‘The Idol’ To Air Season Finale On Sunday As Five-Episode Run Emerges

The Idol might be one of HBO’s most talked-about shows of the year.Created by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Reza Fahim, the series follows aspiring pop idol Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) as she begins a complex relationship with a self-help guru and cult leader, Tedros (Tesfaye).In April last year, the series underwent a creative overhaul where original director, Amy Seimetz, departed the project. Levinson took over to direct all five episodes.HBO has not announced whether The Idol will return.

The Idol wrapped up its controversial first season on Sunday night, and The Weeknd took to social media to celebrate the bow of the HBO drama, which he starred in, co-created and produced with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.

wrapped up its controversial first season on Sunday night, and The Weeknd took to social media to celebrate the bow of the HBO drama, which he starred in, co-created and produced with creator Sam Levinson.«The finale. grateful to share this moment with you all as the season comes to an end,» The Weeknd, known by his real name, Abel Tesfaye, in his acting work, captioned the slideshow of behind-the-scenes pics from the series.

is finally over — but not without one more headline-making moment. A scene in Sunday’s season finale of the controversial,“torture porn” HBO series — streaming on Max — featured Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) management fearing that the troubled pop star could have trouble filling seats on her upcoming tour. Jocelyn’s agent offers: “You know, f—kin’ Kanye [West] was filling arenas until he decided to start following Adolf Hitler.”The remark references the 46-year-old “Can’t Tell Me Nothing'” rapper’s admiration of Hitler, which he publicly expressed last year among a stream of other anti-Semitic remarks.

HBO’s controversial “The Idol” said goodbye to the weird, controversial world inhabited by wannabe pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) and her creepy mentor, the rat-tail sporting Tedros (Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye), after the show’s fifth and final episode, “Jocelyn Forever.” After struggling under ex-pimp/cult leader/star maker Tedros — Tesfaye is a co-creator of the show, along with Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) and Reza Fahim — last night was all about Jocelyn demonstrating her power. Dwindling audiences of the show, said to have contributed “the worst sex scene in history” in an earlier episode, we are finally given access to the badass, pop diva lurking underneath, ready to strike with the same venom being poured into her by Tedros and company.Jocelyn, it turns out, is ruthless.The shift in power balance is clear from the start — while everyone gathers at Jocelyn’s house for a tour meeting, a disheveled Tedros is kicked out of Jocelyn’s life, seemingly forever.

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the finale of HBO’s The Idol.

has taken its final bow.The controversial HBO series — written and directed by creator Sam Levinson — wrapped up its five-episode run on Sunday, with a jaw-dropping finale titled «Jocelyn Forever.»The episode began with Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) calling out Tedros (Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye) as a «con man and a fraud,» claiming he had been obsessed with her for years before they met at his club. Despite telling him to leave and saying the other members of their group can stay, Tedros remains at her estate and attends a meeting with her record label to discuss her tour. With the meeting and tour in jeopardy, the label agrees to listen to performances from other members of the group and it's a success.

The Weeknd has shared two new songs from The Idol ahead of this Sunday's season one finale. "Like A God" and Lil Baby collaboration "False Idols" are streaming below.

told Variety. “Nothing is official, but HBO is quite happy.” Randolph, 37, portrays Destiny, Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) manager who has a bad feeling about sleazy nightclub owner Tedros (The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye) who deems himself the captain of the pop star’s career. The series’ first season has been widely criticized by fans on social media for its “nasty,” cringe and raunchy sex scenes — but Randolph said there could be even more to come.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who stars as Destiny in “The Idol” — Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) manager — opens up on why co-creator Sam Levinson took over the much-discussed series and the likelihood of a second season.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Chief Correspondent On “The Idol,” Da’Vine Joy Randolph brings a rare bit of heart to the much-discussed show. Playing Destiny, Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) manager, the actor portrays one of the only stabilizing forces surrounding the sexualized pop star who has been wrapped up in a dangerous world, led by wannabe musician and cult leader Tedros (Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye). Randolph was hand-picked by “Idol” co-creator Sam Levinson after the “Euphoria” creator took over the show during a complete overhaul in which he shot it again, after an initial version helmed by Amy Seimetz was completely scrapped, Randolph says. Controversy began before the show even premiered, with a Rolling Stone article that claimed production on “The Idol” had gone “disgustingly off the rails” and that Levinson’s version played like “twisted torture porn.”

