HBO's The Idol Reportedly May Not Get A Season 2 (But Was That The Plan All Along?)

Plagued by critical lambasting and dropping viewership numbers, it appears that the controversial HBO and Max series "The Idol" starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd may come to an end after its first season.

"The Idol" chronicles the chaotic life of a Britney Spears-like pop singer named Jocelyn (Depp), who is suffering a mental health crisis brought on by the death of her mother. Following the cancellation of a major concert tour, Jocelyn is trying to get her career back on track with the release of a new single. However, several factors — including the singer's indifference to the direction of her career manufactured by her handlers and record executives, as well as her complicated relationship with sordid club owner Tedros (Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye) — are leading Jocelyn down a path of self-destruction that she may not recover from.

Co-created by "Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson, The Weeknd, and Reza Fahim, "The Idol" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Critics immediately pounced on "The Idol" as it racked up shocking reviews despite a Cannes standing ovation, calling out the series' explicit depictions of sex and drug use, as well as Tedros' controlling treatment of Jocelyn. 

However, the apparent end to the series is not because of critical or fan reaction; a source framed it to New York Post's Page Six by saying, "This was never meant to be a long-running show, it was always ... a limited series." Soon after this was published, though, HBO's PR team tweeted that there has been no decision made yet in regard to a second season: "It is being misreported that a decision on a second season of The Idol has been determined. It has not, and we look forward to sharing the next episode with you Sunday night."

In addition to the critical drubbing of the series, the viewership of "The Idol" has suffered in its first two weeks of release. According to Page Six, the show's audience dropped 12% from its June 4 debut to its second episode on June 11, which equates to more than 100,000 viewers. The series premiere pulled in 913,000 viewers according to Variety, a number that was 17% percent of the audience who watched the series premiere of "Euphoria."

Criticism of the series and viewership numbers aside, Page Six addressed real-life pop star The Weeknd's behavior on the show, but The Weeknd says reports of on-set problems on "The Idol" are "ridiculous."

Page Six pointed out that no decision has been announced yet by Max regarding the fate of "The Idol" after Season 1, and HBO reiterated the statement. In all likelihood, that determination won't be made until later in the season, which runs six episodes — generally, such decisions are influenced by viewership numbers or the lack thereof. However, the number of episodes for "The Idol" — which is two fewer than the popular slate of eight for most series — does appear to give merit to Page Six's source that the show was always meant to have a short shelf life; an allegory, perhaps, that points to the fate of the all-but-doomed career and existence of Jocelyn in the series.