The Idol Debuts With Abysmal Score at Rotten Tomatoes

The critics are not impressed with the HBO series The Idol. Created by Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye alongside Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, The Idol stars Tesfaye as a cult leader who serves as the love interest of an up-and-coming pop idol played by Lily-Rose Depp. The story picks up with Depp’s character in mid-breakdown with her career on a downward spiral, putting the events in motion for a complicated relationship to form between her and the self-help guru leading his own modern day cult.

The show’s first two episodes screened at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for the world premiere of The Idol. This comes before the HBO premiere of the series on June 4. Early reviews from the critics that are coming in have resulted in The Idol debuting with a very low score of 9% at Rotten Tomatoes, declaring the show to be “rotten,” and by far. Of course, the number will likely fluctuate a bit as more reviews come in, but with a debut of a score this low, chances are the series will be staying well within the rotten range. It will be interesting to see what the audience score turns out to be next month when the series is released, but it’s certainly not a series that the critics recommend.

“Nasty, brutish, [feels] much longer than it is, and way, way worse than you’d have anticipated,” writes David Fear of Rolling Stone in his review, clearly pulling no punches.

“In The Idol, the substance-through-style is just as phoney, uninspired and manipulative as the corporate machinations of the music industry Jocelyn is trapped by,” critic Rory Doherty of Paste Magazine also said.

Many critics point to the abundance of sexual content in the series, most agreeing that it does nothing to increase the quality of the show. The nature of these scenes also have multiple reviewers criticizing The Idol for glorifying “rape culture” with what has been described as “torture porn.”

“We realise that sexiness is absent in The Idol, for all Depp’s loveliness. Instead, it feels more like sleaze and torture porn,” as the London Evening Standard’s Jo-Ann Titmarsh puts it.

And Therese Lacson of Collider just finds it all to be rather dull, writing, “What Levinson perceives as provocative and subversive is rather underwhelming. How can a show with so much nudity, sex, and eroticism be so bland?”

Related: HBO’s The Idol: Plot, Cast, Release Date, and Everything Else We Know

Will Bad Reviews Prevent a Season Renewal for The Idol?

Bad reviews are never a good thing, but for those who enjoy the series regardless, not all hope is lost for a second season. While Velma was a show that was pummeled with bad reviews, there are still reports that it will get a second season because the viewership was so high. Perhaps if enough people tune in for The Idol, it will be renewed despite the Rotten Tomatoes score. For what it’s worth, The Idol‘s Da’Vine Joy Randolph feels confident that season 2 is coming.

“Absolutely I would come back for season 2,” she told Deadline. “I’m not saying tha tit’s official, I’m just saying tha tthere’s a whole, vast world in which this can develop.”

The Idol will premiere on HBO on June 4, 2023.