HBO Max’s newest series “The Idol” has captured people’s attention, but it’s not all for good reasons.
The show has drawn criticism before the drop of the first episode this past Sunday from reports that the writing and direction was going to be done with the help of Sam Levinson.
Levinson is the creator of HBO’s hit drama “Euphoria,” and while many have enjoyed his previous work, his on-set allegations have fans questioning his work.
Levinson has been questioned about his direction with “Euphoria” with plotlines that have no clear path or that do not even have a clear ending.
The director is also no stranger to sexual content. The director found “Euphoria” actor Chloe Cherry through Instagram, following her for her adult content and has turned Sydney Sweeney’s character on “Euphoria” from shy high schooler to becoming intertwined in her best friend’s love triangle.
Now, Levinson is receiving criticism for his work on “The Idol” for trying to turn the “struggle of a pop stars life story” into one of his wet dreams of super erotic and almost “rapey” story writing.
Though the show only has one episode out, it has drawn a lot of negatives from critics and followers.
“The Idol” follows rising star Jocelyn, played by Lily-Rose Depp. Following the death of her mother and a psychological breakdown on her last tour, she is looking to revamp her style while crossing paths with shady club owner Tedros, played by Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye.
While the show originally had a compelling plotline, the show has lost its luster from reports about the show.
The show’s focus was originally supposed to be specifically on Jocelyn and her climb back to the top to prove she is the greatest popstar of this generation, but the show’s strenuous effort on sex appeal has faded out the show’s main plot.
The first episode lacked everything, but the sex appeal.
The opening shows Depp’s character doing a photoshoot, while agents are talking about getting her back on the top and how mental illness is “sexy” and “in.” Though we hear all about her struggling mentally, it feels like there is never any clear conversation about how it truly affects her. While it might be explained later, opening with it doesn’t seem to fit.
She struggles to find herself and while out clubbing she runs into the club owner Tedros, who even Leila, Jocelyn’s best friend and assistant, can see that he gives off all the wrong vibes.
While “The Idol” tries to make the life of a pop star as erotic as possible, it lacks the true on-screen chemistry of the characters, so even romantically it seems forced upon.
Depps and Tesfaye’s characters do not click with each other. The meeting between the two characters feels rushed and almost out of place. Their relationship plays the biggest part within the story and having that chemistry seem almost non-existent gives no genuine connection between them.
The show’s writing also lacks luster. Much of the writing throughout the episode felt bare. The lack of complexity between many of the cast made for the dialogue to get lost in what is actually happening.
“The Idol” does not feel exciting or new. Much of what you watch gets lost as the episode has no hold when it comes to keeping the watchers interested, besides the sex appeal it tries to force in every other scene.
The show had so much potential to be something greater and to have a more riveting plotline about the struggles of the pop star, but it falls short in getting to the basics. Bare, unoriginal and colorless from the cast to the writing.
Levinson gives no life in the writing and direction of the show as “The Idol” gives nothing to the table, striking out as a contender to become a great show.
Rating: 0/10
