‘The Idol’ To Conclude Season With Five Episodes Instead Of Originally Announced Six

HBO announced that this week’s episode of The Idol will be the last of its first season. 

It was originally announced that The Idol would have six episodes in the first season, but this changed when Sam Levinson took over as the director. 

Fans did not hide their disappointment and expressed their opinions on social media.

One tweeted, “I thought it was gonna be 6 episodes, not 5?? What happened???🤔🤔🤔”

Other complaints noted that the storyline hasn’t developed enough for the season to end. 

In 2021, before the show came out, HBO announced that this series would be six episodes long. This was back when Amy Seimetz was the director and Joe Epstein was the showrunner. 

After conflicts with Levinson, Seimetz decided to leave the series even though they were in the middle of production.

Levinson was then chosen to take over as showrunner and director. 

Levinson decided that he wanted to tell the story in five episodes rather than six, but the news was only announced this week. 

After the series was released, the controversy continued as fans called many scenes too explicit. The second episode “Double Fantasy” seems to have shocked fans the most so far. Many have described the show as “torture porn” and criticized The Weeknd’s acting as “nonexistent.”

Despite the backlash, The Weeknd and his costars have been defending the episodes. The singer went onto Twitter to promote the series and responded to fans’ tweets. 

The Idol features Lily-Rose Depp as pop star Jocelyn and explores her journey when she starts dating Tedros, played by The Weeknd, who is a cult leader, club owner and self-help guru. The relationship is steamy and the show features intimate sex scenes between the two characters.

The final episode of the season will be available for streaming this Sunday on HBO. It has not been announced if the series will be renewed for a second season.