Originally, The Idol’s showrunner and director was Amy Seimetz. Seimetz had already shot a huge chunk of what was supposed to be the first season when she was pushed out by Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and HBO. Not only had Seimetz already shot a lot of her original vision for the series, she had done so at great cost, reportedly around $8 million an episode. Still, Abel had a different vision – he wanted the show to focus more on his character Tedros, the “charismatic cult leader” who preys on Lily Rose Depp’s Joceyln. So Sam Levinson took over, reshot some of the show, focused more on Tedros and then… everyone realized that Abel can’t act for sh-t and that he comes across like a loser and a charisma-vacuum. After Abel realized that everyone was laughing at him, he tried to play it like he MEANT to do that, that everyone is supposed to think Tedros is a total loser. Sure.
Well, true story: now HBO/Max is trying to play it off like The Idol was never supposed to be a series, it’s only a limited series of six episodes and there won’t be a “second season.” That was not what everyone claimed just a few months ago, but again, sure.
The Weeknd is said to not be planning a second season of “The Idol” — amid backlash over outrageous sex scenes on the controversial series and the singer’s “egomaniacal” behavior on set. The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, co-created and co-stars in the show, which has been slammed as “comically bad.” Ratings for the second episode fell by 12%, or more than 100,000 viewers, from the June 11 premiere.
But a source told Page Six: “This was never meant to be a long-running show, it was always … a limited series.” A source inside HBO, however, said that “The door is definitely still open — it’s definitely not a decision [yet]. At this point, this is normal in our process … we’re only two episodes in.”
The source added that HBO was not shocked by reaction to the graphic show, which airs on its Max streaming service.
“It’s a Sam Levinson show, and you know what you’re getting with a Sam Levinson show,” said the source of the show’s co-creator and director, who also oversees the network’s shocking series “Euphoria.”
One show source told Page Six that working with Tesfaye, 33, in character as Tedros was “not an ideal experience … and not one I am eager to repeat,” while another called him “egomaniacal.”
A first iteration of the series was scrapped and totally reworked by Tesfaye and Levinson after the departure of original director Amy Seimetz, who had already filmed the majority of six episodes. Seimetz has yet to speak out about her time on “The Idol.” Rolling Stone later reported that Tesfaye and Levinson cut out the feminist-leaning storylines, with a production member comparing the new direction to “a rape fantasy.” One highly placed industry insider estimated each episode originally cost around $8 million, before they were rewritten.
The industry insider said “The Idol” was meant to be a huge show for Max as it’s the first major series on the freshly named streamer.
“It was a big, big show for them with big talent and a lot of buzz,” the insider added. “But from what I heard, HBO knew it was a bit of a turkey as soon as they saw it. But [now] you have all the headlines — and that kind of makes up for it.” The HBO source said, “The only person who makes the decision [about a second season] is the head of HBO, Casey Bloys, and he is optimistic.”
I suspect that we’ll go from “this is a sexy exploitative show by Sam Levinson and The Weeknd” to “of course Abel knows that he’s playing a total loser” to “Abel’s vision was always to do a critically panned limited series and leave the audience wanting more!” I can’t believe they spent all of that money on this disaster. Well, at least there’s a very good chance that no one will get the chance to hate-watch a second season.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
Sam Levinson, Lily-Rose Depp and Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye attend “The Idol” photocall at the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 23, 2023 in Cannes, France.,Image: 778496867, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / Avalon 
Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye attend “The Idol” photocall at the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 23, 2023 in Cannes, France,Image: 778497580, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / Avalon 
Abel ‘ The Weeknd ‘ Tesfaye, Lily-Rose Depp and Director Sam Levinson photographed during the photocall for The Idol as part of the 76th Cannes International Film Festival at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France on 23 May 2023.,Image: 778513454, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards / Avalon
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye aka The Weeknd photographed during the photocall for The Idol as part of the 76th Cannes International Film Festival at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France on 23 May 2023.,Image: 778513544, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards / Avalon 
Premiere of ‘The Idol’ during the 76 Cannes Film Festival. Featuring: Abel Tesfaye The Weeknd, Lily Rose Depp, Sam Levinson Where: Cannes, France When: 22 May 2023 Credit: IPA/INSTARimages **UK, USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY** 
Premiere of ‘The Idol’ during the 76 Cannes Film Festival. Featuring: Abel Tesfaye, The Weeknd, Lily-Rose Depp and Sam Levinson Where: Cannes, France When: 23 May 2023 Credit: Aurore Marechal/Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcWpiZoNye9OhnJihlKS5oMPArJaapKeWxrSrzJ6Yp6yPqbygrsSYmJikmaK2tbHDmKqeqpmawKDDyK2fmKaflMCmr86nm5irlZbAsLqO