The Weeknd continues to make some serious moves. Today (June 29), Variety reports that the acclaimed Toronto singer, who just appeared on Doja Cat’s Planet Her cut, “You Right,” has signed on to star in a new HBO TV series from “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson. He will also co-write for the show, which is currently titled “The Idol.”
The site reports that the show will follow the exploits of a female pop singer who ends up in a romance with an “enigmatic L.A. club owner.” It’s not stated explicitly in the piece but, “enigmatic club owner” sounds like a role The Weeknd was born to play.
That’s pretty much all that’s been revealed about the new show to this point, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that it’s got the makings of a hit TV series. After all, “Euphoria,” a Zendaya-starring teen drama that was executive-produced by Drake, earned plenty of acclaim and viewers when season one premiered two years ago. This being another offering from Levinson, it isn’t hard to see it being a similar success.
It should be noted that this isn’t The Weeknd’s first go-round with acting. In 2019, he appeared as a fictionalized version of himself in the Adam Sandler-starring comedy-thriller, Uncut Gems. In 2020, he co-wrote and guest-starred in an episode of “American Dad.” Now, Weeknd, who announced that his “After Hours Tour” will begin next year, will get the chance to prove he can play a truly different role.
This news is just the latest in a steady stream of epic moments for Weeknd, whose latest album, 2020’s After Hours, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart after moving 444,000 equivalent album units in its first week. It’s since gone two-times platinum. Weeknd parlayed that momentum into a performance at the 2021 Super Bowl earlier this year. It’ safe to say he’s leveled up in a very serious way since he first popped out onto the music scene 10 years ago.