Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of the stars at the heart of the new Apple TV+ docuseries K-Pop Idols. Though the six-episode series, premiering Aug. 30, presents itself as a 101 guide to the current Korean music scene, even K-pop fans might not immediately recognize the boy band CRAVITY, the solo artist Jessi, or the girl group BLACKSWAN—the latter of whom have less than half a million followers on Instagram.
These are, at best, the B- and C-listers of the K-pop world, presumably chosen for their willingness to grant access and/or their ability to speak English. While that initially seems like a hindrance for an insider’s look at K-pop, it eventually becomes the very thing that makes the series unique. After all, while there are no shortage of glossy documentaries that pull back the curtain on the tough life of world-famous pop stars, including Blackpink and BTS, there are far fewer that capture the experiences of artists who, frankly, might not have the talent, temperament, luck, or resources to make it at all.
In fact, though K-Pop Idols is dressed up with a sheen of “strive for your dreams” poptimism, the series sometimes plays more like an unintentional dark comedy than an earnest music documentary. After a primer that explains the K-pop terms and cultural norms newbies need to know, the series quickly delves into the juicier dramas of these up-and-comers. That includes a dinner party so disastrous that two members of BLACKSWAN stop speaking for six weeks—just one of many absurdities to come.
