‘Don't try to keep the dead alive' – Liam Payne's new Netflix show can only be totally creepy TV … right?

The Guardian

12-06-2025

At first glance, Netflix's new series Building the Band comes off as a weird amalgam of every singing competition show you loved a decade and a half ago. There's the core DNA of X Factor. The singers perform out of sight of everyone else, so it cribs from The Voice. Clearly, there's heavy borrowing from Making the Band. Plus, this is Netflix, so everything looks a bit like Squid Game.
But this odd mishmash of a format isn't what will keep you away from Building the Band. No, what will keep you away from Building the Band is the posthumous appearance of Liam Payne.
Last year, Payne was named as a member of the Building the Band judging panel. He filmed his parts for the series in August 2024. However, two months later, he died aged 31 in circumstances that the tabloids feasted upon for months.
Yesterday the first clip of Building the Band was released, and producers confirmed that the One Direction star will still appear as a member of the onscreen judging team. 'Liam Payne's family reviewed the series and is supportive of his inclusion,' Netflix said in a statement. And suddenly what looked at first like the most inoffensive piece of background fluff has become uncomfortably charged.
Unfortunately, this is not a unique problem. Several productions have had to contend with the unexpected death of their talent. How this is handled relies entirely upon the nature of the star, the death and the production.
The most drastic but perhaps the most appropriate thing to do in this situation is to shut down production entirely. Midnight Rider, a 2014 biopic of the musician Gregg Allman, was axed after a horrific accident on the first day of filming took the life of an assistant camerawoman. Though it initially looked as though the movie might have continued to shoot, there was an industry clamour to boycott out of respect.
Another option is to acknowledge what happened upfront. When Cory Monteith died between seasons of Glee, the show chose to return with an episode devoted to the death of his character and the impact it had on those around him. Similarly, John Ritter's death was treated by his show 8 Simple Rules as a way for the cast, crew and audience to grieve for him together, blurring the lines between character and actor in a way that remains incredibly touching.
Less successful are the productions that attempt to keep the dead alive. Perhaps the only misstep in the entire run of The Sopranos was its effort to complete the storyline of Livia Soprano after the death of Nancy Marchand. Her final scene was cobbled together with unused footage and ham-fisted CGI in such a way that it was impossible to suspend disbelief. Yes, it was a horrible decision, but in retrospect the haphazard execution wasn't particularly fair on the character or the performer. Plus, let's not blame this creepiness on emergent technology, since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker did the same thing with Carrie Fisher and the end result was just as eerie.
So what will Building the Band do? Well, the team have evidently not shut down production, and we can assume they haven't built a CGI re-creation of Liam Payne. From all the available information, it doesn't seem as though Payne was a central part of the show – the Hollywood Reporter describes his role as 'guest judge', which might mean his participation was limited to a single episode. If that's the case, the show will be able to package his appearance as a tribute to his life and career, which seems like the most respectful outcome.
But if Payne was present for more episodes, the show will be faced with an uncomfortable transition. One moment he will be there, and the next minute not. This sort of porous judging panel used to happen on a fairly regular basis on X Factor, but the circumstances are far more serious this time. The show doesn't have to brush off a backstage tantrum or scheduling conflict. It has to reckon with the tragic death of a young man. It isn't an edit that can be easily smoothed over.
Ultimately, you suspect that Building the Band as a whole is destined to be overshadowed by the fate of Liam Payne. His appearances, however short, are going to be scrutinised, either for signs of promise that were sadly snuffed out or for glimpses of the pain that was evident in his final days. When there's something that heavy going on, a bunch of hopefuls crooning on a stage simply don't stand a chance.
Building the Band is on Netflix from 9 July