The Weeknd to star in, write and create cult drama series The Idol at HBO

Singer, songwriter The Weeknd will star in and co-write a series that is in development at HBO.

Titled The Idol, the series follows a female pop singer who starts a romance with an enigmatic LA club owner who also happens to be the leader of a secret cult.

The singer will develop the show along with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, and Reza Fahim. The three will be credited as creators and will also executive produce the show. Joseph Epstein will also write and executive produce in addition to serving as showrunner. Mary Laws will write and co-executive produce. Levinson is executive producing through Little Lamb along with Ashley Levinson and Kevin Turen. Aaron L Gilbert will executive produce via Bron Studios. Wassim SAL Slaiby and La Mar C Taylor will co-executive produce.

The Weeknd is popularly known for his album After Hours, which included the fan-favourite Blinding Lights. After Hours, which accumulated 7 billion global audio and video streams, is one of the 44 platinum or gold songs or albums with which he’s been involved.

The singer previously wrote and starred in an episode of the hit animated series American Dad. He also played himself in the critically-acclaimed film Uncut Gems opposite Adam Sandler.

Sam Levinson is known for creating Euphoria, which debuted on HBO in 2019. The second season is gearing up for release, with two one-hour specials having dropped in December and January.