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'Sleaze and torture porn': HBO's 'The Idol' gets dismal reviews, becomes HBO's lowest-rated show ever

Even though critics applauded Lily-Rose Depp for her extraordinary performance in HBO's 'The Idol', the show failed to create an impact on the minds of viewers

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ahead of the show’s premiere this summer, HBO’s highly anticipated series ‘The Idol’ held its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Viewers already had an idea about how controversial the aforementioned series was going to be and as soon as the premiere ended at Cannes, things became quite clear that ‘The Idol’ is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea. The first wave of reactions was extremely negative and even though critics applauded Lily-Rose Depp for her extraordinary performance, the show failed to create an impact on the minds of viewers.

Created by Sam Levinson, the series primarily focuses on pop sensation Jocelyn (Depp) and how her life changed after having a nervous breakdown during her last tour. The musician wants to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in the US. Her passion is reignited by a man named Tedros (Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye), a self-help guru. The first wave of reactions slammed the show for excessive nudity and sex, with critics calling it a “pornhub-homepage odyssey.” As of writing this piece, HBO’s upcoming series currently holds a dismal rating of “9%” on the review site, becoming the only HBO original series to have a single-digit approval rating.

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'The Idol' is HBO's lowest-rated original series

The Tomatometer began with a rating of 20% and went on to fall to 10% as more and more reviews started surfacing online. Things are not looking good for ‘The Idol’ because more and more reviews will start dropping as we move near to the TV premiere.

Even though the first two episodes of ‘The Idol’ received a five-minute standing ovation at Cannes, the reviews made it clear that critics didn’t like what they saw. Rolling Stone called the series “way worse than you’d have anticipated” while Collider gave it a score of “D”. The London Evening Standard says the series “feels more like sleaze and torture porn.”

The Hollywood Reporter called the HBO series “more regressive than transgressive” and “predictable,” while Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times dubbed the series “50 Shades of Tesfaye: A Pornhub-homepage odyssey.”

The only positive review for the series has come from Vanity Fair, which wrote, “The Idol offers up enough regular old entertainment to balance out his aggressive flourish and the bluster of his thematic ambitions.”

Fans say the series 'deserved' these reactions

Fans didn't leave any stone unturned to criticize the series and expressed their views on social media. One of the social media users wrote, "GOOD RIDDANCE TO THIS DUMPSTER FIRE." Another social media user tweeted, "Ngl... big fan of the weeknd but he should rather stay doing music." Another social media user wrote, "From what I’ve seen in those trailers, it’s worth that overall rating."

One noted, "I was gonna watch it because jennie is in it but after seeing the reviews I don’t think im gonna watch it anymore." Another tweeted, "Deserved."

The series also stars Suzanna Son, Troye Sivan, Moses Sumney, Jane Adams, Dan Levy, Jennie Ruby Jane, Eli Roth, Rachel Sennott, Hari Nef, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Mike Dean, Ramsey, and Hank Azaria.

‘The Idol’ is set to premiere exclusively on HBO on Sunday, June 4, 2023.