Netflix‘s musical competition series, Building the Band, will premiere on the streaming service this summer. The first four episodes will make their debut on July 9, three more will appear on July 16, and the final batch is set for July 23. Netflix had previously paused production on the series following the death of one of its judges, Liam Payne.
In the series, a group of singers attempts to build chemistry with each other — eventually forming a band — by singing with one another in booths. They’re not able to see each other, similar to Netflix’s dating show, Love Is Blind. Once the bands are in place, they meet and see each other for the first time, hoping they’ll have chemistry and the choreography chops to pull off a working ensemble.
Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean is the show’s host. Nicole Scherzinger serves as a mentor and judge, while Kelly Rowland and the late One Direction star also appear as judges. “Liam Payne’s family reviewed the series and is supportive of his inclusion,” Netflix wrote in a statement.
Payne’s segment of the show was filmed last July, months before his October death. “He remembered people’s names and was chatty and approachable,” Simon Hay, the show’s shooting producer-director, told Rolling Stone in an interview for the magazine’s in-depth investigation into Payne’s death. Another crew member described Payne as “egalitarian and charming” on set. That crew member also recalled that Payne “really wanted to help” the participants on the show. “That was the extra gut punch when I heard the terrible news,” the source said. “He wouldn’t be able to help them anymore.”
“He and I immediately connected on not only a music level but a human level,” McLean told Rolling Stone, “like we both were living a parallel life. There was a lot of funny boy-band jabs that we would take at each other. He really had a quick wit to him — that nice, dry, British humor.”
From Rolling Stone US
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