The Weeknd to Star in New HBO Series ‘The Idol’ From ‘Euphoria’ Creator Sam Levinson

A new HBO series that will star and be co-written by The Weeknd, and be co-created by Sam Levinson, is in the works, according to a report from 'Variety.'

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 27: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (L-R) The Weeknd accepts the Male Artist of the Year from LL Cool J onstage at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, which was broadcast live on FOX on May 27, 2021. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

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The Weeknd will star in and co-write a new series being developed at HBO, according to Variety

The series is currently going by the title The Idol, with Variety adding that it will be about a female pop singer who strikes up a romance with an L.A. club owner that also leads a secret cult. 

The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, will be a co-writer and executive producer, working along with Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson. All three of those people will be credited as the show’s creators. Joseph Epstein will be writing and executive producing and will also act as showrunner.

Certainly worth noting is that Levinson created the hit HBO series Euphoria, which came out in 2019. The first season of that show snagged multiple Emmy nominations, one of which was won by its star, Zendaya, for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. 

Last year, The Weeknd was credited as the co-writer for the American Dad episode “A Starboy is Born.” He played himself in that episode. He also played himself (in non-animated form) in the Josh and Benny Safdie-directed movie Uncut Gems back in 2019. 

As for his music, last year he dropped his fourth album, After Hours, which has gone on to rack up 7 billion global audio and video streams (half of which come from ”Blinding Lights”). He also played the Super Bowl halftime show when the Bucs and Chiefs met up earlier in 2021. 

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