Bad news for fans of HBO’s The Idol, likely no season 2

HBO’s The Idol can’t catch a break, it seems. Since it debuted in May at the Cannes Film Festival, and even after its first episode was released on Max on June 4, critics have almost universally panned it.

Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times labeled it as “A Pornhub-homepage odyssey starring Lily-Rose Depp’s areolas and The Weeknd’s greasy rat tail”.

Rolling Stone has meanwhile been reporting on its wild change of direction, calling it, “twisted torture porn” even before its first episode was released—this after director Amy Seimetz exited the production in April 2022 despite roughly 80% of the season already wrapped.

The Idol is about the talented yet embattled pop star Jocelyn, played by Lily Rose Depp. She’s trying to jumpstart her career and image afresh, after the death of her mother led her to a nervous meltdown.

How do audiences feel about The Idol?

With episode 3 already on the airing horizon, The Idol still has a dismal 27% on Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, with an audience score split between liking it and hating it at 58 percent. Now reports indicate that the fate of the show is up in the air, especially with insider news information vetted by Page Six reporting about how The Weeknd’s has been indulging in “egomaniacal” behavior.

The Weeknd real name, Abel Tesfaye, is credited as a co-creator and stars as the guru-like Tedros in the show, a man who seduces Jocelyn and inserts himself into her life and music. The same reports declared that working with Tesfaye in character was, “not an ideal experience.”

Furthermore, Depp “has admitted there were times when she would “steer clear” of Tesfaye when he was in “his zone.”.” Despite these concerning leaks, HBO’s public relations has refuted any final confirmation on the fate of season two has been made.

In a tweet, they indicated that any decision was “misreported.”

Fans of the gratuitous sex and kink play in the show may be surprised to know that, according to the same Rolling Stone article, the first version under Seimetz was a feminist-leaning storyline, before Tesfaye and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson almost completely overhauled the series.

Over here at Show Snob, we haven’t exactly been loving it, especially after watching the badly crafted first episode. But tell us what you thought about the episodes so far of the HBO drama about fame and pop music superstardom?

You can watch The Idol on Max.