Friday, May 22, 2026

Ratings: “The Idol” Series Finale Jumped 39% But Still Didn’t Crack 200,000 Viewers Plus The Weeknd Released Tracks No One Bought

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Post mortem: “The Idol” Sunday finale, probably the series finale, did jump 39% in total viewers.

But it still didn’t crack 200,000. The Sunday number was 185K. Season average was 164K.

And so “The Idol” comes to an ignominious end.

Meantime, The Weeknd released some more tracks from the show. None of them charted or sold. It’s like they never happened. The Weeknd got nothing from “The Idol” except bad press and angry fans.

HBO was smart to cut its losses, jump ahead to the last episode and get rid of the show. How long will it be up at Max? We’ll see in a few days if they just don’t chuck it.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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