Director Amy Seimetz left the project on 25 April 2022 amid a creative overhaul of the series. Co-creator Sam Levinson took over as series director.
On 25 April 2022, Variety reported the show would be reworked and would undergo significant re-shoots with changes to its cast and crew due to a change in creative directions. Reports at the time claimed that co-creator and actor Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye felt the series was leaning too much into a "female perspective," though Tesfaye has denied such claims.
Similar to Sam Levinson's Euphoria (2019) series, the production of The Idol was met with reports of on-set turmoil due to a poor working environment, last-minute script rewrites, and budgetary issues.
When production stopped and HBO took the series in "a new creative direction," most roles were rewritten and recast. The only main stars who remained were Lily-Rose Depp, The Weeknd, Suzanna Son, Troye Sivan, and Jane Adams. Despite having filmed for over seven months, lead stars Steve Zissis and newcomer Juliebeth Gonzalez were not called back for the major re-shoot. The supporting cast that didn't return either included Elizabeth Berkley, Tunde Adebimpe, Anne Heche (in what would have been her last television appearance), Nico Hiraga, Maya Eshet, Tyson Ritter, Kate Lyn Sheil, Liz Caribel Sierra, Finley Rose Slater (as a young Jocelyn in flashback sequences), and Melanie Liburd, who eventually appeared briefly as a cult member.
On August 30, 2023, it was reported that HBO had canceled the show after one season, following overwhelmingly negative reviews and controversies surrounding its working conditions.