The Weeknd Recalls ‘The Idol’ Amidst ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ Failure: “Could Have Been Great”
The new thriller starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan now seems to follow the same trend as Sam Levinson’s The Idol. However, The Weeknd thinks there’s a reason why the latter failed.
Canadian pop star The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) is back to acting roughly two years after starring in the Lily Rose-Depp-led failed drama series The Idol, though things don’t look that different now.
Based on Tesfaye’s brand new album Hurry Up Tomorrow, the movie of the same name stars the singer as a fictionalised version of himself, with Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan also joining him on screen.
While Hurry Up Tomorrow has already hurried up to prove itself a potential failure, the singer keeps the hope that the new movie will somehow surpass Sam Levinson’s post-Euphoria drama which, according to The Weeknd, didn’t work out due to a bunch of reasons.
‘The Idol’ Had “Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen”, The Weeknd Says
The series, helmed by Euphoria’s director Sam Levinson, failed quite miserably with both critics and viewers back in 2023, currently keeping scores of 19% and 41% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the series might have been doomed long before it eventually entered its production phase, and it’s not only the storyline to blame.
“Pandemic happened, theaters are not a thing any more at the time, television is the new god. It could have been great if it had a beginning, middle and end. It just ended on middle”, Tesfaye revealed in an interview with Deadline.
He suggested the show was “half-baked” due to the production team’s struggle to decide who has the creative control.
“I think our instincts are that – it’s God speaking to us: ‘This isn’t right.’ When you go against your instincts, it can be blasphemous. Seriously! And you pay for it. With Idol, our instincts were ‘This isn’t right,’ but we wanted it to work … Too many cooks in the kitchen”, the singer concluded.
What Critics and Viewers Say About The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow Right Now
In the meantime, the singer’s new movie, inspired by his own career, kicked off in theatres just last week, though it currently might be following the discouraging trend started by The Idol.
So far, Hurry Up Tomorrow holds scores of 16% and 69% from critics and viewers on Rotten Tomatoes, just three days after hitting the screens.
“A feature-length ego-stroke of monumental hubris that instantly assumes pole position in the race for year’s worst movie”, The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager wrote.
“Ortega and Keoghan do what they can, investing their thinly written characters with intense energy. But their hard-working efforts are not enough to make Hurry Up Tomorrow anything more than a huge ego trip for its star”, The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck added.
Still, the audiences have been more condescending.
“Worth a watch for the visuals alone. Barry Keoghan is always fun in any role, Jenna Ortega was a good character to watch especially when she went full Kathy Bates. FAR from the worst movie of the year”, user Chris R wrote on Rotten Tomatoes’ website.
“I can’t understand these bad reviews. The movie was awesome and now I understand the hype. Abel brought something so new and unique in cinemas screens and it’s worth watching!!”, Chrysanthi L chimed in.
Hurry Up Tomorrow is currently playing in theatres.
