The Weeknd has been given the green light from HBO for his new drama show, and Aussie pop star Troye Sivan is amongst the notable casting choices.
As per Variety, HBO has formally ordered the six-episode series, which is very much an Abel Tesfaye affair – he co-wrote, executive produced, and will star in the drama.
Titled The Idol, the show follows a female pop singer who enters into a relationship with a cult leader and self-help guru.
Sivan is the most notable name to be announced as a cast member, and the Perth-born singer will have a regular role in the show. He previously had a supporting role in 2018’s Boy Erased.
The other cast members announced to back up Sivan are Suzanna Son, Melanie Liburd, Tunde Adebimpe, Steve Zissis, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Nico Hiraga, and Anne Heche. They all join Lily-Rose Depp, Johnny Depp’s daughter, who first joined The Idol earlier this year.
“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,” HBO Programming’s executive vice president Francesca Orsi said.
“Shortly after, the brilliant duo of (showrunner) Joe Epstein and Amy Seimetz joined forces with the rest of the team, and this dream became a reality.”
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Sivan has been keeping busy in music, recently dropping the artistic music video for his new single, ‘Angel Baby’.
The Weeknd has been working on his fifth studio album, the follow-up to 2020’s acclaimed After Hours. On a recent episode of his Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori, he shared some updates about it, saying that the album was complete.
“Only thing that’s missing is a couple of characters who are key to the narrative — some people that are near and dear to me, some people that inspired my life as a child and some that inspire me now. More to come in the following months,” he said.
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