Blackpink are one of the biggest K-pop groups in the world right now, and the members of this all-female quartet from YG Entertainment have been making headlines lately thanks to everything from the group’s recent comeback to their Born Pink World Tour – as well as the impending acting debut on HBO by singer and rapper Jennie Kim.
The latter is an example of how, in addition to their work as part of the group, the individual members of Blackpink have also pursued various solo projects, including Jennie (whose music video for His song Solo, for example, is approaching 900 million views on YouTube). Jennie will also soon arrive on millions of TV screens, thanks to her role in the upcoming HBO drama. The idolco-created by The Weeknd and set in the context of the glitzy and ruthless music industry.
Jennie Kim in HBO The idol
Here’s HBO’s logline for the show: “The idolset in the context of the music industry, centers on a self-help guru and modern-day cult leader, who develops a complicated relationship with a rising pop idol.
In addition to The Weeknd, co-creators include Sam Levinson (creator of another hit series from HBO, Euphoria), and Reza Fahim. Francesca Orsi, executive president of HBO Programming, described the show as “unlike anything HBO had done before”.
HBO hasn’t released an official launch date for the show, but it’s expected to arrive in June. As for Jennie, the network also hasn’t made it clear what specifics of the character she’s playing – although, based on the teasers HBO has released so far, Jennie appears to be part of what is described as a “cult of wannabe popstars” whose leader is played by The Weeknd.
Plus, we can’t stress this enough: Blackpink are a big enough band – with several music videos on YouTube, for example, that have surpassed a billion views – that it’s also interesting to see if the tour of Jennie to act triggers a similar situation. trending among fellow K-pop artists here in the United States. There’s definitely a market here that can’t get enough of what the Korean K-pop industry is selling.
Another Blackpink acting debut
Jennie, by the way, isn’t even the only Blackpink member to have made major acting debuts.
Jisoo, the oldest member of the group, performed in late 2021 in historical espionage Dramatic Thriller K snowdrops, all 16 episodes of which are available to stream on Disney Plus. Directed by Jo Hyun-tak and released in early 2022 in the US, here’s how the Disney streamer describes it the series (which caused a bit of controversy in South Korea):
“When a blood-soaked man (Jung Hae-In) breaks into a women’s university dormitory in Seoul, Korea, Yeong-ro (Jisoo) will go against his better judgment and risk being expelled for hiding the man to his attackers and tend to his wounds. Unbeknownst to Yeong-ro, the man has a harrowing secret that threatens to endanger the safety of his friends and family, and the two young lovers will have to work together to overcome obstacles.
Netflix also has a Blackpink documentary available to stream, 2020 Blackpink: Light up the sky.
Directed by Caroline Suh, this film gets closer to the four members of the group. Including, per Netflix: “Jisoo, the whip-smart United (“big sister”) of the band with a quirky sense of humor; Jennie, the rapper whose fierce on-stage personality contrasts with her soft-spoken nature; Rosé, the Australian with the sweet voice who asserts herself as a singer-songwriter; and Lisa, the dancing queen whose spark plug personality never fails to make her bandmates laugh.