Initial reviews for The Weeknd’s ‘The Idol’ is out and they’re not great

The first two episodes of the highly anticipated HBO show The Idol from The Weeknd and Sam Levinson premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The series was immediately labelled a disappointment and criticised for its graphic sex scenes.

The show, which was shown at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, stars Lily-Rose Depp and follows a quickly rising pop singer played by Depp who falls into a relationship with the leader of a cult, played by The Weeknd.

It is set to be available for streaming from June 5th but is already dealing with a multitude of controversies after Rolling Stone brutally called it “torture porn” and cited several issues during the production process.

The series reportedly received a five-minute standing ovation and despite the disappointing reviews, Depp’s performance was praised by some.

One critic from The Hollywood Reporter, Lovia Gyarkye said the series is “more regressive than transgressive.”

The critic further added: “Some of them have momentum, others are contradictory and most of them are confusing. It makes you wonder if in trying so hard to be transgressive, the show ultimately becomes regressive.”