The American series The Idol will have fewer episodes than expected. HBO, which airs the first season of the drama starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd, announced on Tuesday that the story will come to an end on Sunday evening, when the fifth episode ends. Initially, it was to have six.

The story tells of the toxic relationship between Jocelyn (Depp), a young singer, and Tedros (The Weeknd), owner of a nightclub in Los Angeles.

Bathed in controversy even before the broadcast of the first episode, the series had a stormy gestation.

“The season ended up being five episodes,” a source told TVLine. The whole thing was done when Sam [Levinson] took over the show to make some big changes. The story then only required five episodes. »

The HBO broadcaster was stingy with comments after the cuts were announced on The Idol. Negative reviews and low ratings (some 200,000 weekly viewers) point to an uncertain future, with a second season yet to be confirmed.