Why is The Idol ending early with Episode 5? The HBO show was set to run for six weeks, so why is it coming to a close?
The drama, created by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye, has been the subject of ongoing controversy even before its premiere, with Rolling Stone reporting that the show had transformed into a “rape fantasy” after Amy Seimetz left the project.
The series follows Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), a pop star who’s plotting her comeback after a mental breakdown nearly derailed her entire career. She falls under the spell of Tedros (The Weeknd), a cult leader moonlighting as a club owner who infiltrates her life with sex, drugs, partying, more sex, and all sorts of abuse under the veil of trust and motivation.
Each episode, frankly, has been worse than the last; there’s been little to no character development for anyone, especially Jocelyn. It’s hard to imagine how they could wrap it up in just one more episode – but they’re going to try.
Why is The Idol ending one week early?
The Idol will end with its fifth episode on July 2, one week earlier than planned. This is due to Levinson making “significant changes” to the show.
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The limited series was said to have a six-episode run, but the teaser for next week’s episode has been advertised as a “season finale” (curiously, this hints there could be another season to come, despite the constant mockery and negative press). “ONE MORE EPISODE,” The Weeknd also tweeted.
It’s left viewers (fans and critics alike) a bit confused. HBO hasn’t officially commented on the reasons for its sudden truncation, but a source told TVLine: “The season ended up being five episodes when it was all said and done after Sam [Levinson] took over and made significant changes. The story only ended up requiring 5.”
The question remains: will there be a Season 2 of The Idol? Page Six originally reported that any chance of renewal had effectively been nixed by the reception to the early episodes, but HBO responded: “It is being misreported that a decision on a second season of The Idol has been determined. It has not, and we look forward to sharing the next episode with you Sunday night.”
The Idol Episodes 1-4 are available to stream on Max now, while Episode 5 will drop on July 2. You can check out our other coverage below: