The Weeknd has landed his next big gig, and it’s safe to say the singer has “Earned It.”
According to Variety, the Starboy performer is teaming up with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson for the upcoming HBO series The Idol. He will executive produce and co-write the series alongside Levinson and his creative producer, Reza Fahim, who are both credited as creators.
And yes, he will also star in the show, but there’s no word yet on who he’ll portray.
Variety reports the show will follow a Los Angeles pop star who begins dating a club owner. The big twist? Said club owner also happens to be the leader of a cult.
The Weeknd confirmed his involvement in the show on Instagram by simply re-posting the stories and tagging HBO.
This will be the 31-year-old artist’s first big role. The star previously made a cameo in Adam Sandler‘s Uncut Gems, and guest wrote and starred in a 2020 episode of American Dad.
Uncut Gems director Josh Safdie previously told Variety that the singer, née Abel Tesfaye, is a “real cinephile.”
Christopher Polk/NBC“Like, one of his favorite filmmakers is (David) Cronenberg, and that makes sense, because he’s from Toronto. But he watches a lot of movies,” the director said, adding that Abel even offered some input when it came to writing the script for the Adam Sandler vehicle.
And Benny Safdie confirmed that The Weeknd really did get in a fist fight with Adam for the movie. “He did that with Adam, the two of them, no doubles, both of them rolling around on the ground,” the director shared. “Everybody wanted to get into it, really get down and dirty with us. It was heavily choreographed, but still, none of that stuff is easy.”
In other words, fans can expect to see The Weeknd give his all when The Idol eventually premieres.