If you’d like to see what a challenge it was to stage an elaborate Super Bowl Halftime Show during a pandemic, look no further than the forthcoming Showtime documentary on the Weeknd’s dazzling performance during the 2021 game.
The brief clip below shows just how much planning went into the performance, which was seen by an estimated 100 million viewers worldwide.
Variety wrote in its review of the performance, “The Super Bowl Halftime show is the biggest stage on Earth for a musician, and the Weeknd made the most of his 12-odd minutes on Sunday night, delivering a tightly choreographed, technologically dazzling set that not only lived up to some of the most iconic performances of the past, it also touched on songs and images from all across his decade-long career — and he did it under strict pandemic restrictions.”
The doc, called “The Show,” was first announced in February, and is produced by Pepsi’s in-house content studio and Boardwalk Pictures. Directed by Nadia Hallgren (the Michelle Obama Netflix doc “Becoming”) the feature-length documentary is set to premiere on Showtime on Sept. 24.
“This documentary is a unique glimpse into the passion, work and cinematic mindset that went into the creation of the show,” said The Weeknd. “It extends the narrative for fans and viewers who like to get lost in how the historic show we all grow up watching is built.”
“We get a window into the process of a diverse team of executives and creatives working at the highest level, in front of and behind the camera,” said director Nadia Hallgren. “It’s fun to see these masters at work while they also uplift others. I hope this can inspire people to pursue big dreams.”
Along with his new single, “Take My Breath,” and the follow-up to his blockbuster 2020 “After Hours” album coming sometime in the next few month, the Weeknd will be starring in and co-writing a new HBO series with “Euphoria”’s Sam Levinson, currently titled “The Idol.”