What can you expect during the Netflix Live Show

As he prepares to direct Saturday’s live Netflix event “BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang,” Done+Dusted partner and director/executive producer Hamish Hamilton is breaking away from what they internally call the “quadruple crown.” In recent weeks, Hamilton has directed the Grammys, the Super Bowl halftime show, the Oscars and now this.

‘This’ is of course an hour-long event that will take place on Saturday evening local time and will mark the return of pop superstars BTS as they embark on a global tour to celebrate their return after a long hiatus and their first studio album in six years.

“It’s absolutely huge,” said Hamilton, who flew to Seoul just hours after Conan O’Brien said his goodnights at the Oscars. “When I got off the plane, people were talking about it. The excitement here is palpable when you walk through the streets. It’s such a huge event.”

Added Done+Dusted partner and executive producer Guy Carrington, who also spoke Variety from Seoul: “I’ve been here for maybe ten days now and you can see it growing. As the stages go up, people start to gather, taking pictures and trying to figure out what the stage is going to be used for – like where the band is from and wherever they’re going. The whole city is focused on this event now, there’s a vibe, there’s a real electricity in the city for this.”

“BTS The Comeback Live” will take place in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square (where the Gyeongbokgung Palace is located) at 8 p.m. Korean time — and air live around the world on Netflix, also at 7 a.m. ET (and for those on the west coast, a very early 4 a.m. PT). Because it’s an outdoor space, Done+Dusted and BTS can’t do rehearsals beforehand — which Hamilton admits is a bit tricky.

“It’s no small feat to be able to create and deliver something when you don’t have a rehearsal on stage,” he said. “There won’t be a rehearsal with the band on stage – that’s kind of crazy. You haven’t done that before! But you know, through 17 Super Bowls you learn.”

Of course, Hamilton just directed Bad Bunny’s elaborate Super Bowl LX halftime show, which reportedly impressed the BTS seven.

“We needed their buy-in,” Carrington said. “Without the traditional three or four days of rehearsal time on stage to go through this 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 walk them through the show and talk them through the process. And they totally got it. This was right after the Super Bowl and they had watched it all, so they understood how these things worked.”

Carrington and Hamilton said they had “great access” to the BTS members, and had discussed – sometimes on iPhone – some of the show’s biggest moments.

“They came up with the idea of, ‘Look, if we really want to tell this story, and if we really want to represent the music, the new chapter, then we need your support. We need time with you in the studio. We’re going to have to stay at a remote location for a few days,'” Carrington said. “And that happened 100%. It was a pleasure. To be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect from them. And they are like seven brothers having a good time. They listen, know what they like and add input.”

The members of BTS – Jin, j-hope, RM, V, Jimin, Jung Kook and SUGA – are all serving up to 18 months of South Korea’s mandatory military service. The seven all left and returned at different times, and also released several solo works. Now the band’s fifth studio album, ‘Arirang’, will be released on March 20, the day before the performance, while Netflix will also premiere the documentary ‘BTS: The Return’, about the making of ‘Arirang’, on March 27.

In reviving BTS, there was a sense of national pride – and they really wanted to perform this show in Gwanghwamun Square, despite the challenges that come with a non-traditional venue.

“There’s been a lot of discussion about how to do that and whether it’s even possible,” said Melanie Fletcher, CEO of Done+Dusted North America. “But they were absolute and steadfast in their desire to experience this moment in this location, and the city of Seoul stood right behind them, knowing that this would be a huge moment for the country on the world stage.”

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

The D+D team is keeping quiet about any special surprises that might come Saturday, only to share little tidbits like the film cameras they’ll use, and how the show — like BTS’ new album — will be about the group’s “personal journey” over the years.

“Over the course of the show, you’ll see how each song is presented slightly differently,” Carrington said. “There are some big choreographed numbers. There are big, impactful, dynamic moments. There are also very intimate moments. Moments where you see their personalities. Moments where they just get into something and perform together. You can see them making fun of each other. They’re making fun of each other. They’re having a good time. I can’t really praise them enough.”

Fletcher said “BTS The Comeback Live” is “the sweet spot” for Done+Dusted. “We are a company that is experienced in both event production and live broadcasting, and not always do we get the chance to flex both muscles during shows. This completely requires both of those things. We are going to a completely unknown location in a foreign country to build an event for tens of thousands of people that will be broadcast worldwide. So it does require our ‘A’ team. The stakes are high.”

And she also feels that something special is brewing in Seoul. “The stage crew said there is national pride in this event,” Fletcher added. “They work 20 hours out of the 24 hours and they do it for their idols. I mean that in the sense of a cultural moment. This is such a big thing for Korean culture, to be able to organize an event in this historic place. It’s never been done before. And I think everyone here is so proud of that.”