A number of television studios with shows in Los Angeles have announced an extension of their holiday production hiatus to mid and late January because of the COVID-19 pandemic; among them are Netflix, CBS, NBC, and ABC. The decision was in response to a letter from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which encouraged industry leaders to pause production while L.A. remains the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.
“Although music, TV, and film productions are allowed to operate, we ask you to strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in COVID cases. Identify and delay higher risk activities, and focus on lower-risk work for now, if at all possible,” said the LADPH in its original letter to studio heads.
Early January is the regular time that television productions resume. But CBS Studios was the first to announce the extended hiatus, saying a number of its shows would resume filming on Jan. 11, and the rest will resume later in the month.
COVID-19 Resources for Actors, Performers, and Creators Then Warner Bros. Television, Lionsgate Television, Sony Pictures Television, Universal Television, as well as the Disney-owned Disney Television Studios, 20th Television, and ABC Signature announced that they would also delay the production restarts for their Los Angeles–based shows until later in January. This will affect more than two dozen shows, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “This Is Us,” “American Horror Story,” and “Never Have I Ever.”
SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild of America, and Joint Policy Committee released a joint statement in support of the production pause.
“Southern California hospitals are facing a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before. Patients are dying in ambulances waiting for treatment because hospital emergency rooms are overwhelmed. This is not a safe environment for in-person production right now,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris in the statement.
SAG-AFTRA is encouraging its members based in Southern California to stay home and to refrain from accepting on-set work for the next several weeks. If a member is asked to work in January, they are encouraged to contact the union.
The reasoning is not just the coronavirus itself: Hollywood studios have spent millions of dollars to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on set, with regular testing and safety protocols in place. But with Southern California at 0% ICU capacity, any workplace injury could prove deadly.
“Even putting aside the risk of acquiring COVID on set—a risk that we have done a great deal to mitigate through our safety protocols—on-set production always poses some risk of injury, whether because of a stunt gone wrong, an equipment failure, or a garden-variety fall. Right now, with few if any hospital beds available, it is hard to understand how a worker injured on set is supposed to seek treatment,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White in a statement.
PGA is encouraging a production pause until more hospital beds are available.
California currently has the second-highest COVID-19 infection rates in the country, with a 12.7% test positivity rate. At 2.4 million cases of coronavirus, the state is currently under a stay-at-home order, with non-essential businesses closed in a majority of the state. In Los Angeles, the coronavirus positivity rate is currently at 9.7% (a 1.5% increase in the last 14 days). The county had around 400,000 infections in November, it’s now at more than 800,000 cases and is expected to still climb. Almost 11,000 people have died in Los Angeles County.
Because of the lack of available hospital beds, ambulance crews in the county have been instructed to not transport patients with little chance of survival.
According to Variety, a months-long production shutdown is unlikely and the current production delays should not affect the release date of the shows. Cast and crew are also being paid during this time.
Though production is tentatively set to resume later this month, SAG-AFTRA will continue to make recommendations as needed. “It is too hard to say right now when the situation may improve, but we are monitoring closely and will make sure that our members have the information they need to make the best decisions they can to protect themselves and our community,” said White in a statement.