‘The Idol’ looks to be ending its first season sooner than expected

HBO’s newest show and headline generator The Idol was probably always destined to get the internet talking. With an all-star cast and an inherently controversial premise, it was more or less an inevitability.

This time around, The Idol is making waves because of an apparently reduced episode order. Deadline reports that the series, which was initially picked up for a six episode run, will instead air its fifth episode as the season finale this Sunday, July 2.

It’s unclear when the decision to shorten the series was made, but it did undergo a highly publicized retooling last year following the departure of director Amy Seimetz from the project. A viral story by Rolling Stone alleged that Seimetz’s vision for the show differed heavily from creator Sam Levinson and series star Abel Tesfaye.

Reportedly, while Seimetz allegedly preferred to center the narrative around Lily-Rose Depp’s Jocelyn, Levinson and Tesfaye preferred a story centered around a more masculine perspective. When Seimetz left, her creative vision was ultimately not carried forward to the series.

The Idol has been savaged online and called various unflattering things by the media – “torture porn”, exploitation, it’s got a pretty bad reputation. It boils down to an ultimately aimless plot and refusal to actually engage or reckon with the fact that its depiction of a toxic relationship ultimately does not provide any deep insight into human nature. Though portraying a negative action does not mean that the creative team behind the show supports such an action, it is worth noting that The Idol‘s depiction feels voyeuristic, with little, if any, commentary on…well, anything, really.

The show seems to be mostly concerned with its aesthetics, far more so than its narrative. We’ll have to see if there’s a season 2 – ratings haven’t been great, but the online engagement for the show might save it. Although, is it really worth it if all that engagement is negative? Sure, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but there is such a thing as tanking your reputation.