Who Does Blackpink's Jennie Play In The Idol?

If it was Sam Levinson's intention to inflame shocking reviews surrounding, "The Idol," it looks like he accomplished his mission. Since its announcement, the provocative series has been mired in controversy, with reports of the director reshooting 80% of the series due to artistic conflicts. This constant cycle of conversation makes "The Idol" even more meta — stirring up drama around a show that stirs up drama surrounding its central character

Levinson continued with this meta-narrative in casting Jennie Kim from the K-pop sensation Blackpink. Credited as Jennie Ruby Jane, the pop star appears in Episode 1 as Jocelyn's (Lily-Rose Depp) backup dancer, Dyanne. In a world where the protagonist feels isolated from everyone because of her mega-stardom, Dyanne is part of a small support system. Feeling overwhelmed and distant because of a provocative dance number, Jocelyn steps aside during rehearsal for Dyanne to take her place. 

Jocelyn's insecurity shines through, lamenting that she's not as talented as Dyanne. But the dancer reminds her everyone wouldn't be here without her and ultimately causes the celebrity to meet Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye's sleazy character, Tedros. As Kim's television debut, this is a solid start to a promising film career.

Jennie Kim is just one of many relevant performers cast in "The Idol," but her inclusion isn't just for surface-level aesthetics. Sam Levinson revealed in a behind-the-scenes featurette that he was drawn to impressive artists he had never worked with before, which led him to cast Kim. She has a specific plot function, though, taking Jocelyn to the club Tedros owns and kicking off the events. In addition to being integral to the events of the series, Dyanne was someone that Kim could easily empathize with, which was a reason she had an interest in the role.

"I trusted Sam to be collaborative with all the scenes that we would be working on together, because it was about the industry," Kim reflected to Women's Wear Daily. "The fact that it was about the music industry fascinated me, and I thought I could bring something to the role." Bringing something to the role is putting it lightly. Dyanne's central scene involves a complex dance number that needed to look realistic, and the performer was up to the challenge.

"I didn't have a lot of time to learn the choreography for the dance scenes," Kim admitted in the Max featurette. "But, thankfully, I do this all the time, so it came naturally to me." Viewers can catch her in six episodes of "The Idol," airing on Max.