Fans annoyed as ‘The Idol’ ends sooner than expected: ‘Wasted my time’
Fans of “The Idol” were left in shock Sunday night after learning the controversial series would be coming to an end after just five episodes.
Following the sex-filled fourth installment, viewers were told that the “Season Finale” would be airing next week — despite Deadline previously reporting that it would be be a “six-episode series.”
The abrupt announcement left many fans wondering how showrunners could possibly tie up all of the loose ends in just one more 60-minute episode.
“I thought it was gonna be 6 episodes, not 5?? What happened??? 🤔🤔,” one person tweeted.
“Seriously, all that drama and controversy for just 5 episodes??? ! I feel like I wasted my time watching The Id,” they continued. “Very, very Disappointed ☹️.”
“im starting to think either the idol critics were saying stuff just to say it to exaggerate or they were genuinely right and sam cut out certain scenes,” another added, referencing rumors that creator Sam Levinson cut out certain parts amid backlash over the show’s explicit sex scenes.
“I’m sorry, next week is the FINALE of the idol???” a third wrote. “the story is just BARELY starting to move. sam levinson has lost his mind.”
“we need like 3 more episodes to wrap everything up not 1 lol #THEIDOL,” another agreed.
“they should’ve spent less time on the sex scenes and more time on the story bc how tf is the season finale next week and we’re JUST now getting into the action 😭😭,” another unhappy viewer commented.
While it’s unclear why the series is being cut short, some fans think it is a clear indication about the show’s future.
“It’s in my opinion that The Idol isn’t going to have a season 2,” one person wrote. “I think the powers that be didn’t want to ‘allegedly announce’ the strong possibility of it not coming back cause it would stop people from finishing up the now-labeled limited series.”
Another reason for the shrunken season could be that Amy Seimetz, the show’s original director, and Joe Epstein, the showrunner, left the HBO Max series more than 80 percent through production.
This left Levinson to take over both roles and seemingly change the direction of the series.
A source seemingly confirmed this theory to TVLine, saying that the “story only ended up requiring 5” episodes.
“The season ended up being five episodes when it was all said and done after Sam [Levinson] took over and made significant changes,” the insider told the outlet.
However, Rolling Stone previously reported that The Weeknd and Levinson replaced the feminist-leaning storylines with what one production member called “rape fantasy.”
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Yet as Page Six previously reported, the show was allegedly meant to be a limited series in the first place.
“This was never meant to be a long-running show, it was always … a limited series,” a source told us earlier this month.
On top of that, several insiders revealed that The Weeknd’s “egomaniacal” behavior on set was “not an ideal experience” that anyone is particularly “eager to repeat.”
Despite viewership steadily declining, HBO says they have yet to make a decision about a second season.
“The Idol” Season 1 finale premieres on Max Sunday, July 2.
