Jennie, part of the K-Pop girl group Blackpink, will appear in the upcoming HBO TV series “The Idol.” She joins a cast that is headed by the Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp.
Co-created by the Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) and Reza Fahim, “The Idol” is set against the backdrop of the music industry. The plot follows a self-help guru and cult leader who develops a complicated relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol.
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Jennie, expected to be credited under her full name Jennie Kim, appeared briefly in a recently released trailer for the show. The show’s release date has not been announced.
HBO subsequently confirmed Jennie’s participation via Twitter. “Jennie Kim has been cast in #THEIDOL,” it said.
The star herself later doubled down on the information without elaborating on her role or character in the show. “I found the script very intriguing, so I wanted to be part of the series,” Jennie Jennie said through her agency, in a quote published by Korean news agency Yonhap. “I feel very excited. I’ll work hard, so please watch me with affection.”
The announcement has excited K-Pop fans, some of whom consider “The Idol” to be Jennie’s legitimate acting debut. Jennie has previously appeared in TV series “Castle Einstein” and “The Clash,” Netflix documentary “Blackpink: The Movie” and as herself in long-running YouTube series “Blackpink.”
Jennie was born in Korea, but lived and studied in Auckland, New Zealand, for five years before returning to Korea and joining YG’s talent academy. The four-member group was formed in 2016 and has gone on to enjoy global success.
They were the first music group and Korean female act to have five music videos accumulate one billion views each on YouTube and are the most-followed girl group on Spotify.
Talent agency YG Entertainment recently announced that Blackpink are in the final stages of recording a new album that will be released in August. The album, the second full-length effort, “starts a continuous large-scale project which will extend through the second half of the year,” according to the announcement.
The company said, “A lot of Blackpink-esque music has been prepared over a long period of time. On top of new music and large-scale projects, Blackpink will also go on the largest world tour in the history of a K-pop girl group by the end of the year to expand their rapport with fans worldwide.”
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