HBO has canceled its controversial drama series The Idol after just a five-episode abridged season.
The show premiered in June — almost two years after it was commissioned to become a series, after director Amy Seimetz and co-creator Sam Levinson took over as director of the series.
The show’s cancellation doesn’t come as a huge surprise given the show’s critical reception and poor ratings.
While some cast members, such as Da’Vine Joy Randolph, have hinted at the possibility of a second season in interviews, Deadline reports that the show’s creative team had not planned a multi-stage arc for the series.
The cancellation comes more than a month after Selena Gomez – who previously dated The Weeknd – was reportedly “upset” that her real life seemed to be the basis for Lily-Rose Depp’s character Jocelyn.
Cancelled: HBO has canceled its controversial drama series The Idol after just one abridged five-episode season
Poor Ratings: Given the show’s critical response and poor ratings, the show’s cancellation comes as no great surprise
“The Idol was one of HBO’s most provocative original shows, and we’re delighted with the strong response from audiences,” an HBO spokesperson said in a statement.
“After much thought and deliberation, HBO and the creators and producers have decided not to proceed with a second season,” the statement continued.
“We are grateful to the creators, cast and crew for their incredible work,” the statement concluded.
The Idol was commissioned to series in November 2021, co-created by Sam Levinson (Euphoria), The Weeknd and Reza Fahim, with Amy Seimetz coming on board to direct all six episodes.
In April 2022, Seimetz left the project as part of a creative overhaul, although approximately 80% of the season was already filmed.
A March 2023 Rolling Stone report revealed that Levinson and Tesfaye had taken over creative direction as they felt the show was “overly focused on a female perspective.”
The series was originally slated to follow Jocelyn (Depp), an aspiring pop star who falls in love with a mysterious figure (Weeknd) who was actually the predatory leader of a cult.
Sam Levinson revealed in a Variety interview that the show’s core concept was based on a conversation with The Weeknd in which he said his fans are so loyal that he could actually start a cult if he wanted to.
Provocative: “The Idol was one of HBO’s most provocative original programs, and we’re delighted with the strong audience response,” an HBO spokesperson said in a statement
Thought: “After much thought and deliberation, HBO, as well as the creators and producers, have decided not to proceed with a second season,” the statement continued
Ordered: The Idol was ordered into the series in November 2021, co-created by Sam Levinson (Euphoria), The Weeknd and Reza Fahim, with Amy Seimetz coming on board to direct all six episodes
Cast: The series also starred Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Ramsey, Suzanna Son and Hank Azari
Ultimately, the entire series was reshot using The Weeknd’s mansion as a location, reducing the number of episodes from six to five.
Crew members recalled to Rolling Stone that Levinson’s revised story was more of a “degrading,” nudity-emphasizing, and “sexual torture porn”-like tale [a] rape fantasy.’
The series has been regularly criticized by both fans and critics for the many redundant sex and masturbation scenes that punctuate the show.
HBO would only release viewership data for the first two episodes, with the pilot reaching 913,000 viewers across all platforms, while the second episode would drop to 800,000.
The series also starred Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Ramsey, Suzanna Son and Hank Azaria