Productions have had a lot of back and forth since restarting filming due to the pandemic. Tons of film and television productions shut down due to someone either in the cast or crew testing positive. However, with new regulations set in place, it seemed like we were finally going to get a regular TV and film schedule back. That may change though due to the recent influx of cases of coronavirus in the US and especially in California.
SAG/Aftra has recently asked for productions in Southern California to put a halt to their filming due to the high case count and limited hospital space available. This includes television, film, and commercial productions.
“Southern California hospitals are facing a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before,” Gabrielle Carteris, the president of the actors’ union SAG/AFTRA said in a statement. “This is not a safe environment for in-person production right now.”
Even before SAG’s recommendation, productions had started to shut down due to the surge.
As of this week, over two dozen LA-based TV shows have put their productions on pause. 20th Century and ABC have halted productions on shows like American Horror Story, American Crime Story: Impeachment, Grey’s Anatomy, Last Man Standing, The Goldbergs, This Is Us, and more, with plans to be on hiatus until between January 11-18.
Lionsgate Television has now delayed production on the fourth and final season of the Netflix series Dear White People and the new Starz series Blindspotting.
Both Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show With James Corden began remote production on Monday. Kimmel will record new episodes from his home, while Corden will tape from his garage, as both hosts did earlier in the pandemic.
As of Sunday, Los Angeles County has seen over 819,000 total cases and 10,773 deaths from COVID-19, with hospitals throughout the area reporting zero percent ICU capacity. In a statement on Sunday, the public health department said the past few weeks represent “the fastest acceleration of new cases than at any other time during the pandemic.”
We thank the productions that have chosen to be safe and either rethink or delay filming during this time. Hopefully, the pandemic can get under control, especially with the vaccines now being rolled out, and we can watch our favorite shows soon.
