After just five episodes following the sleaziness of the music industry, The Idol has come to a close. Many critics (and, of course, viewers) were left wanting. After all, Sam Levison’s Euphoria was seen by most as a visually stunning and thought-provoking masterpiece. The Idol… not so much. So, is there going to be a second season? Or were the argued miscasts and excessive nudity too much for HBO to give the story a little more time?
The Idol: A Quick Overview
The opening scene for this series was, many would agree, a pleasant surprise. Lily-Rose Depp, who plays Jocelyn, a gifted aspiring pop star, is doing a photoshoot for the cover of her comeback album. She’s following the instructions of a rather determined photographer and masterfully switches, on cue, from “vulnerable” to “pure, sex, now”.
Levinson praised Depp’s performance, and we can see why. No matter what we hear, she can deceive us. The scenes continue to unfold, and so does the series. But after five very commented-on episodes, The Idol has just managed to culminate in a disappointing 4.8 IMDB rating and a 19% tomatometer.
So, Will We Have a Second Season of The Idol?
We know that the series The Idol, created by Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, was always planned as a multiple-season project.
In an interview with Vulture magazine, Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Jocelyn’s manager in the series) shared that season one was ‘setting up the world in great detail’. Apparently, the good stuff is coming in season two!
Now, we know HBO was down for it initially. But what do things look like now that we’ve seen the finale – and so many questions remain open? (I’m not just talking about the unresolved issues, but also the fact that most critics and viewers have found the whole thing… rather icky).
We turned to HBO to see what they have said since The Idol ended. And their answer was: “The future is undecided”. In a tweet from June 15, a representative pointed out that a decision about the direction had been misreported. What they meant, probably, was that rumors had been wrong when they assumed the series was not returning.
The cast seems pretty happy with the first season. The Weeknd said he was going to push the vision ‘no matter how bumpy the journey,’ and Lily-Rose Depp has remained supportive despite the backlash. In her opinion, the show was simply provocative and “never interested in making something puritanical.“
We’ll have to see. However, although a second season of The Idol has not been confirmed, it seems the show hasn’t been canceled, either. If it does get renewed, we will probably see Jocelyn calling things off with Tedros… or running his cult!
