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R&B singer The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) is working on a new HBO series with Euphoria exec producer Sam Levinson, according to a report from Variety. The project is tentatively named The Idol, and its premise will explore a female pop singer’s love affair with a secretive L.A. club owner who also happens to be the leader of an underground cult. The Weeknd will co-write for the show and star in it as well.

The Weeknd has had a number of his eccentric visions executed on-screen in the past, like the music videos for “Blinding Lights” and “Save Your Tears” or his performance for the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show. For this enterprise, though, the 3x Grammy Award winner and Levinson have also brought Reza Fahim on board, and the three of them will share credits as creators and executive producers for The Idol, too.

However, Tesfaye is no stranger to being in front of the camera, either. The singer appeared as himself in the 2019 dramedy Uncut Gems, led by Adam Sandler. And last year, The Weeknd also guest-starred in an episode of American Dad (although in animated form); the episode was called “A Starboy is Born,” which he also co-wrote.

HBO fans are also ramping up for the long-awaited second season of Levinson’s Euphoria, starring Zendaya as a high schooler and protagonist Rue Bennett.  The show was promptly renewed one month after its June 2019 debut, but the ensuing pandemic delayed all production work by almost two years.

“There is a beautiful second season that has been written,” Zendaya shared with InStyle last September. “But in order to do it the way we want to do it, we need to wait until it’s safer.” Now, with her turn as Lola Bunny in the upcoming movie Space Jam: A New Legacy under her belt, Zendaya is ready to get back to Rue. In May, she posted some candid backstage photos to her IG Stories of the studio lot and her Euphoria castmates. She also recently uploaded a clip to her Instagram feed captioned, “Happy 2 year @euphoria anniversary…see you soon:).”

The Weeknd Set to Co-Create & Star in HBO’s New Show “The Idol”  was originally published on cassiuslife.com