Sam Levinson created Euphoria which is one of the most popular series at the moment. The HBO Max original TV Show became successful through the audience, specifically a younger one. Also, its cast won awards like Zendaya winning a Primetime Emmy Award. Now Levinson is creating alongside Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) and Reza Fahim, The Idol, an upcoming drama series that we can stream sometime in 2023 on HBO Max. Since this date only three trailers have been released and judging from it, the series looks promising. There is no exact release date of The Idol, but a lot of content from the series has been shared on social media.
Abel Tesfaye (also known as the singer The Weeknd) will play the role of Tedros who is the leader of a modern-day cult based in Hollywood. Tedros will later start a sordid relationship with an up-and-coming pop star named Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp). The cast also looks promising since the singer The Weeknd, who is becoming more and more successful in the music industry, now is coming to our screens starring alongside Lily-Rose Depp (Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis’ daughter). Troye Sivan, Anne Heche, Suzanna Son, Steve Zissis, Juliebeth Gonzalez, Maya Eshet, Tyson Ritter, Kate Lyn Sheil, Liz Sierra, Finley Rose Slater, Jane Adams, Dan Levy, Eli Roth, Jennie Ruby Jane (Jennie Kim), Rachel Sennott, Hari Nef, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Mike Dean, Ramsey and Hank Azaria are also part of Levinson, Tesfaye and Fahim’s project.
Of all these names, the one that caught the most attention was the appearance of Jennie Kim, the singer of one of the biggest K-Pop groups, Blackpink, who became a trending topic as soon as her appearance in the show was announced, and according to the teasers, it seems it will not be just a cameo by the singer.
Abel Tesfaye announced on June 29th, 2021, through social media that he would be creating, executive producing and co-writing a drama series for HBO. In the same year HBO gave the production a series order for a first season which will consist of six episodes.
In November, 2021, the filming of The Idol began around Los Angeles, California. The production had a pause since The Weeknd had to perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with Swedish House Mafia. Then in May and July, the filming was paused again due to The Weeknd’s world tour After Hours til Dawn Tour.
Even though we still do not know the whole plot, and the exact release date, the audience has put an eye on this series, since the cast and the sneak peek the three trailers gave us, are making the series look as promising as Levinson’s previous project, Euphoria. Otherwise the public will be completely disappointed. The creators (Sam Levinson, Abel Tesfaye and Reza Fahim) have not announced either if the TV show will have a second season.
The Idol is not rated yet, but judging from the teasers, it seems the TV show will be rated R, since there is an explicit use of drugs, alcohol and sexual content. In a nutshell, it will not be a TV show for children.
Andrea Rich
