TV News Wrap-Up: ‘Friends’ Reunion Delayed, Medical Shows Donate Supplies, ‘Vida’ to End with Season 3, and More
If you’ve gotten through this week, well done! Hopefully, you’re staying safe, washing your hands, and catching up on your DVR, when you can.
In the world of entertainment, we’ve not seen the last of coronavirus’s effects on network schedules. Almost all shows have halted production, and a few that finished their seasons may still be affected by the ability to do post-production.
However, while all of that is still up in the air, there are a few new shows airing. Here are the highlights in TV news for this week.
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The Casting Society of America (CSA) is urging members not to audition actors in person during the ongoing pandemic. While productions have gone dark, directors are still looking for talent forthcoming projects once the crisis abates and production can resume. Deadline reports that for now, CSA is urging casting directors to limit their audition process to self-tape and online sessions. They are also partnering with SAG-AFTRA to offer a live-streamed panel for tips on how to navigate and conduct virtual casting sessions.
The Crown is keeping calm and carrying on during the coronavirus crisis. One of the few shows that won’t be blown off course by the ongoing pandemic, Deadline reports that the cast and crew wrapped up their final week of filming on Season 4. The production said that it only had to tie up some loose ends.
Netflix shuddered the UK-based production of The Witcher Season 2 for two weeks and later sent out an email announcing that an individual had tested positive for coronavirus. That individual was Kristofer Hivju who later confirmed the diagnosis on Instagram. According to Deadline, in response to the news, the streamer announced that it will close the production offices and Arborfield immediately and have arranged for deep cleaning and disinfection to eradicate the virus.
Katalin Vermes/Netflix.
CBS’s S.W.A.T. has joined the list of shows temporarily halting production. According to Deadline, the penultimate episode has been wrapped, but the fate of the final episode is still up in the air. Given the gravity of the situation, there is concern that the season finale will not be completed in time for its airdate.
Friends fans will have to wait a little longer for the anticipated reunion. Deadline reports that filming of the unscripted special for HBO Max has been pushed due to coronavirus concerns. Filming is now scheduled for May. The special was originally intended to be part of the HBO Max launch offerings, but sources state that if the new production schedule holds, they should be able to deliver the episodes in time for the platform’s launch. The situation is being evaluated and will be adjusted based on the current pandemic.
Empire and Supernatural‘s series finales are up in the air after production was halted over COVID-19 concerns. Deadline reports that the two shows are in a unique position because they each had about two episodes left to complete on their final season orders. Nellie Andreeva summarizes, “The final stretch of episodes for both shows are already airing, so there is no option to postpone the final seasons. There is no possibility to add the episodes to next season because there is no next season. Even if the networks stagger existing episodes to wait for the finales to be made, they are expected to run out of originals before it would be safe to return to production on the last installments.” There is speculation that if the cast and crews cannot resume production the final episodes of both shows will need to air as events.
Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19, and The Good Doctor are among the medical shows that have donated their medical supplies to help fight the spread of COVID-19. Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff told Deadline, “At Station 19, we were lucky enough to have about 300 of the coveted N95 masks which we donated to our local fire station. They were tremendously grateful. At Grey’s Anatomy, we have a back-stock of gowns and gloves which we are donating as well. We are all overwhelmed with gratitude for our healthcare workers during this incredibly difficult time, and in addition to these donations, we are doing our part to help them by staying home.” The Good Doctor, which films in Vancouver is working with the government to determine which supplies are needed that she show can donate.
The Resident also donated their medical gear to Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital after production came to a halt. Deadline reported that a rheumatologist at Grady posted about the donation on Instagram. She thanked the cast and crew of The Resident and then went on to say, “Yesterday, I had a serious discussion with the residents about how, though supplies are low, a magical shipment of masks is unlikely to arrive. And yet, a magical shipment of masks DID arrive, in the form of this very generous gesture. This kind of community support means so much to our #frontlineproviders who are making many sacrifices to staff our hospitals and care for our community.”
STARZ announced that Vida will end with Season 3. While a lot of shows are going dark because of coronavirus, the decision to end this series came weeks ago. Tanya Saracho wrote a well-crafted letter that details everything she’s grateful for, which you can read in a Deadline report here. The series won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy last year. The third and final season of Vida begins Sunday, April 26th on STARZ.
UK-based productions have now joined the list of COVID-19 postponements. Peaky Blinders Season 6 filming has been postponed in the wake of the pandemic, and Line of Duty has stopped filming its sixth season. Deadline reports that both productions have the support of the BBC in their decision.
Beatrice, Modern Family‘s beloved French bulldog has died suddenly, days after wrapping the series. Deadline reports that Beatrice, who played Stella, from Modern Family Season 4 to Season 11. She was seen just weeks ago at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, where she posed for photos.
Some good news for Community fans! Netflix has made a low-key announcement that Community will be arriving on the platform come April 1st. Deadline reports that “…in a non-exclusive deal with Community producer/distributor Sony Pictures TV, Netflix is taking global SVOD rights to Dan Harmon’s 2009 ensemble comedy, sharing domestic rights with Community‘s current streaming home, Hulu.”
Mindy Kaling’s new comedy Never Have I Ever, has a release date! The new coming-of-age comedy will drop on Netflix on April 27th. According to Deadline, “The series stars newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, an overachieving high school sophomore who has a short fuse that gets her into difficult situations.” Check out the teaser trailer here:
The upcoming premiere of Fargo Season 4 has been delayed. FX announced today that it will not be airing the season premiere of Fargo on April 19th as planned. This is the first in a long line of shows expected to delay their upcoming seasons as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Physical production has been completed on eight of the ten episodes for Season 4, but with the temporary halt, there’s no current projection on when they’ll be able to produce the remaining installments. FX hopes it can still air the season in 2020.
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What are your thoughts on this week’s TV news? Have you found an unexpected series that you want to binge? Let us know in the comments below.
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.