The Weeknd is one of the most uniquely creative minds in entertainment. Everything he does is interesting and fresh. However, just because you make cool music videos and tours doesn’t mean you know how to put together a big budget TV series. According to Variety, that’s the boat The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, finds himself in as his HBO drama The Idol is undergoing major changes.
With episodes already in production, director Amy Seimetz has exited, while sources report other cast and crew will also leave the project. The series was created by Tesfaye, Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson (Euphoria), who also serves as co-executive producer and is rumored to take over as director.
“‘The Idol’s creative team continues to build, refine, and evolve their vision for the show and they have aligned on a new creative direction,” HBO said in a statement to Variety. “The production will be adjusting its cast and crew accordingly to best serve this new approach to the series. We look forward to sharing more information soon.”
“Set against the backdrop of the music industry, the series centers on a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult, who develops a complicated relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol.”
The unknown layer to this story is that HBO parent company Warner Bros.-Discovery has just concluded its merger and is wasting no time putting its stamp on its newly acquired assets. In any business you can expect upheaval when new bosses come in. We imagine Discovery executives are keeping a very close eye on any project that can be remotely considered too expensive or troublesome. Of course, these changes to The Idol could be an after effect of the merger, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see when the show finally hits the screen.
In the meantime, the “Take My Breath” singer will have to comfort himself with his 17 Billboard Music Award nominations.