What I liked about The Idol
The discourse surrounding The Idol, starring Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp, has been overwhelmingly negative (for good reason) but I didn’t completely hate it or think it is the worst TV show ever. There were some aspects I liked about it – let me tell you more (spoilers ahead).
The dark underbelly of the pop industry
The highlight of The Idol was getting to witness Depp’s Jocelyn as a troubled pop star trying to mount a comeback. I enjoyed watching the repetitive dance rehearsals, the gruelling, traumatic music video shoot, the creative struggles over the direction of her music, and the team dealing with PR scandals. If the show had just been about Jocelyn getting her career back on track, it would have been so much better.
Lily-Rose Depp
I hadn’t seen Depp act much but I was impressed by her performance as this deeply troubled singer. Even though Depp has insisted she was cool with it, I didn’t love how often she was naked compared to Tedros (Tesfaye) and how the camera objectified her body. I saw far more of her butt than I would care to!
Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jane Adams
People might not agree with my inclusion of Adams here as her record executive character Nikki is a snakey bitch but she felt like a realistic person. She is not a yes woman, she is honest to the point of being nasty. I didn’t agree with all of her choices (her treatment of Dyanne sucked) but Adams was great. Randolph takes no s**t and is exactly the type of manager Jocelyn needs in her corner. I wish we heard her sing more!
Suzanna Son
Son, who I first saw in Sean Baker‘s Red Rocket, has a gorgeous singing voice and is the only member of Tedros’ cult that truly stood out and felt memorable. I wanted to protect her and I’m glad Jocelyn helped her.
Rachel Sennott
Sennott‘s personal assistant Leia really got put through the wringer and I’m surprised she stayed as long as she did. She was the only voice of reason amid the craziness and seemed to be the only one in the house truly looking out for Jocelyn. I would have liked to have seen more about her decision to leave.
The finale (until the twist)
I really enjoyed the final episode up until Jocelyn’s concert. Even though it jumped ahead too quickly and wasn’t fully earned, it was satisfying to see Jocelyn wake up to Tedros’ game and see him for who he truly is. She cuts him down, stands up for herself and is no longer this brainwashed submissive. He needed his comeuppance and we got that. I was so excited to see him out of her life. This leads me directly to…
What I didn’t like
The twist at Jocelyn’s concert
For some unfathomable reason, during her concert, Jocelyn brings out Tedros, calls him the love of her life and kisses him, to everyone’s shock (ours and her team’s). It appears the roles have been reversed and she is now in the dominant position (or had she always been?) Her announcement wasn’t explained much so it left me baffled. I’ve read a bunch of explainers saying the reveal showed she was in control all along but that makes NO sense if you look back at everything that’s happened. It was another cheap trick for shock value and it just felt like a big f**k you to everyone tbh.
Tedros & The Weeknd
I really hated that sleazy scumbag with a passion and wished he was not a part of this show. It didn’t help that he was written so poorly and given the cringiest lines to say. This was supposed to be Tesfaye’s big acting debut but I think it backfired – everyone hated Tedros (which was the plan) and criticised his performance (which was not). I think he should stick to singing, but he’s already got more acting projects in the pipeline.
The gratuitous sex and nudity
There was literally no need for this show to contain so much sex, nudity and scenes of abuse. I’m no prude but the story could have been told without the explicit stuff, which was literally there for shock value. The abuse storyline felt particularly unnecessary. The male gaze made me quite uncomfortable – why did the camera have to keep lingering on Jocelyn’s exposed butt? And it’s all her too – where’s the male nudity?!
The editing
This show was clearly hacked within an inch of its life in the edit! It would be interesting to see what Amy Seimetz did with the show before she walked away – I’d have probably preferred her take on this story. I’d also love to know what ended up on the cutting room floor in Sam Levinson‘s version. It felt like a lot was missing – Dan Levy was absent after episode one, the Rolling Stone conversation was cut and Jocelyn jumped to hating Tedros too quickly. I would have preferred to have seen those things instead of the sex stuff.
So, overall, I always tried to seek out the positives in The Idol but the ending really pissed me off and erased all my goodwill towards it.