'The Idol' Has Been Canned, Obviously
HBO’s uncomfortable series The Idol has officially been canned after just five episodes.
The drama – directed by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson – starred names like The Weeknd, Lily-Rose Depp, and BLACKPINK‘s Jennie and told the story of a rising pop idol Jocelyn (Depp) that befriends a nightclub owner (The Weeknd) who, unbeknownst to her, is also the founder of a local extremist cult.
However, after just five episodes (one shorter than its originally planned six-episode run), the series is officially no longer.
“The Idol was one of HBO’s most provocative original programs, and we’re pleased by the strong audience response,” a spokesperson for HBO said in a statement.
“After much thought and consideration, HBO, as well as the creators and producers have decided not to move forward with a second season. We’re grateful to the creators, cast, and crew for their incredible work.”
But hey, let's have it right: The Idol was doomed from the start and anyone who sat through anything over 10 minutes of any of its five uncomfortable episodes can see why.
Firstly, the series was originally directed by Amy Seimetz (Sun Don't Shine, She Dies Tomorrow) and was set to be a story about female empowerment before she was unexpectedly replaced by Levinson in April 2022.
Despite The Idol being near completion, Levinson gave the entire series an overhaul with reshoots and rewrites that not only resulted in an apparent $75 million wastage, but a total change in narrative, too.
Then, upon The Idol’s eventual completion and it being shared with the press, the reviews were appropriately unsavoury.
HBO itself described it as the “sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood,” although a review in The Rolling Stone was a lot more honest when it called the series "more like twisted torture porn".
The review, which was published on March 1, 2023, also describes the show as having “gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails,” with another source admitting that it "was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have”.
Not the best start. Still, an appearance for The Idol at Cannes Film Festival on May 22 couldn't do any harm, right? Wrong.
The pilot was met with a five minute standing ovation in South France which, while an awkwardly long time to clap anything IMO, by Cannes’ standards (anything under 10 minutes is deemed poor) is not very good at all.
Remember, all the above has taken place before even the first episode has aired. So, perhaps the general public would see The Idol in a different light to the professional critics? Wrong. Again.
Following its premiere on HBO on June 4, keyboard warriors globally chimed in all over Twitter and TikTok to share their views on the controversial series and, needless to say, they weren't positive.
By episode two it was already clear that The Idol was as florid and sleazy as the early reviews made out, with only BLACKPINK’s Jennie and some of the mildly interesting outfits the only good things of note.
And as early as June 15, rumors were already circulating around the interweb that The Idol wouldn’t be given a second series, although such claims were denied by HBO at the time.
But now, less than three months later and one episode shy of the full The Idol whack, and we finally have confirmation. And to be frank, for something slated as the next Euphoria to flop as hard as The Idol has is arguably the most impressive thing about this entire Levinson facade. Good riddance, I say!
