The Weeknd's upcoming drama series 'The Idol' gets greenlight by HBO

HBO has officially given a green light to singer The Weeknd’s drama series titled The Idol. The Grammy award-winning singer's series was first announced as being in the development stage earlier this year in June. The Weeknd will not only star in the six-episode series but will also serve as the co-creator. It was previously announced that Lily-Rose Depp would star in the series along with the singer.

The Weeknd' HBO series 'The Idol' gets official greenlight

As per Variety, The Weeknd's upcoming drama series has received a green light from HBO and will start production soon. The series is set against the backdrop of the music industry and centres on a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult, who develops a complicated relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol.

Recently eight new members were added to the cast of the series which include Suzanna Son, Melanie Liburd, Tunde Adebimpe, Steve Zissis, Troye Sivan, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Nico Hiraga, and Anne Heche. The show will also star Lily-Rose Deep.

The Weeknd will serve as co-writer and executive producer along with Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, with all three credited as creators of the show. Joe Epstein will also write and executive produce in addition to serving as showrunner. Amy Seimetz will executive produce as well as direct.

In a statement given to Variety, Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming said, "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. 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."

The Weeknd boycotts Grammy Awards 2022

Grammy Awards 2022 is all set to take place on January 31, 2022, but The Weeknd has decided to boycott the event that is considered one of the biggest nights in the music industry. The singer had earlier slammed the Grammy nomination review committee after his critically acclaimed album After Hours didn't receive a single nomination at the 63rd Grammy Awards. Even after the Recording Academy made some changes as for the first time in 27 years, the final choices in each of the Big Four categories — album, record, and song of the year plus best new artist — will be made by the roughly 12,000 voting members of the Recording Academy, the singe refused to submit his album and continued to boycott the event.

Image: Instagram/@theweeknd