HBO has announced that it canceled its latest drama series, The Idol, after one season. While this may sound like bad news for those who enjoyed the show, a majority of the reactions were celebratory since many viewed it as a dumpster fire during its runtime.
Normally, when a show gets canceled, fans would rally to help save it. An example of this was Netflix’s Warrior Nun and how it’s consequently returning with a film trilogy after the streaming giant axed the series. However, that wasn’t the case for The Idol, as many cheered on X (aka Twitter) when the news broke. People were glad that this show wasn’t returning, which is understandable considering nobody liked how it ended and it had “one of the worst sex scenes” in history.
Meanwhile, others took the opportunity to get their jabs in at HBO and The Idol‘s director, Sam Levinson, since it seemed like the show’s fate was sealed from the start. On Rotten Tomatoes, this HBO drama has a low average critics’ score of 19 percent and an average audience score of 41 percent. People mocked the claim that The Idol was going to be “the show of the summer,” when that simply didn’t end up being the case.
Before the release of the season one finale, HBO released an open-ended statement on social media about The Idol‘s future. The show was cancelled when it was revealed that Levinson and the series creator and lead star, Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) won’t be returning for season 2.
The Idol faced backlash after it was alleged that cast and crew members were subjected to disturbing sexual content and “torture porn.” It was also reported that the material made by the show’s former director, Amy Seimetz, was not used, which led to massive reshoots. According to Rolling Stone, The Idol was meant to be a dark satire about the music industry. However, Levinson’s involvement led to a change of direction for the drama series.
If you want to watch this show starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd, season one is available on Max.