The Idol

We all crave things that aren't good for us.

Drama
English     5.3     2023     Canada

Overview

After a nervous breakdown derailed Jocelyn's last tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America. Her passions are reignited by Tedros, a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or the deepest and darkest depths of her soul?

Reviews

GenerationofSwine wrote:
The sex is heterosexual. Depp is an attractive woman that is portrayed as an attractive woman. It opens with a discussion on a nudity rider that is going against the lead character's will coming from an effeminate man that looks Woke AF and a selfie with a, well, a shot. Furthermore not all the good guys are people of color, not all the bad guys are straight white men and it does a really good job of making the industry look as horrible and scummy as it is. The fact is, that all of that has been so censored out today that a woman playing an attractive woman as an attractive woman seems... shocking. But if Depp played an ugly lesbian this entire thing would have been "empowering." At the end of the day it's exactly the sort of thing that film needs. We need a film, a TV show, that breaks down the self-imposed political censorship. The Idol does just that and I look at it as a positive step in the right direction, we need more media to force it's way through that crap so we can get back to making media that is actually good again. This isn't exactly Chinatown, but it is a step away from making pure political propaganda and a step towards making films to entertain again. And the more we have crap that pushes back against it, the closer we get to pop culture for the sake of entertainment again. Let's face reality... It criticizes the music industry, so people are going to hate it. Depp is an attractive woman who gets naked, so people are going to hate it. The Weekend is a man that has heterosexual sex with her, so people are going to hate it. It calls out Hollywood, so people are going to hate it. People compare it to Showgirls, and that's not accurate, it has a lot more depth than Showgirls, it is satirical of a lot more than Showgirls ever was. It points more fingers. If Depp played a lesbian, and if it supported and said bright and happy things about the Music and Film industries, people would praise it. Because it doesn't, because it's political and people are obligated to hate on it. The cold reality is, in 2023, we need to bring edgy back. We need to offend again.
Martin Oaks wrote:
**Pure euphoria** It never ceases to amaze me that some professional critics venture to label this Levinson project as "pornographic trash," or that the Western media establishment throws its hands up in horror at the erotic nature of the narrative. The truth is that Levinson's mastery is once again displayed here in all its splendor, following the magnificent series Euphoria (2019) and the film Assassination Nation a year earlier. You might not like this creator’s narrative style; I would even understand if the Hollywood music scene doesn't interest you at all, but what Barry's son does here is a masterclass in how a series should be created in the modernity of the twenty-first century and beyond. Those who judge it bitterly simply have not—I'm sorry to say—understood the work as a whole. There is no heteropatriarchy or trivialization of female sexuality here, but rather a delicate common thread leading toward a woman's empowerment. The Idol is a gritty series that shows the true harshness of the industry—something that perhaps almost all of us have overlooked, yet whose results we enjoy without the slightest critical spirit on, say, Spotify. Has no one ever been to a Dua Lipa concert, for instance? Because that is pure sexualization and empowerment of the female body in a mass spectacle. And we love it. Here, the master Levinson shows us how all of that is cooked up, taking us deep into the insecurities, fears, contradictions, and darkness, while creating a visually and technically flawless universe that invites reflection. Those who feel outraged by seeing semi-nude bodies at the service of a solid, well-crafted narrative should get themselves checked out or start airing out their mothballed closets.

Similar

Paris is an American television series that appeared on the CBS television network from September 29, 1979 to January 15, 1980. A crime drama, the show is notable as the first-ever appearance of renowned actor James Earl Jones in a lead role on television and was created by Steven Bochco, who later achieved fame for Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, also served as executive producer. The program told the story of Los Angeles Police Captain Woody Paris, who supervised a team of young detectives. The rookie investigators were led by Sergeant Stacy Erickson and included officers Charlie Bogart, Ernesto Villas, and Willie Miller. Hank Garrett portrayed Deputy Chief Jerome Bench, Paris' superior, and, in an unusual turn for police dramas of that era, Paris' home and off-duty life was given considerable attention in the plots, with Lee Chamberlin playing his wife, Barbara. Paris was also shown moonlighting as a professor of criminology at a local university. Although Paris was critically acclaimed for its portrayal of the tension between the professional Paris character and his often impetuous underlings, CBS scheduled the show in one of the worst possible timeslots on a weekly schedule: Saturdays at 10 p.m./9 Central. All three networks debuted new shows for the 1979-80 season in that slot; only ABC's Hart to Hart survived its first 13 weeks. Toward the end of its run, CBS moved it to Tuesdays at 10/9, but to no avail. Edward DeBlasio produced the show for MTM Enterprises, which would unveil, during the next season, executive producer Bochco's landmark Hill Street Blues, on NBC.

More info
Paris
1979