“There’s a lot of musicians that are not as famous that can f--king outdance and outsing me for sure. But they can’t do what I do as The Weeknd.” As @theweeknd , Abel Tesfaye’s songs have often revolved around sex, drugs, control, and their fraught intersections. “My music was very cult-y in the beginning,” Tesfaye says. Now, after becoming one of pop music’s biggest stars, he’s ready to take on Hollywood—and that coveted 9 PM HBO timeslot—with #TheIdol. In conversation with VF, Tesfaye goes behind the scenes of his new series and his rise to fame. Read the full cover story at the link in bio. Story by @danmadler Photographs by @markseliger Styled by @henson Grooming by @nellichristine Hair by @blendla_ Set Design by @supercube
This summer's TV lineup includes plenty of old favorites and, hopefully, a few new ones. At the link in our bio, we compiled all the shows to add to your queue—no SPF required.
40 years ago, 'V' debuted on NBC, unsettling the nation and changing television forever. But the true story behind the alien invasion saga is even stranger. Few are aware of the show's origins as an anti-fascism parable, or the horrific true-life crime that shocked its cast and crew. What's more, some of the most ardent fans of 'V' turned out to be conspiracy theorists who missed the metaphor entirely: “I’ve gotten emails over the years and letters from people on the fringes who say, ‘Oh, you get it!’” creator Kenneth Johnson tells VF. “‘You know that there are lizards among us!’” Today, Johnson hopes to reclaim the show—from the executives who bungled it, from the QAnon obsessives who misunderstood it, and from the reliquary of nostalgia TV. Read more at the link in our bio.
It made sense dramaturgically. Tap the link in bio to read our #Succession finale recap.
“It’s done.” #Succession’s fourth and final season has come to an end, and after a bombshell board meeting, Waystar Royco found its new King Potato. Read our full finale recap at the link in bio. Photo: @hbo
The last #Succession Sunday is finally here. Before we say goodbye to the Roy family, watch director Mark Mylod unpack the scene that changed everything—Logan’s death. Watch the full video at the link in bio.
Buckle up: It's #Succession finale day. How's everyone feeling? Photos: @hbo , @nocontextsuccession
As @theweeknd , Abel Tesfaye became a pop music megastar, performing stadium-sized hits about shame and seduction. Now, he turns his auteur-scale vision to Hollywood—and that coveted 9 PM HBO timeslot—with his new series #TheIdol. In conversation with VF, Tesfaye unpacks what happened behind the scenes of his new series and his filmmaking ambitions. Read the full cover story at the link in bio. Story by @danmadler Photographs by @markseliger Styled by @henson Grooming by @nellichristine Hair by @blendla_ Set Design by @supercube
Every season finale of #Succession is titled after a line from John Berryman’s “Dream Song 29,” a cryptic poem whose themes of grief and guilt are a particularly revealing thematic twin to the series. So what does the title of the show's last episode—"With Open Eyes"—say about what's in store for the Roy siblings? Read more at the link in our bio.
Raise a glass to Karl and Frank, #Succession’s unsung dream team. On ‘Still Watching,’ David Rasche and Peter Friedman reflect on their decades-long friendship, their double act as trauma-bonded Waystar sharks, and who they want to see take the top spot on tomorrow’s finale. Listen now at the link in bio.
A blockbuster show of “lost” works by Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Orlando Museum of Art was meant to attract an audience that might otherwise visit the Magic Kingdom or SeaWorld. But when federal agents seized the works and a small-time auctioneer confessed to faking them, the owners were left scrambling to prove their authenticity. What followed was a twisting story filled with kooks and criminals, artists and alleged forgers, collectors and crooks, more akin to a Coen brothers script than the art world. As the investigation continues, the whole affair has shone an uncomfortable light on some dark art world truths. Bridging the two narratives is one agreed-upon truth: that it all started with a storage locker owned by a TV writer who died in 2018. Read the full story at the link in our bio.
@plazadeaubrey ’s status as the internet’s intimidating, witchy icon has managed to evolve beyond the actor herself, though she isn’t sure how it happened. For Plaza, it began as a defense mechanism: “It’s a struggle to not quote-unquote ‘give people what they want,’ which is—I don’t even know what they want,” she tells VF. “I think it all just stems from—I’m scared. I prefer to be a character.” But since winning audiences over as the sarcastic April Ludgate, she’s ready to prove just how versatile she truly is. Read the cover story at the link in our bio. Photographs by @studio_jackson Styled by @katelynjgray Hair by @evaniefrausto Makeup by @fulviafarolfi Manicure by @ricaromain Tailor @isastitches Set Design by @gerardsantos_