Amid All the Controversy, One The Idol Change Was for the Better
Originally, The Weeknd was going to play himself. Literally.
The Idol gained notoriety even before its release, and after the first two episodes came out, people's fears have only been confirmed. While there are still four episodes of Season 1 left to air and we're yet to see where this controversial story leads to, most viewers have already had enough of The Idol, which seems to fetishize the exploitative, abusive, and manipulative behavior of people in the music industry.
But for all the scandal surrounding The Idol, this series could actually be much worse. Yes, don't be surprised — in the production process, creators Sam Levinson, Reza Fahim, and Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd brought one important change to the story, eliminating one more reason for why fans could hate it.
As it turns out, the series' central character Tedros, a ridiculous-looking, sleazy, and manipulative leader of a modern-day cult, could have been… The Weeknd himself.
Abel Tesfaye portrays Tedros on the show, but the character is now obviously very different from The Weeknd's real-life persona. His slicked-back hair, wrinkled tracksuit over his bare torso, haughty look, and mannerisms all make Tedros a highly obnoxious character — a living embodiment of all the crazy and lurid stuff happening behind the scenes in the music industry.
Now imagine if The Weeknd was playing himself in the show? Judging from photos from The Idol set that resurfaced on the Internet recently, Tedros was meant to look a lot more like the musician portraying him.
In one of the pictures, Tesfaye is seen wearing his usual mini afro, a brown double-breasted blazer, and an Orthodox cross around his neck. That last item in particular points to the fact that The Weeknd's character was originally closely linked to his real-life persona, as Abel himself was raised as an Ethiopian Orthodox.
It's unclear when The Idol's creative team decided to change Tedros' appearance (and his personality, we presume), but this transformation most likely happened sometime after Amy Seimetz left the project and Sam Levinson took her place as the series' director. Ultimately, this was a wise decision to separate the character from the actor, as portraying Tedros as his own alter ego would really hurt The Weeknd's image and bring him even more backlash from fans.
The next episode of The Idol will air on June 18, 2023.