To the surprise of few, HBO officially cancel The Weeknd's series ‘The Idol’ after one season

It’s one and done for Sam Levinson and The Weeknd’s much-maligned HBO series “The Idol,” with confirmation from HBO of what we long thought would be the case - the cancellation of the television series. So for sadists looking to punish themselves with a second season, we’re sorry to be the ones breaking it to you this morning.

Though it may not come as a surprise to many, including us at PeopleWorld and the team over at NationalWorld TV, the cable network informed Variety of the decision not to renew the Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye vehicle for another season, after truncating their initial six-episode series into five episodes and what many felt was a rushed finale to tie up the loose ends a sixth episode would.

A usually vocal The Weeknd, who is currently on tour as of writing, has kept unusually silent regarding the news; many will remember shortly after the premiere of the first two episodes at this year’s Cannes Film Festival that Tesfaye was quick to leap to the defence of the show, and as of this article’s publication, no words have been spoken on social media by any of the cast members regarding its cancellation.

Despite its incredible fanfare in the lead-up to its premiere, the HBO show following the life of a pop star (Depp) and an almost cult-like figure in Tedros (The Weeknd. How can you not forget it was The Weeknd in this role) failed to garner the same viewing figures as Levin’s other youth-orientated HBO drama, “Euphoria,” starring Zendaya. Despite having a larger number of known actors including Hank Azaria and Eli Roth.

“The Idol” premiered with 913,000 viewers and though at its peak the show did earn 3.6 million viewers after the episode’s first full week of availability, Episode 2 fell to 800,000 viewers on its first night. That led to HBO then declining to share the viewing figures for the show for the remainder of the season.

The show was also not helped by subsequent reports of a toxic work environment fostered by Levinson and screenshots of what could have been regarding the series' original creator Amy Seimetz's vision of the show before its “creative overhaul” by The Weeknd and Levinson who felt it needed more of a “male-orientated” angle.

Those who wish to be gluttons for punishment though and watch what was considered one of the worst television series to premiere in 2023 can do so in the United States through Max and in the United Kingdom through NOW TV.