I was worried that HBO was low-balling Sam Levinson’s “The Idol” by turning, what was supposed to be, a six-episode run into just five, but the shoe might be continuing on. [via IndieWire]
‘Idol’ actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph tells Variety that the “intention” right now is for a second season to happen. Does next week’s final episode end with a cliffhanger?
“I think that everyone’s intention is to have a second season. This was never intended to be a limited series. Nothing is official, but HBO is quite happy.”
This latest news goes against a Page Six report that HBO has already canceled the series. HBO rapidly denied the Page Six claims, tweeting in response, “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.”
Many have pointed out the poor ratings this show has gotten, averaging anywhere between 800k to 900k viewers for each of the first four episodes. However, and I imagine this is what HBO seems to be taking into account most, the show has turned into a chaotic viral trending topic.
Levinson’s controversial show has been the #1 series on TV for four straight weeks, surpassing ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Wednesday,’ in terms of online engagement. So, all of the hate-watching and hate-tweeting has payed dividends in terms of its prolificness.
Basically, the haters of this show are actually doing it a service by continuing to shed a major spotlight on it. Welcome to the age of social media, where online engagement is just as important as actual ratings.
Case in point, my 06.26.23 piece about “The Idol,” which has been shared close to 10k times. It’s been the most viewed article of the week and has had an assortment of newbies showing up to this site, both pro and con, engaging in heated discussion about this polarizing show.
