“Dirty”, “sordid male fantasy”, “ridiculous”: the series The Idol strongly criticized at Cannes – News Séries

This is a series that has been talked about for some time now. This Monday, May 21, the first two episodes of The Idolcreated by Sam Levinson (Euphoria), were presented out of competition at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The entire cast was present for the event, with Lily-Rose Depp et The Weeknd in the first line.

The story follows a young pop singer under the influence of a guru, played by the Canadian artist – who takes her first steps in front of the camera. Announced as controversial and sulphurous, the series has not been spared by critics, French and American.

Across the Atlantic, The Idol finds few defenders. Variety presents Sam Levinson’s project as “a sordid male fantasy”, which approaches the character interpreted by Lily-Rose Depp in a way “shameful“. Le magazines Rolling Stonewhich had published a chaotic behind-the-scenes investigation, describes the series as follows: “dirty, brutal and much longer than it actually is, and much, much worse than you would have imagined.”

The Playlistfor his part, criticizes The Idol for its “lack of hindsight”, as for The Hollywood Reporterwho nevertheless praises the aesthetic quality of the program, wonders if “by dint of wanting to be transgressive, the series does not become regressive”.

In France, opinions are not kind either. “More ridiculous than sulphurous” écrit Le Figarowhile Telerama announces the color from the title of the review by qualifying the series of “purge”. “In The Idol, the advertised satire of the music industry quickly loses all relevance by dint of clichés”, writes the journalist Samuel Douhaire.

The Huffington Post adds a layer by comparing the program to “A bad porn movie made by a straight man for straight men”. Only Release comes to temporize, saying that the series “is never as complacent in the demonstration of her imitation Britney as the media noise could foreshadow”.

The Idol, available from June 5 on Prime Video via the Warner Pass.