The streaming platform dropped production after a single season involved in various controversies.
the idolthe controversial series from the creator of Euphoria, sam levinson and Abel Tesfayebetter known as The Weekndwill not return for a second season in HBO Max.
Not a huge surprise given the critical and commercial reception of the show, which stars Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp. It also came after extensive reshoots following the director’s departure. Amy Seimetz and a reduced order that brought the total number of episodes to five.
Some cast members mentioned the possibility of a second season during interviews, though insiders of the show said the creators did not go into the production process with a plan for a multi-season arc.
How The Idol Fared on HBO Max
HBO it only published viewing data for the first two episodes. The premiere reportedly drew a same-day viewership of 913,000 on HBO and HBO Max, while the second episode dropped slightly to 800,000. According to HBO, the decline in Week 2 was due to linear viewing, not viewing on Max, which makes sense considering the series was likely aimed at a younger demographic than your typical linear TV viewer.
At the time, Nielsen reported that viewers of the idol on Max they were 21 years younger than viewers on HBO, a wider disparity than the typical HBO drama.
After one week on Max, viewing for the first episode skyrocketed to 3.6 million. HBO said it outperformed series premieres of both The White Lotus (3M in 2021) as of Euphoria (3.3M in 2019) in the same period of time. At the end of season 1, the average episodic viewership was 6.6 million for Euphoria. As to The White Lotus Season 1 episodes grew to around 9.3 million viewers.
However, although the reception of Euphoria and The White Lotus by critics and audiences was largely positive, the same cannot be said of The Idol. When the final episode aired just a month later, the overwhelming sentiment around the show was negative.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
