Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp on ‘The Idol’.Photo: HBO
On Monday, HBO announcedthe controversial series— starringAbel “The Weeknd” TesfayeandLily-Rose Depp— will not return for a second season.
PEOPLE has learned the decision tocancel the serieswas not made until very recently. The show’s creators and producers did not have a set storyline for a multi-season arc, but had options to continue the story after the show’s first season.
The Weeknd on ‘The Idol’.HBO
HBO
The decision to endThe Idolcomes less than two months after the show’s season 1 finale aired. Shortly after the final episode, The Weeknd sharedhis gratitude for the serieson Instagram.
“The finale. grateful to share this moment with you all as the season comes to an end,” the Grammy winner captioned his post. “Continue to push the vision no matter how bumpy the journey.”
“Jocelyn Forever 🎭” he concluded, referencing his costarDepp’s character and the finale episode’s title.
“I think that the way that she dresses, for example, is her trying to tell you something all the time or say something to the people that she’s around or express herself in some kind of way,” she added. “And I also think that the occasional bareness of the character physically mirrors the bareness that we get to see emotionally in her.”
Levinson also defended the series, saying, “It’s funny, I think that sometimes things that might be revolutionary are taken too far. I think we live in a very sexualized world.”
Lily-Rose Depp on ‘The Idol’.HBO
In addition to the show’s excessive nudity and sex scenes being questioned,The Idol— which was also the subject of aRolling Stoneexposé — has been criticized for its storylines, withThe Guardiancalling it “one of the worst programs ever made.” The Weeknd’s own performance, in particular, has also been criticized.
Despite the controversy and abbreviated season, star Da’Vine Joy Randolph toldVarietyin June: “Everyone’s intention is to have a second season.”
“This was never intended to be a limited series. HBO has been very happy with it — so much so that there were rumors that we were canceled, and thenHBO went on Twitter, which I think they rarely do,” she added. “Nothing is official, but HBO is quite happy.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Season 1 ofThe Idolcan be streamed in full on Max.
source: people.com
