‘The Goldbergs’ & ‘Atypical’ Production Return Pushed By A Week Amid Covid-19 Surge In LA County
Sony Pictures Television is the latest TV studio to extend the holiday production hiatus of its Los Angeles-based series amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus infections and Covid-19 deaths in LA County.
Production on the studio’s ABC comedy series The Goldbergs and Netflix’s Atypical, which was scheduled to resume next week, week of Jan. 4, has been delayed by a week, the week of Jan. 11. Sony TV’s syndicated game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune are not slated to resume production until the week of Jan. 11 and would start taping as planned.
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Sony TV is delaying start of production on LA-based shows to accommodate additional testing. Keeping the shows on hiatus while testing resumes puts the productions in compliance with the new Los Angeles County Department of Public Health guideline for those arriving to self-quarantine for at least 10 days after non-essential travel.
With its decision, Sony TV joins CBS Studios, Warner Bros. TV, Universal TV and Disney TV Studios’ ABC Signature and 20th Television, which also extended the production hiatuses of their LA series.
The studios are responding to an appeal by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health which urged the film and TV industry to consider pausing production for a few weeks during the ongoing surge in coronavirus cases throughout the county. Studios and streamers had been reviewing the logistics involved, including talent availability and whether cast and crew would be paid for the additional idle days.
On New Year’s Eve, Los Angeles County reported a third consecutive day of record coronavirus-related deaths. On Wednesday, the region recorded its 10,000th death related to the virus. The county’s ICU capacity is at 0%. Earlier this week, the regional stay-at-home order for Southern California was extended to Jan. 16.
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