein gets into a confrontation with Andy Cohen, and they just get louder and louder to the point where the sound barrier melts. Also, someone not having their ID on them doesn't feel like a real plot detail in 2023.
13. Not A Whole Lot Actually Happened
While I can appreciate that The Idol didn’t sport an extended runtime with its premiere episode as it goes with some HBO series, not very much actually took place in the 50 or so minutes that were on display. Jocelyn took some pics, talked to a Vanity Fair writer, looked for her phone, smoked a bunch, met Tedros at a club, and then met up with him again. Sprinkle in some light exposition about Jocelyn’s mom and the pop star’s mental issues, and that’s about it. To say nothing of the direction choices, the story felt more like an ep’s first act than a first ep itself.
By and large, I think I had more fun thinking about The Idol than I did actually watching and experiencing it for its narrative values. Which, to be fair, is more than I can say for at least 50% of what's airing on TV at any given moment, so that's some kind of a win. And I'll no doubt keep watching for the remainder of the first season to see just how awkward things will get, as well as to see how many other pop stars' real-life issues get flippantly referenced.
