HBO Orders The Weeknd’s ‘The Idol’ To Series & Adds Eight New Cast Members

The Weeknd is officially getting into the world of TV, moving forward with his series over at HBO.

Source: Rich Fury / Getty

According to reports from Variety, HBO has ordered The Idol, a six-episode series co-written and executive produced by The Weeknd, full name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. The series was co-created by the singer along with Sam Levinson, the creator and director of Euphoria.

News of this series first made headlines back in June, when it was reported that The Weeknd was developing a project about an up-and-coming pop singer who becomes romantically involved with the leader of a secret cult. Now that the series has been ordered, all six episodes will be directed by Amy Seimetz, who was previously at the helm for several episodes of the Starz series The Girlfriend Experience along with two episodes of Atlanta.

“When the multi-talented Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye, Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson brought us ‘The Idol,’ it was clear their subversive, revelatory take on the cult of the music industry was unlike anything HBO had ever done before,” said Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming. “Shortly after, the brilliant duo of Joe Epstein and Amy Seimetz joined forces with the rest of the team, and this dream became a reality.”

In late September, Deadline reported that Lily-Rose Depp had been cast in the series. Now, Suzanna Son (Red Rocket), Steve Zissis, and Troye Sivan have all been tapped as series regulars, and will be joined by Elizabeth Berkley Lauren (Saved by the Bell), Nico Hiraga (Booksmart), Melanie Liburd (Power Book II: Ghost), Anne Heche, and Tunde Adebimpe of the band TV on the Radio.

As of now, it’s unclear if The Weeknd himself–who was initially rumored to star in The Idol–is still part of the cast. If he is, it actually wouldn’t be his first acting role as he briefly played a younger version of himself in the Adam Sandler drama Uncut Gems in 2019.

In response to the big news about his show, Tesfaye took to Twitter to write, “the idol…”

It’s safe to say he’s excited.