The Idol Confuses Viewers By Ending The Season With Only 5 Episodes

HBO's flashy new series "The Idol" is no stranger to controversy as it has consistently found itself drowning in poor reviews and negative press. Ahead of its premiere, a lengthy report was released revealing that creator Sam Levinson ("Euphoria"), reshot over 80% of the show. This massive rehaul led to the disturbing series currently unfolding during the coveted 9 pm timeslot on HBO, which appears to be wrapping up a bit sooner than expected. 

Originally, "The Idol" was believed to consist of 6 episodes as a limited series. However, after only the second episode, news outlets began speculating that "The Idol" would be done after one season, leading HBO PR to officially debunk the news on Twitter. "It is being misreported that a decision on a second season of 'The Idol' has been determined," HBO tweeted. "It has not, and we look forward to sharing the next episode with you Sunday night." Recently, the teaser for Episode 5 surprisingly revealed that it will actually serve as the season finale.

This unexpected move has fans confused and expressing their thoughts on Reddit, with many saying they feel the story can't possibly wrap up all in one episode. One viewer, u/Jolly-Ad-3922, compared the ending to "Euphoria" as a standard Levinson decision. "Yeah I forgot it was a mini-series and I have no idea how the finale will feel satisfying or like the storyline concluded in a way that makes sense," the user wrote. "Then again, that's Sam Levinson for you."

Meanwhile, some fans are optimistically predicting a second season could be on the way after the shortened surprise. 

Fans of "The Idol" were surprised to learn that the first season would be ending sooner than anticipated after the game-changing cliffhanger in Episode 4. "Stars Belong to the World" features Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) falling deeper under Tedros' (Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd) manipulative charm as she records her comeback album. Her new cultish friends collide with her legitimate studio managers in Episode 5, "Jocelyn Forever," which will also see the pop star grapple with new competition from Dyanne (Jennie Kim from global K-pop sensation Blackpink).

With so much left to tackle in Jocelyn's turbulent story, many believe a Season 2 will follow soon, especially after the first season's episode count was shortened. On Reddit, u/jaggedjuke shared a reasonable suggestion: "I seriously don't know because I think we all remember 6 ep being the number. But all of a sudden it's 5? There's no way they just cut an episode but maybe? I wonder if since it says 'season finale' the show has been renewed for a second season? And perhaps the sixth episode was too final and conclusive that they just dropped it in favor of a second season with alternate/additional plot lines? Idk [I don't know] if that's how any of this can work but that's the only thing I can think of."

However, some audience members are already over the unsettling material and may not tune into more of Jocelyn's story, even if there is a Season 2 on the way.