The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp’s new gritty thriller The Idol has finally dropped after months of anticipation and teasers.
As the series prepared for release, it already faced backlash from critics after making its debut at the Cannes Film Festival last month and receiving a harsh review from Rolling Stone.
However, viewers have seemed to have adopted a mixed reaction since the first episode debuted at the beginning of June. Fans have been eager to see what all the hoopla surrounding the series is about.
People have tuned in to see ‘the sleaziest love tale in all of Hollywood,’ according to the teaser, which follows a fallen pop diva (Lily-Rose Depp) as she begins a romance with a club owner who also happens to be the leader of a secret cult (The Weeknd).
The Weeknd’s producing partner Reza Fahim and Euphoria director Sam Levinson co-created the series, which also features a few celebrity cameos including Jennie from Blackpink and Alexa Demie from Euphoria.
Following the premiere, viewers have taken to the internet to express their opinions on the contentious drama.
Here are a few of their reactions:
“The Idol is simultaneously awful self-parody, a pretentious art project, and grotesquely exploitative of its subject matter. Sam Levinson’s dialogue is about as natural as a chicken nugget. The Weekend’s performance is awful. It feels like a show made by CIS men ’cause it is.”, said one Twitter user.
“the first episode of the idol was so bad, the dialogues are so 2015 overdone Tumblr template… only entertaining part was watching Jennie dancing bc everything else was trash”, said another.
“First episode of The Idol was pretty wild. Some cringy writing but overall I liked it. The Weeknd creeps me out heavily and I think it’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds”, another added.
Johnny Depp is ‘proud of’ daughter Lily-Rose for taking on her scandalous role in the ‘torture porn’ series – and he believes that the furious controversy surrounding the series, for which she went topless and filmed a scandalous masturbation scene, is evidence that she is ‘doing something right’.
In HBO’s newest production, the 24-year-old actress stars as singer Jocelyn, who had a mental breakdown while on tour before meeting mystery nightclub owner Tedros, who is played by The Weeknd.
Sam Levinson, the show’s creator, has come under fire from viewers who say he converted the sexually explicit series into “torture porn and a rape fantasy.” The series features masturbation, throttling, and intimate photos of Lily-Rose.
According to a source close to Johnny, he is undeterred by the criticism and believes that she must be doing something right for her to have attracted so much attention.
According to the insider, Johnny appreciates how Lily is forging her own path in life and pushing herself to take on hard and interesting tasks.
He adores how unique she is and how she is developing into her own actress. She is not basing her professional future on his achievement.
He admires her for having such inner strength, especially in light of the recent recognition she received for her performance in The Idol.
‘He is proud of her and not lending anything to the extra chatter and drama that the role brings.’
‘He believes that she must be doing something right since the role is getting so much attention, and he is proud of her success.’
Have you seen the pilot episode of ‘The Idol’? What are your thoughts about it? Go ahead and type them in the comments section below. Feel free to sign-up as well. Have a great day!
