Netflix’s upcoming Building the Band talent competition series from Remarkable Entertainment aims to form the next great music group sight unseen.
But what producers of the TV show couldn’t foresee was Liam Payne, the former One Direction band member, falling to his death from the balcony of a hotel room in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Before his tragic death at the age of 31, Payne was named to the judging panel for Building the Band, alongside Nicole Scherzinger (The Pussycat Dolls) and Kelly Rowland (Destiny’s Child).
The Hollywood Reporter received no direct comment when it reached out to Netflix and The Wall producer Remarkable, which is part of Banijay U.K. But sources indicate the series producers were “shocked” by news of Payne’s unexpected death, and it’s too soon to make decisions around the competition show amid an outpouring of grief and sadness.
Production on Building the Band by Banijay U.K. subsidiary Remarkable, with Payne on the judging panel, took place in August at the Aviva Studios event space in Manchester, England. Cat Lawson, Alison Holloway, Katrina Morrison, Clara Elliot and Simon Crossley of Remarkable are executive producers.
Payne certainly had expertise as a judge on Building the Band. While competing individually on the U.K. X-Factor in 2010, Payne was among those chosen to form the boy band that would become One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. The group went on to become a global sensation, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
Looking ahead, the global outpouring of shock and grief around Payne’s death, not least from his fanbase, will have the producers of Building the Band having to make adjustments to address his loss. That could have Payne’s fellow judges and Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean, host of the competition series, tackling the shadow of his loss in the opening episode.
But producers of the series are for now giving time for Payne’s friends and family to absorb his death before moving forward. That was echoed by Styles, Horan, Tomlinson and Malik who earlier released a joint statement to address the tragic passing of their former bandmate: “In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.”