The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp’s controversial show The Idol is CUT SHORT to only 5 episodes

The Idol is set to end one week early.

The HBO series – which was created by Euphoria writer Sam Levinson, The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) and Reza Fahim – has come under heavy criticism and even been described as ‘torture porn’, with a lot of the controversy focusing on its explicit content.

Now, The Weeknd has confirmed the upcoming fifth episode will be the show’s last.

Alongside a teaser trailer, he wrote on Instagram: ‘ONE MORE EPISODE @theidol Ep. 5 (sic)’

There is no official word on why an episode was cut from its planned six-episode run.

However, an insider has suggested the change was simply made as a result of editing.

‘The season ended up being five episodes when it was all said and done after Sam took over and made significant changes. The story only ended up requiring five,’ the source told TV Line.

The final episode is called Jocelyn Forever, which suggests it will focus on Lily-Rose Depp’s pop star character, who turns to self-help guru and cult leader Tedros (Tesfaye) after having a nervous breakdown.

Abel, 33, recently addressed the backlash and insisted the sex scenes in the show aren’t meant to be ‘overtly sexy.’

Controversial: The HBO series – which was created by Euphoria writer Sam Levinson, The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) and Reza Fahim – has come under heavy criticism and even been described as ‘torture porn’, with a lot of the controversy focusing on its explicit content

Another shock: There is no official word on why an episode was cut from its planned six-episode run

‘The season ended up being five episodes when it was all said and done after Sam took over and made significant changes. The story only ended up requiring five,’ a source told TV Line

Asked in particular about a particularly graphic scene in episode two, he told GQ magazine: ‘No. There’s nothing sexy about it. When we use Basic Instinct as a reference, we’re using Verhoeven.’

‘Verhoeven is the king of ’90s satire thriller—yes, there’s moments of sexy in his films but there are other moments that are very cheesy and hilarious,’ he explained.

The Save Your Tears hitmaker added: ‘However you’re feeling watching that scene, whether it’s discomfort, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed for the characters.

‘It’s all those emotions adding up to: This guy is in way over his head, this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here,’ he concluded.