Liam Payne makes final on-screen appearance in Building The Band trailer

26 June 2025, 12:24 | Updated: 26 June 2025, 14:22

Liam Payne appears in Netflix's Building The Band trailer. Picture: Netflix

By Katie Smith

Following the release of the trailer, Liam's sister Ruth has shared a sweet message celebrating his work on the show.

Loading audio...

Months before Liam Payne sadly passed away in October 2024, the former One Direction star had completed filming on his new Netflix series Building The Band. Now, the trailer is finally here and it's a bittersweet full-circle moment for his fans.

Building The Band is a brand new music experiment/competition featuring Liam as a judge alongside Nicole Scherzinger (who suggested putting One Direction together as a band on The X Factor) and Destiny's Child icon Kelly Rowland, who was also a judge on The X Factor in the UK and the US.

Following Liam's tragic death, post-production was briefly halted before Netflix confirmed that the show would be released as planned.

It appears as though Liam's family has worked closely with Netflix on the show too, as it's been stated that they have "reviewed the series and [are] supportive of his inclusion."

See Liam Payne’s final TV appearance in Building The Band

In the trailer, Liam can be seen coaching various contestants as they vie to become the winning group. Of course, as we all know, Liam has a deep understanding of TV singing competitions as well as years of experience of being in a very very successful boy band.

"I need to feel that connection between you guys," he told one group.

"To have these bands put together is not normal, we were put together that way," he later goes on to say in response to one band's performance on the main stage, referring to the way One Direction were formed.

In case you don't remember, all five members entered The X Factor as solo artists before they were placed in a group together. It was a gamble that paid off massively as they went on to become one of the biggest bands in the world.

Liam's expertise in that area sounds like it's going to be incredibly helpful and invaluable for the hopefuls on stage.

Liam Payne is one of the mentors on Netflix's Building The Band. Picture: Netflix

Liam's sister Ruth Payne also celebrated the release of the trailer on Instagram, writing: "I didn't know whether to share this but it felt weird when I've raved about Liam's work and achievements for the last 15 years."

"I'm heartbroken he never got to see how great he is in this show. He knew he had done a good job, we all told him this when we were at filming, but watching it back, wow!

"You're a star Liam, you always were and always will be. There are a range of emotions I felt watching this, but one of the main ones is immeasurable pride, always. Miss you more every day."

Liam Payne's sister Ruth shares a sweet message about his work on Building The Band. Picture: Instagram

Building The Band will be released on Netflix on July 9th, and will be dropped in three different parts.

There will be 10 episodes in total with episodes 1-4 dropping on July 9th, episodes 5-7 dropping on July 16th and episode 8-10 dropping on July 23rd.

Set in a format that some have compared to Love is Blind, musicians will compete to form six bands based entirely on performance, without ever meeting each other. Those six bands will then battle to become the winner. The musicians maintain their anonymity by rehearsing together through isolation booths.

It's unclear how prominently Liam will feature in the show but it appears as though he'll be very involved in the mentoring at both the rehearsals and the main stage performances.