HBO making a show which causes controversy and is rife with genitalia and sexual content is as American a cultural tradition as apple pie and lazy politicians. Right now, The Idol is the latest in this history — though, one attached to it says it may be better later.
For those unaware, the drama series created by The Weeknd (who also stars in the show) along with Reza Fahim and Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson had its network premiere last night. It follows a pop star as played by Lily-Rose Depp, who gets caught up with a cult leader as played by The Weeknd, and at Cannes, critics from the New York Times blasted it as a “Pornhub-homepage odyssey.” Now, The Weeknd and Levinson say things will be fleshed out over its upcoming episodes.
The pair make these comments in a new paywalled interview filed by the New York Times alongside Depp, which has been picked up on by the Hollywood Reporter. Everyone involved says they always intended to make something divisive, and, with respect to the present stereotypes like The Weeknd being the villain, Levinson says it is apparently designed to toy with people.
“Playing into those stereotypes in the first couple of episodes is important for the journey and the arc and the emotional experience. It has a way of disorienting us because of our knowledge of who we are, and what has happened in the world. I think the audience will slowly begin to see who the true villain of the piece is. I believe people will underestimate Jocelyn.”
The Weeknd (whose real name is Abel Tesfaye) also says people will only understand the show’s initial season once they have all of the story to examine and, while the project currently has a 25 percent rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, there is a history of critics revising their takes on something as more is unveiled. The first season of BoJack Horseman on Netflix was initially drubbed because critics only saw its first few episodes before release, and opinions later changed as the story took on a more dramatic tone. This led to outlets like Indiewire revising their review policies, so while it may be dark now, the dawn could come for this show. If not, there is always the cameo that makes Sam Levinson’s Cinematic Universe a thing for people to fall back on.