The Idol canceled at HBO after 1 season

There won't be an encore for The Idol.

EW has confirmed that the controversial HBO drama starring Lily-Rose Depp and Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye has been canceled after one season.

"The Idol was one of HBO's most provocative original programs, and we're pleased by the strong audience response," an HBO spokesperson tells EW. "After much thought and consideration, HBO as well as the creators and producers have decided not to move forward with a second season. We're grateful to the creators, cast, and crew for their incredible work."

While there were ongoing conversations about a potential second season, there were no plans for multi-season arcs and no decisions were made until very recently. According to HBO, The Idol ranked among Max's top summer series, with the premiere getting over 7 million viewers.

Co-created by Tesfaye, Reza Fahim, and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, HBO and A24's drama premiered in June amidst highly publicized controversies surrounding how the show was overhauled after director Amy Seimetz (The Girlfriend Experience) left the project. Starring Depp as troubled pop star Jocelyn and Tesfaye as cult leader Tedros, the series made headlines when Rolling Stone published an exposé detailing claims that the production had become a "s--- show" under Levinson due to production delays, rewrites, and reshoots, with 13 members of the cast and crew calling Levinson's new creative direction disturbing, citing certain scenes that allegedly play out like "rape fantasies" and "torture porn."

The five-episode season ended with a twist, as Jocelyn made it clear to Tedros in the last moments of the finale that she had always been one step ahead of him and was taking control of their abusive dynamic by publicly announcing he was the love of her life during the kickoff to her tour.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph, who plays Jocelyn's manager Destiny, claimed in an interview that the network was so pleased with the series that there had been conversations about making a second season.

"I think that everyone's intention is to have a second season," Randolph said. "This was never intended to be a limited series. HBO has been very happy with it — so much so that there were rumors that we were canceled, and then HBO went on Twitter [to dispute the rumors], which I think they rarely do. Nothing is official, but HBO is quite happy."

When asked about Randolph's comments, an HBO spokesperson told EW the network had "nothing to add" beyond the June 15 tweet Randolph referenced, which said, "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."

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• The Idol cast unpacks that finale twist ending
• Hank Azaria defends The Idol amid controversy: 'From the outside, that appears like chaos'
• The Idol star Da'Vine Joy Randolph says it's 'everyone's intention' to do a second season