ZAYN MALIK has a surprising new collaborator: Dick Wolf.

    The One Direction grad and the prolific TV producer have joined forces on an hourlong boy band drama set up at NBC.

    Titled “Boys,” the project centers on the formation of a hugely successful boy band and captures all the excitement, competition and fun, but also takes an inside look at the pressure that comes with the success.

    Wolf’s wife, Noelle Wolf, first brought the project to NBC — where her husband has four (soon to be five) series on the air — with Unigram’s Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron, as well as First Access Entertainment’s Sarah Stennett, attached. Sherri Cooper Landsman and Jennifer Levin will write the project and executive-produce with the Wolfs, Malik, Ghost and Peter Jankowski. Cameron is on board as a co-executive producer for the project.

    “It’s exciting to be diving into this project with such passionate and prolific producers,” NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke said Tuesday in a statement. “Zayn certainly brings an authentic point of view to this world where kids are catapulted into fame at a dizzying speed. On top of our excitement around the creative ideas being discussed, we have a lot of respect for the musical and digital ambitions behind the project.”

    This marks the first TV foray for Malik, who left boy band One Direction in 2015 to launch a successful solo career that includes hits like “Pillow Talk” and “Like I Would.” Malik, and the rest of One Direction, famously got their start on the U.K. reality competition series “The X Factor.”

    “Dick Wolf is a legend and the opportunity to work with him and NBC to create a compelling drama series is awesome,” said Malik.(SD-Agencies)