‘The Idol’ Won't Be Coming Back For Season 2, Per HBO Reps

If you’ve heard hoards of Euphoria fans celebrating recently, it’s probably because the first season of The Idol—the newest show from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson—officially hit our screens. Cocreated by and starring Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, alongside Lily-Rose Depp, Dan Levy, Hari Nef, Troye Sivan, and BLACKPINK's Jennie, The Idol has star power behind it (and a killer soundtrack, no doubt).

For all fans of The Idol out there, we’re asking the important questions, like “When is season 2 coming out, if at all?” Let’s get into it.

First of all, is The Idol actually getting a season 2?

If you consider yourself one of Jocelyn's "angels," we totally hate to be the bearer of bad news. An HBO rep revealed to Page Six that The Idol will not be returning for a second season, after all.

"The Idol was one of HBO’s most provocative original programs, and we’re pleased by the strong audience response," HBO's rep told the outlet. "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."

They added that "Boundary-pushing content is what audiences look for in HBO original programming, and The Idol certainly delivered on that front. [It] was one of the most talked-about shows of the summer and cemented itself in the zeitgeist."

However, that still wasn't enough for the controversial series to be greenlit for a second season. The Idol was originally billed as a limited series, meaning there probably weren't any editorial plans for the story to continue on past season 1’s five episodes. Another factor (and perhaps least promising) that determined whether the show would be returning is that it got some, er, not-so-great reviews prior to its release. So, it’s plausible that HBO waited to see what audiences made of it (and whether enough people tuned in to watch) before deciding on a season 2.

Right now, The Idol has a lowly 19 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and a lot of reviews have made comments about the show trying really hard to be shocking. One review in Rolling Stone called it “way, way worse than you’d have anticipated,” and another in Vogue questioned whether it’s “a misfire of high-budget misogyny.” Major yikes.

What would season 2 of The Idol be about?

This is a question that can only be answered (or at the very least, speculated upon) when season 1 ends, which, according to the show’s release calendar, won’t be until early July. We’ll have to assume a season 2 would include more Lily-Rose and The Weeknd, ofc. And Levinson said during the Cannes Film Festival premiere that the storyline takes place in the same universe as Euphoria, so more crossovers could be possible, even if a full season doesn’t work out.

When would The Idol season 2 come out?

If season 2 had been greenlit, we put our math skills to the test to guesstimate when it would have theoretically hit screens.

Season 1 started filming way back in November 2021 but dealt with a few disruptions—The Weeknd had to leave to go headline Coachella and start his After Hours Til Dawn Tour, and director/executive producer Amy Seimetz left the project due to creative differences—which led to rewrites and reshoots.

In total, it took more than a year and a half from production start to when the first episode was released. Assuming the cast and crew start production on season 2 shortly after season 1 airs and it follows a similar timeline, we could be looking at a theoretical end of 2024/beginning of 2025 release date. We’ll just have to wait and see if it gets a green light!

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