The Weeknd-led drama “The Idol” from “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson has been ordered to series at HBO, the pay-TV channel said Monday.
Created by The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), Levinson and Reza Fahim and starring The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, “The Idol” is “set against the backdrop of the music industry” and “centers on a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult, who develops a complicated relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol.”
In addition to the series order for “The Idol,” HBO revealed these additional cast members for the drama: Suzanna Son (series regular), Melanie Liburd (recurring), Tunde Adebimpe (recurring), Steve Zissis (series regular), Troye Sivan (series regular), Elizabeth Berkley Lauren (recurring), Nico Hiraga (recurring) and Anne Heche (recurring).
Levinson, The Weeknd and Fahim are co-creators on the series and executive producer and write alongside Joe Epstein. Additional executive producers include Amy Seimetz (who will direct all six episodes of the show), Kevin Turen (HBO’s ”Euphoria”), Ashley Levinson (HBO’s ”Euphoria”), Nick Hall (HBO’s “The White Lotus”) and Sara E. White (“Station 19”). Aaron Gilbert executive produces for BRON.
“The Idol” hails from A24, the studio that also produces “Euphoria” for HBO.
The series will be filmed in and around Los Angeles.
“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,” Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming, said in a statement. “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.”