The Idol has received backlash for months for its nudity, sex scenes and portrayal of toxic masculinity, with many critics questioning its value. Now, the show’s star, Lily-Rose Depp, is defending the decisions of the show. «We know that we’re making something provocative and we are not shying away from that. That’s something I knew I was setting out to do from the beginning,» she tells  in an interview for the July cover story.

After weeks of bad-mouthed reviews and criticism, HBO’s “The Idol” season 1 has been shortened from six episodes to five.

The Idol will end its first season this Sunday, July 2. The news has come as a surprise to some, with The Weeknd and Sam Levinson's HBO series first described as featuring six episodes when it was ordered to series in November 2021.

The HBO series The Idol has been airing for just four weeks… and the show is already about to wrap up season one.

will end one week earlier than originally announced, Abel «The Weeknd» Tesfaye confirmed Monday. Originally billed as six episodes, the controversial Max show will now end after five installments.  also announced the change on Monday, saying that the series no longer needed six episodes after creator Sam Levinson joined the team and the story changed drastically. Co-creator Tesfaye tweeted the news, writing that the show has «one more episode,» set to air this Sunday. ONE MORE EPISODE #THEIDOL EP.

idol-istic. Viewers who have been watching the controversial HBO show “The Idol” expressed confusion, after it was announced that the upcoming fifth episode will be the end of Season 1. “I thought it was gonna be 6 episodes, not 5?? What happened???” one fan wrote. Another outraged fan complained, “this needs 10 episodes…story hasn’t gone anywhere.”The salacious drama – which has become infamous for its “nasty” sex scenes and nudity – is helmed by Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) and musician Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, 33, who also co-stars. The plot follows troubled pop princess Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp, 24, daughter of Johnny Depp), as she becomes entangled in a strange and steamy relationship with self-help guru, club owner and cult leader Tedros (Tesfaye). “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy, 39, is also in “The Idol,” for some reason. (Maybe he just needed a paycheck).There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about how raunchy the show is – even though it’s tame compared to “True Blood” or even “Bridgerton.” It’s been slammed by critics for its graphic sex scenes, and it also attracted controversy for reports of its environment behind the scenes.

Ethan Shanfeld “There is some kinky-ass shit in this house,” says Destiny in the fourth episode of HBO’s “The Idol,” apparently assuming the role of this series’ viewers. “This shit is weird, scary shit.” As the Weeknd’s Tedros tightens his grip on Lily-Rose Depp’s Jocelyn — both metaphorically and literally, with his hands around her waist in the studio — her managers, played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Hank Azaria, plot to save their troubled client from the predatory nightclub mogul. At the beginning of the episode, Destiny (Randolph) and Chaim (Azaria) run through Tedros’ rap sheet, which is full of violence and abuse charges. Oh, and his real name is Mauricio Costello Jackson.

Everyone has something to say about “The Idol.” Since even before it premiered, the Max series — the “sick and twisted” brainchild of Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson — has been slammed for “too graphic” sex scenes and excessive displays of “breast and ass,” as well as a particularly “nasty” steamy segment that Tesfaye was forced to defend.The “torture porn” drama, which premiered with 900,000 viewers, follows Jocelyn, portrayed by Lily-Rose Depp, a troubled pop star who becomes increasingly enraptured with the mysterious, rat-tail-donning Tedros (Tesfaye). Now, even a famed snack brand is trying to crumble the show’s cookies.After it was prematurely reported that the show would be canceled after only one season, the official Oreo account replied with more fire than one might expect from milk’s favorite cookie.

Abel «The Weeknd» Tesfaye said this week he «very much» expected a negative reaction to Controversy surrounding the show and its production first surfaced several months before the first episode's premiere, when sources told  that the project had gone «wildly, disgustingly off the rails.» Most recently, referred to the third episode as «bizarrely edited» and «hackily written.» Tesfaye said he expected all of this criticism, but was not fazed by it. «It's almost educational, that this is what comes with being incredibly famous,» Tesfaye told of his show's treatment of fame. «You're surrounded by people who you're not sure what their true intentions are, even if it seems like they're good.