Netflix Moving Forward With Talent Show ‘Building the Band’ With Late Liam Payne
Netflix is set to move ahead with the talent discovery show Building the Band, despite the untimely death of series judge Liam Payne, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The Building the Band talent competition series from Remarkable Entertainment, which is part of Banijay UK, aims to form the next great music group sight unseen. The shiny floor studio show was shot in summer 2024 in the UK, well before Payne fell to his death from the balcony of a hotel room in Buenos Aires in October 2024.
Before his tragic death at the age of 31, Payne served as part of the judging panel for Building the Band along with Nicole Scherzinger (The Pussycat Dolls) and Kelly Rowland (Destiny’s Child). The series format had musicians competing for a role in a band, and while they rehearsed together, they never saw one another until they performed in front of a live audience.
According to sources at Netflix, the video streaming giant never said it would ditch the competition series. What has not been publicly announced is how Building the Band will feature Payne after his death.
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Netflix has, however, given Payne’s family time and space to absorb his death. On Wednesday, during a “Special Presentation” in Los Angeles, Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vp of nonfiction series and sports was asked how the Building the Band show was handling Payne in the series.
On background, sources at Netflix confirmed to THR that Riegg cited ongoing conversations with Payne’s family, and that more would be said in the near future.
Possible adjustments by the Building the Band producers to address Payne’s loss could include his fellow judges and Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean, host of the competition series, offering a tribute in the opening episode.
Executives at Banijay UK referred media enquiries to Netflix.
