HBO’s “The Idol” has been canceled after one season – Deadline

idol It is single and done on HBO.

The controversial series of trance Creators Sam Levinson and Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, will not return for a second season.

It’s not much of a surprise given the critical and commercial reception of the series, which also stars Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp. It also followed extensive reshoots following the departure of director Amy Seimetz, as revealed by Deadline in April 2022, and an order cut to five episodes in total.

Some of the cast mentioned the possibility of a second season during interviews, though those familiar with the show said that the creators did not go into production with a plan for a multi-season arc.

Davin Joy Randolph, who plays one of the managers of pop star Jocelyn played by Depp, previously said that the first season intentionally left open the possibility of a second season.

“idol “It was one of the most exciting original shows for HBO, and we are thrilled with the strong audience response,” said an HBO spokeswoman. After much thought and consideration, HBO, as well as the creators and producers, has decided not to move forward with a second season. We are grateful to the creators, cast, and crew for their amazing work.

HBO released viewing data for the first two episodes only. The premiere reportedly drew a same-day audience of 913,000 across HBO and Max, while the second episode dropped slightly to 800,000. According to HBO, the drop in the second week came from linear viewing, not from viewing on Max — which makes sense given that the series It was most likely aimed at a younger demographic than the typical linear television viewer.

At the time, Nielsen reported it idol Viewers on Max were tracking 21 years younger than viewers on HBO, a broader contrast than the typical HBO drama.

After a week on Max, viewership for the first episode rose to 3.6 million. HBO said that bypassed the series premiere for both of them white lotus (3M in 2021) and trance (3.3 million in 2019) in the same time period. By the end of the first season, the episodes averaged 6.6 million viewers trance. As for white lotusSeason 1 episodes rose to around 9.3 million viewers.

However, while the critical and audience reception of trance And white lotus It was largely positive, and the same cannot be said about it idol. By the time the final episode aired just a month later, sentiment about the show was negative. This is likely to have a severe impact on your viewing habits.

Related: ‘The Idol’ Photos on the Cannes Red Carpet: Lily-Rose Depp, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Troye Sivan, Jennie Kim and the After Party

The series is co-written by Levinson, Tesfay and Reda Fahim It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Here’s the story: After a nervous breakdown derails Jocelyn (Depp’s) latest tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful place as America’s greatest and sexiest pop star. Her affections are reignited by Tedros (Tesfay), a nightclub manager with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or to the deepest, darkest depths of her soul?

Troye Sivan also starred with Randolph, Dan Levy, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Addams, Ginny Robbie Jane, Mike Dean, Moses Somni, Rachel Sinnott, Ramsey, Susanna Soon, and Hank Azaria.

Levinson, Tesfaye, and Faheem executive produced with Kevin Turin, Ashley Levinson, Joseph Epstein, and Aaron L. Gilbert for Bron and Sarah E. White. Levinson also directed. The series is produced in partnership with A24.