Sci-fi and fantasy shows make contingency plans for future COVID shutdowns

The TV industry took a hit when sets closed down amid the first wave of COVID-19 infections. If there’s another, they may just rewrite shows to end them earlier.

Lots of TV shows have been thrown out of sorts by the coronavirus pandemic. For example, The Walking Dead had to end its tenth season an episode early, with the finale still on the way. And it was far from the only show that found itself backed into a corner.

Shows and movies are now heading back into production, what does the “new normal” look like? Do they have a game plan in case another wave of coronavirus necessitates a second global lockdown? And will Tenet ever release in theaters after getting delayed multiple times? (Just move it to 2021, Christoper Nolan.)

The answer is “yes,” shows are thinking ahead to what happens if they have to close down shop again. Deadline reports that series like Sky One’s A Discovery of Witches have changed their writing process to adjust to our new, virus-ridden world.

Basically, the writers are keeping in mind that the season could be shut down and writing their scripts accordingly. I wonder if that means that every episode will be treated like a potential season finale; sounds exhausting. I prefer The Walking Dead approach, where we still get a full season, just not as quickly as we thought we would.

The CEO of Sky Studios, Gary Davey, talked about adjusting expectations during a virtual Broadcasting Press Guild lunch:

"In order to be cautious about whether or not there is a second wave of COVID, it’s been a really interesting exercise to rethink the editorial of a lot of the shows, especially the bigger shows. […] So, for example, we have rethought the number of episodes and had a good look at the editorial to figure out that, if there were a crisis, is there a way of rounding the story up early. So if it’s a 10-episode production, is there a way of managing the script in such a way that — if you had to — could you get out after six [episodes]."

It’s true that not every show can afford to be like The Walking Dead and just postpone it’s finale. For some shows, reorienting the writing may be a necessity, and who knows? Maybe the restrictions will result in some unexpected creativity. “It’s prudent to [plan this way] because having to shut down a big production again mid-shoot would be really quite catastrophic,” Davey continued.

In all, 30 Sky Studios shows had to stop mid-production as a result of the pandemic. Only nine are set to begin production anew in the coming days.

So it’s an uphill battle to get people on productions back to work. But slowly and surely, they’re getting there, and we’ll be here waiting for their content whenever they’re back!

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h/t SYFY Wire