HBO is still hot and bothered about its controversial “torture porn” series “The Idol,” according to star Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
“I think that everyone’s intention is to have a second season. This was never intended to be a limited series,” she recently 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.
When The Post contacted HBO for a statement Thursday about whether “The Idol” will be back for Season 2, representatives pointed to the network’s tweet posted on June 15.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.Getty Images for Air Mail/Warner Brothers Discovery
“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,” it reads.
The Post also contacted reps for Levinson and Tesfaye for comment.
The Season 1 finale of “The Idol” airs Sunday at 9 p.m. EST on HBO and streams on Max.
Before the show even aired, 13 anonymous sources claiming to be close to the project spoke to Rolling Stone about how the series turned into a “rape fantasy” when “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson was added as a creator on the project.
When asked about the article, she maintained to Variety that her on-set experience was positive — but did confirm one detail was “absolutely 100% true.”
The show has been referred to as “torture porn.”HBO
Fans say they’ll never see The Weeknd the same way after the graphic scenes in “The Idol.”The Weeknd
“There were long hours. But every show is that way. I did not feel like I was being abused over the hours. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary or abusive or crazy,” she stated.
Depp, too, defended the show recently, claiming its graphic sex scenes are “important” and “intentional.”
“We know that we’re making something provocative and we are not shying away from that,” she told Vogue Australia. “That’s something I knew I was setting out to do from the beginning. I was never interested in making something puritanical.
“It’s OK if this show isn’t for everyone and that’s fine — I think all the best art is [polarizing].”
