Presented at the Cannes Film Festival, the series from the creator of Euphoria is widely assassinated by critics, a few weeks before its release on HBO.
[Mis à jour le 23 mai 2023 à 14h54] For festival-goers, it does not pass. The Idol presented its first two episodes in world preview this Monday, May 22, 2023, in the presence of creator Sam Levinson and actors The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp. Since this screening, the series has been murdered by specialized critics. In the USA, variety denounces “a collection of clichés inspired by porn”, while the journalist of the New York Times, Kyle Buchanan calls the series “an odyssey in the form of a Pornhub home page”. “Sexist, pornographic… No,” criticizes Gregory Ellwood, journalist for The Playlist.
In France, the critics are not kind to the series either: “terrible writing, clichés in shambles and nauseating remarks”, lists Anaïs Bordage of Slate, while Alexis Roux of So Film judges The Idol of “falsely trashy, immediately forgettable”. Finally, Renan Cros, presenter and editor-in-chief of Cercle Séries on Canal++, called the two episodes a “beautiful mess”: “Rather addictive when it’s a cruel real/fake biopic of Britney Spearsreally ridiculous and embarrassing when it turns into 50 shades of Grey: Popstar edition.” The series debuts on Max, HBO’s new streaming platform, from June 5, 2023.
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The Idol is the new event series from the creator of Euphoria, which described the unbridled life of a group of teenagers. For the occasion, Sam Levinson takes up his favorite themes such as sex and drugs, but this time explores the toxic relationships of a young couple embodied by Lily-Rose Depp and The weeknd.
The first episodes of season 1 of The Idol will be presented out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival before being broadcast to the general public on the (HBO) Max platform from June 5, 2023. Like the rest of the programs on the American platform, it will be accessible in France via the Warner pass on Prime Video.
Lily-Rose Depp plays Jocelyn, a depressed young pop star with a bright future ahead of her. When she feels ready to return to the front of the stage, she meets Tedros, owner of a nightclub. It’s love at first sight, but what looks like a dream will turn into a nightmare. Tedros is also the leader of a strange sect and leads Jocelyn into a descent into hell that could be right for the young woman’s career.
- Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye as Tedros
- Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn
- Suzanne Sound: Chloe
- Troye Sivan as Caleb
- Moses Sumney: Izaak
- Jennie KimAngel
The six episodes of the first season of The Idol will be available on the platform of streaming HBO Max from June 5, 2023. In France, Prime Video subscribers must have the Warner pass to see this series. To do this, you must subscribe to the Warner pass (7-day free trial) in addition to your Prime Video subscription. As a reminder, a subscription to Prime Video costs 6.99 euros per month. The Warner Pass requires an additional payment of 9.99 euros per month.