No, ‘The Idol’ Was Not Cut Short to Five Episodes Due to Fan and Media Backlash

Ever since HBO revealed that next week’s episode of The Idol is the season finale, fans, haters, and the tabloids have been speculating that the show’s run was ignobly cut down from six to five episode due to low ratings and online backlash. The Daily Mail wrote, “There is no official word on why an episode was cut from its planned six-episode run,” while RadarOnline penned a post titled, “HBO Cuts Its Losses With ‘The Idol,’ Ends Sam Levinson and The Weeknd’s ‘Torture Porn’ Series a Week Early.” However Decider has confirmed that these stories are untrue. An episode of The Idol Season 1 was never cut mid-season by HBO. In fact, as Decider previously reported as far back as June 4, the first season of The Idol was designed to be only five episodes long.

Some of the confusion about The Idol’s five episode count is surely due to the fact that Deadline reported back in 2021 that HBO had ordered the project, created by Sam Levinson, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye,” and Reza Fahim, as a “six-episode series.” Back then, Amy Seimetz was attached as series director with Joe Epstein serving in the role of showrunner. However, Seimetz abruptly left The Idol in 2022. Rolling Stone later reported that Seimetz departed the project due to creative differences — and that new director and showrunner Sam Levinson had transformed the series into what some involved called “torture porn.”

Decider has now confirmed that Levinson also changed the length of the first season when he took over creative control.

“The season was changed from six episodes to five episodes when Sam took over in 2022,” a source close to production told Decider. “Five episodes is what his version of the story required.”

The show’s episodic length wasn’t the only structural change to the series. Stars who were initially attached to The Idol — like Anne Heche (who tragically passed away months after the creative changeover), Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, and Steve Zissis — also departed the project. Essentially, The Idol underwent a whole creative overhaul when Levinson took the helm and that included shortening the season from six to five episodes.

So, no, HBO didn’t cut the first season of The Idol down to five episodes because of backlash. Sam Levinson himself pared the season down in 2022. Furthermore, there’s still a chance, per an HBO PR tweet, that The Idol could return for Season 2. After Page Six reported that a season renewal was dead in the water, HBO commented on Twitter: “It is being misreported that a decision on a second season of The Idol has been determined. It has not, and we look forward to sharing the next episode with you Sunday night.”

The Idol Season 1 finale will premiere on Sunday, July 2 on HBO and MAX…according to plan.