Is The Idol Worth Saving? Fans Hope for a Second Season on Netflix

Summary

• The Idol came out a year ago and is still remembered as one of the worst shows of 2023.
• Still, some fans are hoping for its resurrection.
• Unfortunately, the prospects for a possible The Idol Season 2 are not too bright.

It's been a full year since the premiere of The Idol, arguably the most controversial and definitely the most disastrous show of the past year. Created by the creator of HBO's hit Euphoria, Sam Levinson, in collaboration with Reza Fahim and Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd, The Idol was one of the most anticipated shows of 2023, though it had already gained notoriety before its release. After all, Lily-Rose Depp, Troye Sivan, Rachel Sennott and even Blackpink's Jennie were involved in the project.

The plot turned out to be too inconsistent and rushed, and it seems there's really nothing to find in the show other than the male gaze and weird fetishization - oh, and of course hatred for the show's creators as a result. And yet, despite being panned by the majority of critics and viewers, The Idol has managed to attract a fanbase that believes the public's treatment of the show has been too unfair. Moreover, some fans are convinced that the show's mistakes could have been corrected in Season 2 if The Idol had been given the green light.

But how likely is it that the show will see a follow-up, and if it does, will it be worth it?

Fans Hope for The Idol Season 2

Viewers were hoping that The Idol would conclude as an empowering tale of revenge against one's abuser. Yes, Joss appeared to have triumphed over her abusive paramour, but in the end, both she and Tedros seems to be deeply dysfunctional and afflicted with Stockholm Syndrome, unable to exist independently even as they realize that their relationship is self-destructive.

However, some fans believe that the show did not need to have a happy ending because it is a dark drama about the equally dark and corrupt music industry, where people are commodities and the desire to get to the top turns into cult-like exploitation. That's why they believe that such a widespread backlash against The Idol is solely due to media frenzy.

Other fans, however, recognize the show's shortcomings due to the sheer number of plot holes and underdeveloped storylines. Still, they feel that the situation is fixable, and that once the writers do some work on the flaws, the new episodes could provide satisfying answers to questions and resolutions to character arcs.

Factors That Could Resurrect the Show

Lucifer is a great illustration of how viewership does not reflect actual fan opinion. The urban fantasy series about a fallen angel who opens a nightclub in LA had fairly low ratings for its first three seasons, which led to its cancellation by Fox. After that, however, fans and executive producer Joe Henderson launched the #SaveLucifer campaign, which resulted in Netflix acquiring the rights.

Similar situations have happened with other shows like Arrested Development, Longmire, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Expanse, all of which were renewed after their initial cancellations.

Does the Idol Have a Chance?

In each case, however, the ratings and critical reception were never as low as for The Idol. Moreover, the key to reviving these shows was active online fan campaigns supported by the cast and crew, with tens if not hundreds of thousands of users demanding the return of their favorite shows.

Is this possible in the case of The Idol? Let's not forget that its critics score on Rotten Tomatoes is a measly 19% and its audience score is 41%, which means that the overall consensus is not at all reassuring, and it's unlikely that there will be enough fans willing to watch the second season.