Everything to Know About "The BTS Comeback"

As he prepares to direct Saturday’s live Netflix event “BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang,” Done+Dusted partner and director/exec producer Hamish Hamilton is coming off what they’re calling the “quadruple crown.”

In just the past few weeks, Hamilton directed the Grammys, the Super Bowl halftime show, the Oscars, and now this.

“This,” of course, is the an hour-long event set to take place on Saturday, marking the return of pop superstars BTS as they embark on a global tour to celebrate their return after a lengthy hiatus, and their first studio album in six years.

“It’s absolutely enormous,” said Hamilton, who flew into Seoul hours after Conan O’Brien said his good nights on the Oscars. “Getting off the plane, people were talking about it. The excitement here is palpable as you walk around the streets. It’s such a massive occasion.”

Added Done+Dusted partner and executive producer Guy Carrington, from Seoul as well: “I’ve been here maybe 10 days now, and you can see it build. As the stages start to go up, people are starting to congregate, they’re taking photos, and trying to work out what the stage is going to be used for — like where the band’s going to come from, and everywhere they might go. The whole city is now focusing on this event, there’s a vibe, there’s a real electricity around the city for this.”

“BTS The Comeback Live” will take place at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul (where Gyeongbokgung Palace is located) at 8 p.m. Korean time — and air live throughout the globe on Netflix, including at 7 a.m. ET. Because it’s an outdoor space, Done+Dusted and BTS can’t do any rehearsals beforehand — which Hamilton admits is a bit tricky.

“It’s no small feat to be able to create something and deliver it when you don’t have any rehearsal on the stage,” he added. “There will be no rehearsal with the band on the stage — that’s kind of bonkers. Not done that before! But you know, through 17 Super Bowls, you learn.”

Hamilton had also recently directed Bad Bunny’s intricate Super Bowl LX halftime show, which is said to have impressed the BTS seven.

“We needed their buy in,” Carrington said. “Without the traditional three or four days of rehearsal time on the stage to run this through from start to finish, we needed their buy in, and we needed access to them. Hamish and I sat down with them in Seoul a few weeks ago to take them through the show and talk them through the process. And they totally got it. This was right after Super Bowl, and they’d all watched it, so they understood how these things get put together.”

Carrington and Hamilton said they had “great access” to the BTS members and workshopped — sometimes on iPhone — some of the show’s key moments.

“They bought into the idea of, ‘look, if we really want to tell this story, and if we really want to represent the music, the new chapter, we need your buy in. We’re going to need time with you in the studio. We’re going to need to get into an off site for a few days,’” Carrington said. “And they 100% did. They’ve been a joy. Honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect with them. And they’re like seven brothers who are having a great time. They listen, they know what they like, and they’ll add input.”

BTS’ members — Jin, j-hope, RM, V, Jimin, Jungkook and SUGA — are all coming off up to 18 months of South Korea’s mandatory military service requirements. 

The seven all left and returned at various times and also released solo work.

Now, the band’s fifth studio album, “Arirang,” drops on Friday, the day before the performance, while Netflix will also premiere the doc “BTS: The Return,” about the making of “Arirang,” on March 27.

In reviving BTS, there was a sense of national pride — and they were really keen on throwing this show at Gwanghwamun Square, despite the challenges that come with a non-traditional venue.

“There was a lot of deliberation over how to do that and if it’s if it’s actually even possible,” said Done+Dusted North America CEO Melanie Fletcher. “But they were absolute, steadfast in wanting to have this moment at this venue, and Seoul city got right behind them, knowing it would just be a huge moment for the for the country on a global stage.”

The team eventually came up with an idea where the stage would be framed, like a picture frame. “I was like, ‘Well, how do we frame the concert? Maybe we just build a big picture frame,’” Carrington said. “And so you’ll see the set is essentially a big square cube that’s made out of LED. But it will transform itself during the course of the show. We really wanted there to be moments where the band could be the band, where we could really highlight the palace in the background.”

The D+D team is mum on any special surprises that might come on Saturday, only to sharing little tidbits like the cinematic cameras they’ll be using, and how the show — like BTS’ new album — will be about the group’s “personal journey” over the past few years.

“Over the course of the show, you’ll see how each of the tracks is represented slightly differently,” Carrington added. “There are some big choreography numbers. There are big, impactful, dynamic moments. There’s also really intimate moments. Moments where you see their personality. Moments where they’ll just sit into something and perform together. You can see how like they rib each other. They’ll take the piss out of each other. They’re having a good time. I can’t praise them enough, really.”

Fletcher said “BTS The Comeback Live” reps “the sweet spot” for Done+Dusted. “We’re a company that is both seasoned in event production and live broadcast, and not always do we get the opportunity to bring both of those muscles to flex on shows. This one needs both of those things in full force. We’re going to a completely unknown site in a foreign land to build an event for tens of thousands of people that’s going to be aired globally. So it does require our our ‘A’ team. The stakes are high.”

And she, too, is sensing something special brewing in Seoul. “The stage crew was saying that there’s a national pride about this event,” Fletcher added. “They’re working 20 hours out of every 24 and they’re doing it for their idols. I mean that in a cultural moment sense. This is just such a huge thing for the Korean culture, to be able to have an event at this historic site. It’s never been done before. And I think everyone here is feeling so proud about that.”