Season 1, Episode 1: ‘Pop Tarts & Rat Tales’
HBO’s new series “The Idol” features Jocelyn, portrayed by Lily-Rose Depp, a popular star who is posing for her album cover at the beginning of the series. As she poses, a member of her team stops the photographer from shooting when she realizes that Jocelyn is revealing too much skin. The premiere is filled with pop culture references, including ones regarding Britney Spears, Prince, and Donna Summer. However, Fiona Apple’s “Criminal” is the standout musical reference in the show. Although “The Idol” seems to want to create controversy, Fiona Apple’s music has always conveyed deeper meanings that challenge the notions of pop stardom and musicality.
The show centers on Jocelyn, who desires to move away from the superficial world of pop music. Jocelyn meets Tedros, played by Abel Tesfaye, a club owner who gives her advice on pop music. The show, however, doesn’t delve into the complexities of pop music and seems to be more interested in shock value than substance. It features plenty of sex, drugs, and hot girls, as suggested by one of the record execs at Jocelyn’s photo shoot.
Jocelyn is portrayed as a pop star with skimpy clothing, thin cigarettes, and sunglasses. Her entourage is in crisis mode after a nude photo of her leaks, and she appears mostly bored throughout the episode. She is then drawn to Tedros, who is portrayed as a cult leader. The show falls short of portraying Tedros as an insightful musical expert, and his opinions about pop music are merely superficial.
The show tests the limits of what can be allowed on a platform like HBO, and a viewer may struggle to quote lines of dialogue from the show. As the audience gets introduced to the characters, it becomes apparent that they have the potential to do more than what is portrayed in the first episode. “World Class Sinner,” a song in the show, is incredibly catchy.
Liner notes
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The creators of the show, Tesfaye and Levinson, intend to take the show in an undefined direction in the future, but the premiere episode seems to be enamored with Tedros.
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Leia, Jocelyn’s assistant and best friend, is incredibly relatable when she complains about the time taken to get water at Tedros’s club.
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Actor Hank Azaria‘s accent as Jocelyn’s manager seems to have crossed the line into over-the-top territory.
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“World Class Sinner” is a bop in its own right.
