The Weeknd’s HBO Show ‘The Idol’ to End Earlier Than Expected

The Weeknd’s HBO show, The Idol, will be ending earlier than expected. TV Line reports that the series was initially set to run for six episodes, but will end on Sunday, July 2, with Episode 5. The outlet notes that a rep for HBO declined to comment on the report, but an unnamed insider stated, “The season ended up being five episodes when it was all said and done after Sam [Levinson] took over and made significant changes. The story only ended up requiring 5.”

The official logline for The Idol reads: “After a nervous breakdown derailed Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) last tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America. Her passions are reignited by Tedros (Tesfaye), a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or the deepest and darkest depths of her soul?” The Idol also stars Suzanna Son, Troye Sivan, Jennie Ruby Jane, Moses Sumney, Jane Adams, Dan Levy, Eli Roth, Rachel Sennott, Hari Nef, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Mike Dean, Ramsey, and Hank Azaria. Tesfaye co-created the show with Levinson and Reza Fahim. The trio also executive produces alongside Kevin Turen, Ashley Levinson, Joe Epstein, Aaron L. Gilbert for BRON, and Sara E. White, in partnership with A24. All episodes of The Idol are directed by Levinson.

Notably, the show has taken a lot of heat for the way it handles sex scenes, which is something that Tesfaye understands. “There’s nothing sexy about it,” he previously told GQ, then going on to explain that the works of filmmaker Paul Verhoeven was an inspiration for himself, Levinson, and Fahim. “When we use Basic Instinct , we’re using Verhoeven. Verhoeven is the king of ’90s satire thriller — yes, there’s moments of ‘sexy’ in his films but there are other moments that are very cheesy and hilarious,” Tesfaye explained. “However you’re feeling watching that scene, whether it’s discomfort, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed for the characters. It’s all those emotions adding up to: This guy is in way over his head, this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here.”

Going on to offer some insight into his character Tedros, an enigmatic nightclub owner, Tesfaye said, “You look at him, and this is a score — Jocelyn might be the biggest score he’s ever had. It’s very obvious. He’s over-indulging, he walks into this house looking around like, ‘Goddamn, am I way over my head? This can be the biggest job I’ve ever done. Whatever it is that he’s doing.” He added, “Even the sex, it’s so gluttonous. Especially in episode 2. ‘Gluttony’ is the only word I can think of [to describe it]. He can’t believe he’s there. He comes off like such a loser. Those moments are the humanity that you find in a psychopath, the chink in his armor.”

“With this show, we love to play with the emotions. We’re puppet-mastering your feelings through the show. It’s never a consistent tone, and that’s on purpose,” the singer-actor shared. “No matter how dark a scene is, you can find the comedy in it.”