HBO
Page Six has published a report on the new HBO series The Idol, which reportedly won’t be renewed for a second season despite the fact that its premiere had larger viewership numbers than the debuts of Euphoria and The White Lotus.
In the report, one source told Page Six that working with The Weeknd — real name Abel Tesfaye who co-stars in the series as Tedros — was “not an ideal experience” as he acted “egomaniacal” on the set of the series.
Another source disputed that characterization, however, saying that The Weeknd was “beloved” amongst the production team as he “literally opened up his home for the cast and crew. Almost the entire show was shot inside his home.”
The reason for The Idol‘s high viewership, however, is likely due to the age-old idiom about trainwrecks: you can’t help but look away. Following episode 2, for example, the climatic scene between The Weeknd’s character and Lily-Rose Depp’s character was hailed as “the worst in history.”
With a 26% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Idol is the lowest-rated series in the history of HBO, which is certainly not a desirable title to have considering the network’s history of high-quality programming.
While one source told Page Six that The Idol was always meant to be a limited series, another source that’s apparently inside HBO said that “the door is still open” regarding a second season. That certainly shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, as HBO has been known to continue shows that were conceived as limited series, such as The White Lotus, for example. Even the Max series The Flight Attendant was given a second season after the first became an unexpected hit.
In addition to The Weeknd, The Idol also stars 24-year-old model and actress Lily-Rose Depp, who has also been making plenty of headlines due to her risque performance in the series as the pop star Jocelyn.
The first two episodes of The Idol are currently streaming on Max (formerly HBO Max), with new episodes premiering on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. EST. In total, there will be six episodes.