Showtime's Upcoming Documentary Will Make The Weeknd Fans Excited
The Weeknd's Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show was historic for many reasons. Not only did it occur during a global pandemic, but the team behind the 13-minute performance was equally unprecedented. This is precisely why the process behind the spectacle will be the subject of a new documentary by Showtime, appropriately called The Show (via Deadline). In case you missed it, The Weeknd (a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye) capped off his year of superstardom by pulling off one of the most monumental performances in Super Bowl halftime show history. Though his song "Blinding Lights" broke all kinds of records in 2020, Tesfaye performed an assortment of greatest hits from his decade-long career.
Of course, The Weeknd also brought his specific brand of dark humor, though it was certainly toned down to adhere to the family-friendly nature of the event. "The whole thing was one big smirk to camera, a send-up of the pop star industrial complex that played up the ridiculousness of The Weeknd playing at the Super Bowl while cementing his status as one of pop's last remaining legitimate male stars," mused Shaad D'Souza of The Fader. The Show is set to explore the groundbreaking performance in a 90-minute feature later this year — read on for all the reasons why it has fans eagerly anticipating its release.
An inside look into the months of collaboration
The Weeknd's epic show was a collaboration between first-time halftime show executive producer Jesse Collins, executive producers Roc Nation, and many more talented creatives. "'The Show' is a worthy snapshot of the tremendous artistry and effort that goes into the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show," said Kent Sevener, Executive Vice President, Content Acquisition, Showtime Networks Inc., Variety reports. The documentary is directed by Nadia Hallgren and produced by the Pepsi in-house content studio and Boardwalk Pictures.
Collins was the first-ever Black executive producer of the halftime show and was joined by Lila Nikole, the show's first Latina costume designer. Other team members included La Mar Taylor, creative director for The Weeknd, creative set designer Es Devlin, set builder Bruce Rodgers, producer Dionne Harmon, and choreographer Charm La'Donna. Tom Kaplan, VP of Marketing for Pepsi, says the documentary is "taking fans on the emotional and thrilling journey of what it takes to make the biggest show of the year — with the added complexity of doing so amidst a global pandemic" (via Variety).
Fans are excited for the behind-the-scenes look at The Weeknd's process. "Abel knew these not even 15 minutes won't be enough for us so he went for 90, the way I love him," said one fan on Twitter. Others shared their enthusiasm by sending a slew of smiley face emojis and exclamation points, though they'll have to wait until an undetermined date later in 2021 to see the doc.