New episodes of our favorite TV shows are back for the first time since COVID-19 shut down production on all types of entertainment in March, halting seasons and storylines. Here’s a brief look at the first shows to have resumed filming in the new normal and how they are handling it.
Fall typically sees a lot of beginnings in a normal year. It’s the start of a new school year. It’s the start of the holiday season. And most importantly, it’s the start of scripted television’s new seasons. This year, many scripted TV shows have made the decision to delay their season premieres until January. But for those who have decided to stick to a fall start, they’ve had to navigate health concerns, how production will resume, and whether or not to reflect the current unfolding of the world in their storylines. There seems to be a somewhat even split between reflecting the reality of COVID-19 and the racial reckoning happening within our country versus providing a sense of escapism into a world not plagued by the nightmare we’re all currently living.
The first TV show to resume filming back in June was soap opera “The Bold and The Beautiful” on CBS. On camera, the show is continuing its storyline as normal. Behind the camera, they have been creative in how to keep the romance alive in spite of social distancing regulations. Mannequins have been used for close up shots of actors to establish sight lines that will later be edited to seem as though the two actors were in the same room together. They’ve also started using the actors’ spouses in intimate scenes so as to maintain actors’ socially distanced bubbles. Other soap operas, “General Hospital” on ABC and “The Young and The Restless” on CBS, also resumed filming shortly after “The Bold and The Beautiful.”
The first prime time scripted series to resume production was “S.W.A.T.” on CBS. Production began in early August. As a police procedural show, they will be focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement and the issue of police reform. This makes them the first show to resume production that is realistically reflective of the country’s current situation.
In the theme of realism, many, if not all, medical and first responder dramas are tackling the pandemic headfirst. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Station 19,” “The Good Doctor” and, later this January, Fox’s “The Resident” and “9-1-1” will all be centered around coronavirus from the perspective of doctors and emergency responders. Producer and writer on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19,” Krista Vernoff explained the decision to address the COVID-19 pandemic directly on both shows ahead of the fall premieres. She told Entertainment Weekly, “This pandemic is breaking people, it’s breaking doctors, and we have an opportunity to help drive home the costs to the medical community.” However, it won’t only be doom and gloom this season. She added, “We’re still giving you laugh-out-loud funny moments and romance.”
Other shows will be incorporating the pandemic into their storylines from the point of view of the average citizen. NBC’s multi-timeline drama “This Is Us” will feature the pandemic in its present storyline. The last season of “Shameless,” on Showtime, was recently rewritten to incorporate the importance of the pandemic on the working class in Chicago’s South Side. It will begin airing early this December.
Certain shows have even managed to begin airing without actually resuming filming in person. ABC’s “black-ish” returned to television with a special animated episode to continue storylines without the health risk. Animated shows have had a significant advantage in the midst of our new normal as it is much easier for them to resume production socially distanced. “South Park,” on Comedy Central, aired a stand-alone episode post-lockdown titled “The Pandemic Special” to address the virus but will be returning to normal storylines when the season resumes.
For those who wish to use entertainment to tune out the reality around us, reality TV and competitive game shows are back on air to satiate the need for escapism. Shows like ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Bachelorette” as well as CBS’s “Love Island US” and “Big Brother” took a page out of the NBA’s handbook and put their casts in quarantine bubbles prior to filming in order to keep much of the show the same without risking cast or crew members. Other reality TV shows are using heightened social distancing measures to resume filming. Some of these include “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy!” hosted by the late and great Alex Trebek, “Shark Tank,” “The Voice,” and “The Masked Singer.”
Fall 2020 TV Schedule (for aforementioned shows)
ABC
- General Hospital: Weekdays 2 p.m. EST
- Grey’s Anatomy: Thursdays 9 p.m. EST
- Station 19: Thursdays 8 p.m. EST
- The Good Doctor: Mondays 10 p.m. EST
- Black-ish: Wednesdays 9:30 p.m. EST
- Dancing with the Stars: Mondays 8 p.m. EST
- The Bachelorette: Tuesdays 8 p.m. EST
- Wheel of Fortune: Weeknights
- Jeopardy!: Weeknights
- Shark Tank: Fridays p.m. EST
CBS
- The Bold and The Beautiful: Weekdays 1:30 p.m. EST
- The Young and The Restless: Weekdays 12:30 p.m. EST
- S.W.A.T.: Wednesdays 9 p.m. EST
NBC
- This Is Us: Tuesdays 9 p.m. EST
- The Voice: Mondays 8 p.m. EST
Showtime
- Shameless: Sun. 9 p.m. EST (Dec. 6 premiere)
FOX
- The Masked Singer: Wednesdays 8 p.m. EST