By James Hibbs

Published: Monday, 18 July 2022 at 12:00 am


New HBO series The Idol is set to air in the near future, and it comes from co-creator and star The Weeknd, as well as Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.

Little is known about the series as of yet, but we now have a trailer which has given us a small glimpse of what is in store in the music industry/cult drama.

The series also stars Lily-Rose Depp as an up-and-coming pop idol, and will air in the UK on Sky Atlantic. Based on the trailer it looks set to be filled with sex, drugs and parties, with The Weeknd’s character asking Depp’s “Do you trust me?”, to which she replies, “Not really”.

Read on for the everything you need to know about The Idol.

When will The Idol air on Sky Atlantic?

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The Weeknd in The Idol
HBO/YouTube

We don’t have a confirmed release date just yet, but with a first trailer now having been released we’d expect the series to air some time later this year, in 2022.

The series will air on HBO in the US while over here in the UK, it will air on Sky Atlantic and stream on NOW.

The Idol plot: What’s the series about?

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Lily-Rose Depp in The Idol
HBO/YouTube

The series, which is being marketed as “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood”, will tell the story of a self-help guru and cult leader, and follow his relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol.

The series has been co-created by Abel Tesfaye AKA The Weeknd, as well as Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim.

The Idol cast: Who stars alongside The Weeknd?

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The cast of The Idol
HBO/YouTube

The series is set to star Abel Tesfaye/The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, as a cult leader and pop idol respectively. They will be joined by Troye Sivan, Jennie Kim, Debby Ryan, Rachel Sennott, Steve Zissis, Hari Nef and Juliebeth Gonzalez. Character details are currently sparse, but we’ll update this page as soon as more information becomes available.

The show underwent a creative overhaul in April of this year, with the director and cast members exiting the project. Deadline reported at the time that sources had said this was because The Weeknd “felt the show was leaning too much into a ‘female perspective’”.

The Idol trailer

The first trailer for The Idol dropped on Sunday 17th June 2022, with it claiming that the series comes from “the sick and twisted minds of Sam Levinson and The Weeknd”, suggesting we can expect it to take some dark turns along the way.

You can watch the full trailer right here, now.