HBO’s buzzy dark Hollywood drama The Idol, which debuted this Sunday, is the network’s latest entry into the prestige television landscape they’ve largely defined. The show, which stars Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp (the actor-model daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis), quickly filled the hole left by the series finale of fan-favorite and awards-season heavyweight Succession last week. The Idol was the talk of the internet months before its Cannes premiere last month, with Euphoria’s Sam Levinson taking the reins of the program following the exit of its initial helmer, Amy Seimetz, and a Rolling Stone report on the alleged set drama that made such a splash on social media that The Weeknd felt compelled to weigh in via a tongue-in-cheek tweet. As the Canadian singer-songwriter explores his thespian abilities, he’s launched something of a rebrand, shedding The Weeknd persona that has netted him four Grammys and international superstardom in favor of introducing fans to the man behind the music, Abel Tesfaye. With that shift, he’s also welcoming the audience into his home, so to speak; one of The Idol’s primary shoot locations is his very own $70 million Bel Air mansion.
AD first reported on the musician’s sprawling abode when he purchased it in August 2021. The eight-figure price tag made it one of the most expensive transactions to take place in LA that year. With amenities including a music studio, movie theater, sauna, infinity pool with waterfall, and an indoor pool all at his disposal on the 1.6-acre lot, one can see why Tesfaye might have wanted the production to shoot in-house (literally).
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Though he’s the true owner of the mega-mansion IRL, his nightclub magnate cult leader character Tedros doesn’t reside there in the show. The dream house is canonically the dwelling of…