‘Dirty’, ‘male fantasy’, ‘funny’: The Idol series harshly criticized at Cannes

This is a series that has been talked about for a long time. This Monday, May 21, the first two episodes of The Idol, created by Sam Levinson (Euphoria), were screened out of competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The entire cast was in attendance, with Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd front row.

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

Across the Atlantic, The Idol finds few defenders. variety Introducing Sam Levinson’s project as “A nasty male fantasy“, which approaches the character played by Lily-Rose Depp”shameful“. Urnal Rolling Stonewho 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’d imagine.”

playlistIn turn, criticizes The Idol for its “Lack of hindsight“, as for The Hollywood Reporterwho still appreciates the aesthetic quality of the program, wonders if “For wanting to be transgressive, the series does not become regressive“.

Opinions in France are not kind either. “More funny than sulphurous“Writing Le Figarobut Telerama Declare the color from the review title by qualifying the series “Cleaning up“. “In The Idol, the advertised satire of the music industry quickly loses its relevance due to clichés.“- writes journalist Samuel Duhair.

THE The Huffington Post Adds a layer to the program compared to “A bad porn movie made by a straight man for straight men“. only release comes up temporarily and says that the series “Never as complacent in her Britney impersonation as the media hype might lead her to believe“.

Idol, available June 5 on Prime Video with Warner Pass.