The Idol's Biggest Problem? The Weeknd Thinking The Show Was His Music Video
If there was a 2023 nomination for the most cringeworthy TV show, The Idol would be the sole winner.
Oh, where do we even start.
Probably the most tragic thing about HBO's entire endeavour with The Idol is the fact that it had everything to be good — at least in the beginning, when it was spearheaded by Amy Seimetz as its director and executive producer.
With her in charge, chances were that even The Weeknd's acting could be somewhat bearable, potentially saved by the storyline that undoubtedly used to be there; it's just the "female perspective" that somehow threw Abel Tesfaye off — so much that he initiated a creative overhaul to get rid of the said perspective.
Apparently, Tesfaye mixed The Idol up with one of his music videos. The Weeknd fans know that his clips do have a cinematic feel about them; perhaps, the Canadian singer felt he was experienced enough to film a music video that would last a tad bit longer.
Well, news flash: you have to have a story for that, and it not being vomit-inducing would really help.
Turns out, what works in steamy music videos and song lyrics does not really make a TV show a masterpiece. Ironically, there are moments when The Idol looks like what it could have once been. Care to guess?
Yeah, the music bits.
Once a song starts playing in the show, The Idol suddenly seems okay, at least if you convince yourself you're watching one of Tesfaye's music videos that happens to star Lily-Rose Depp (who, by the way, is doing a good job — as good as it can be).
Even the notorious dirty talk from episode 2, which we unfortunately still hear in our nightmares sometimes, might have been somewhat okay if it was a part of a song, albeit as an ad lib of some kind. Seriously, anything — just not an actual line by an actual character in an actual TV show.
The Idol could have been good, if it had stuck to the strategy of having Seimetz at the wheel, and The Weeknd in charge of the soundtrack — and, occasionally, of what appears on the screen when that soundtrack is playing.
When it comes to Sam Levinson... well, let's say that some people are just better off working on Euphoria season 3, and not trying to turn other shows into it.