HBO’s contentious program “The Idol” will end after just one season.
The program, created by Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, will not be returning, an HBO spokeswoman confirmed to NBC News.
“The Idol was one of HBO’s most provocative original programs, and we’re pleased by the strong audience response,” the representative told NBC News. “After careful study and deliberation, HBO and the show’s producers and creators have decided against producing a second season. We appreciate the writers, actors, and crew for their fantastic efforts.
On July 2, the five-episode run came to an end. Tesfaye plays Tedros, a nefarious club owner who mentors Lily-Rose Depp’s character Jocelyn, an aspiring pop singer.
The ‘The Idol’ controversy
Throughout both its creation and distribution, the show was dogged by controversy.
The article “‘The Idol’: How HBO’s Next “Euphoria” Became Twisted “Torture Porn” was published in March by Rolling Stone. The publication cited individuals who said that the production had, in the magazine’s words, “gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails.”
The public and other publications also voiced their disapproval of the program.
The show was described as “gross and sexist” by Playlist, while Vulture claimed it had the feel of “faint rape-fantasy porn.”
Tesfaye, who was a co-creator and writer for the program, addressed one scene in particular in an interview that was published in GQ on June 14.
Tesfaye claimed that regardless of the outcome, even a poor one, the scene played out as it was intended to.
“This person is in much over his head, this circumstance is one where he is not intended to be here,” he added. “Whatever you’re feeling watching that moment, whether it’s uncomfortable, or you feel gross, or you feel humiliated by the actors.
The show’s future at HBO has been up in the air until Aug. 28.
According to Variety, actor Moses Sumney claimed that he first believed the show was a limited run, while actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph claimed that she believed “everyone’s intention (was) to have a second season.”
Despite all the uproar, HBO claims that the show was one of Max’s most watched this summer.