The Idol

The Idol is currently streaming in Australia on BINGE and Foxtel Now, and in the US on YouTube TV and HBO Max, and its 5/10 TMDB rating reflects what viewers who have already found it know. A tightly focused run that does not overstay its welcome. That rating comes from 320 viewer scores — enough to represent a genuine consensus rather than a handful of enthusiasts. The availability across streaming platforms means you can start tonight without hunting for a disc or a dodgy stream. The Weeknd is the obvious draw, but once you are in, it is the writing and the ensemble that keep you watching. If it has been sitting on your watchlist untouched, there is no better time to finally start it.

Originally commissioned by HBO, The Idol quickly became exactly the kind of show that viewers rearrange their evenings for. 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? It aired in 2023. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping every episode in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

The show you recommend to people who say they do not really watch TV. The Idol tends to convert them. The complete run is available and worth treating as a single long film if your schedule allows. The quality of the character writing is the reason it holds up on rewatch, when you can see the groundwork being laid in early episodes for things that only pay off much later. The patience it asks of you in the early episodes is paid back with interest. The Weeknd is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record.