‘Grey’s Anatomy, ‘This Is Us’, ‘The Orville’, ‘911’, ‘LMS’ & ‘AHS’ Among 16 Disney TV Studios LA Series To Extend Hiatus Amid Covid-19 Surge
Disney Television Studios has joined other major TV studios in pushing the post-holidays start of production for Los Angeles-based shows amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus infections and Covid-19 deaths in Los Angeles County.
Sixteen scripted series produced by Disney TV Studios’ ABC Signature and 20th Television divisions will remain on holiday hiatus until Jan. 18, when production will resume. The shows had previously been slated to return to production on Jan. 11 or a few days earlier.
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The 16 series are: ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19, American Housewife, Black-ish, Mixed-ish and Rebel, NBC’s This Is Us, Fox’s 911, 911: Lone Star and Last Man Standing, FX’s American Crime Story: Impeachment, American Horror Story and Mayans; Disney+’s Big Shot, Hulu’s The Orville and Love, Victor.
This is the latest date production on current series has been postponed to so far. The other studios that have extended the holiday hiatuses for LA-based shows, CBS Studios, Warner Bros. TV and Universal TV have largely added a week, pushing start of production from Jan. 4 to Jan. 11, with Uni TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine delayed until Jan. 18.
The TV 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.
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.
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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