Kelly and Ryan, The View, Tamron Hall Forgo Audiences Due to Coronavirus
Walt Disney Television on Wednesday announced that Live With Kelly and Ryan, The Tamron Hall Show and The View will forgo studio audiences effective immediately, due to increasing concerns surrounding the spread of Coronavirus.
“Given the current developing situation in New York City, we have made the decision to suspend live audiences from attending our news broadcasts and talk shows,” a WDT spokesperson told TVLine.
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Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa addressed the decision at the top of Wednesday’s Live, before a wide shot revealed an audience that consisted of a skeleton crew of producers and other various staffers.
“As you can see, things are a little different here today, given the developing situation in New York with the Coronavirus,” Seacrest said. “The decision was made to suspend audiences from our show.”
Added Ripa, “While we don’t have our regular studio audience, except for some of our producers… that shouldn’t stop everyone from watching at home. Because, let’s face it: You can’t go anywhere else!”
Rachael Ray similarly taped without a studio audience on Wednesday, ahead of a preplanned week-long production hiatus.
The choice to move ahead without audiences on the above comes one day after The Wendy Williams Show made the same decision. “Wendy values her co-hosts and their daily participation, but in light of the current health climate, The Wendy Williams Show will not have a studio audience until further notice,” the show said in a statement. “We will continue to produce a daily live talk show and look forward to welcoming the studio audience back when the time is right.”
Several other syndicated programs have opted to shoot without an audience, including Dr. Phil and the game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
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