Jane Adams on The Idol Is the Only Watchable Part of Horrible Show

Publish date: 2024-05-15

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The Daily Beast’s Obsessed

Everything we can’t stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture.

This week:

The Only Reason I’m Still Watching The Idol

The Idol is unequivocally the worst show airing on TV right now. At least, it’s the worst show that I’m forced to watch as part of this job. So I am surprised and confused that, even with the show generally being absolutely miserable, the most recent episode also had the best single scene of any series I watched this week.

In fact, that scene made me realize something: Somewhere inside this catastrophic orgy of faux provocation and toothless seediness hides a TV show that could be great. It’s one that’s centered on Jane Adams’ character, record-label executive Nikki.

The unfiltered, crass, and unapologetically ambitious puppetmaster of pop star Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) career is not only the most fun, but also the most fully realized of the show’s cast of underdeveloped showbiz stock characters. I’m far more interested in her exasperated struggle to control Jocelyn’s unpredictable whims than any of the clichéd, blatantly misogynistic, and poorly written drama surrounding Jocelyn as a fallen star—especially when we see her work to keep her compassion for the artist’s personal demons at bay, while still presenting as ruthless and powerful.

That spectacular scene from this week’s episode happens in the first moments, where Nikki reacts to Jocelyn’s desire to scrap the sexy, surefire hit that’s supposed to relaunch her career, in favor of an experimental remix that’s more “her.” Nikki isn’t having it and erupts into a vicious monologue recapping every sacrifice and leap of faith the record label made to rescue Jocelyn’s career, after Jocelyn had a career-ruining breakdown in the wake of her mother’s death.

There is something both volcanic and unsettlingly controlled about the way Adams blisters through her diatribe, not so much ticking off boxes in a list of all the things she’s done for Jocelyn as setting each item on fire. It is scorching and could be construed as mean, but Adams’ delivery also somehow exudes shades of kindness. Her stance is irrefutable, and it’s better for Jocelyn to just understand that.

I find everything that Jocelyn’s team goes through to keep her comeback on track to be fascinating, infinitely more so than the fetishized take on a pop star desperate to be freed from the constraints of her celebrity. What if The Idol was an Entourage-like series, with Adams’ Nikki as a version of Jeremy Piven’s Ari Gold? I’d happily watch that, instead of begrudgingly tuning into this garbage attempt at prestige edginess, for no other reason than to stay abreast of the controversial show’s endless discourse.

An Award Show That Was Actually Good

It’s been nearly a week, and I’m still reeling from the surprise of Sunday night’s Tony Awards: an award show that was actually fun to watch.

Part of that surprise stems from the fact that, because of the WGA Strike, there were neither writers nor any script for the telecast. That turned out to be a great thing, as the ceremony focused on the art and the artists themselves, instead of scripted bits and silly banter. The year’s Broadway shows were given a grander spotlight, and winners’ speeches were allowed to go long—which meant that the winners were actually able to say something meaningful instead of rushing to list names before being played off.

That was especially gratifying considering that the winners were so great: deserving and refreshingly inclusive. People like Brandon Uranowitz, Bonnie Milligan, Michael Arden, Alex Newell, and J. Harrison Ghee—the latter two making history, as the first gender nonbinary Tony winners—spoke from the heart and to the moment, acknowledging the need to nurture art, be unafraid of what makes young people unique or different, and stand up against the rising tide of antisemitism, homophobia, and transphobia.

I couldn’t wait to add theirs to the playlist of award speeches I watch whenever I want a good, cathartic cry, but they haven’t been added to YouTube. CBS, what gives?!

The Perfect Skewering of Hilaria Baldwin

There was so much about Amy Schumer’s new Netflix comedy special, Emergency Contact, that I really enjoyed and found, in some instances, disturbingly relatable. (Thanks to Schumer, I have now convinced myself that I have a hump on my upper back, and I will never stop obsessing over it.)

There’s great content about the state of comedy, body image, getting older, and relationships, but a segment where she talks about what makes marriages work—you and your partner miraculously found the other person who is able to stand you— had me gasping in shock through my laughter.

She absolutely destroys Hilaria Baldwin, the wife of Alec Baldwin who made headlines for pretending to be from Spain and faking a Spanish accent. But, Schumer says, “I’m not trying to bully a sociopath. I have a point.” That point: She and her husband who “shot someone” achieved that miracle: They found the other person who could stand them.

Binging Takes on a Different Meaning…

It was announced this week that Netflix is opening up a pop-up restaurant, which is both silly and wonderful. Silly, because why in the world is Netflix opening up a restaurant? And wonderful, because Twitter jokes! TV critics especially had fun using Netflix’s most frustrating quirks to mock the service’s restaurant experience. Here are some of my favorites:

What to watch this week:

The Righteous Gemstones: Believe it or not, it is the perfect replacement for Succession. (Sun. on HBO)

Extraction 2: It’s full of badass action. Nothing more, nothing less—and that’s just fine. (Now on Netflix)

Elemental: Not Pixar’s best, but you’ll still be a grown-ass adult weeping while watching it. (Now in theaters)

What to skip this week:

Black Mirror: The real world is more terrifying than anything this show can dream up anymore. (Now on Netflix)

Maggie Moore(s): You’d think a Jon Hamm and Tina Fey reunion would be more charming. (Now on VOD)