Production On Many Popular TV Shows Delayed Over Pandemic Spike In LA

Production on a huge number of TV shows, including many popular series, has been delayed over the surging COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles, several major studios have announced. The delay bumps the production return dates later into January with additional delays possible depending on how things may change in the coming weeks.

Los Angeles is currently being hit hard by COVID-19; the post-holidays case spike has pushed the healthcare system near its breaking point, with hospitals reporting a lack of ICU capacity. It's no surprise that the LA County Department of Public Health called for studios to pause production.

Universal TV, Warner Bros. Television, ABC Signature, 20th Television, CBS Studios, and Sony Pictures TV have all announced that they will delay the post-holiday return to production for their respective TV shows, bumping the resume dates to later in January. It's possible we'll see additional delays depending on how the COVID-19 situation looks in the coming weeks.

The news comes from Deadline, which reports that dozens of TV shows are impacted by the production delay, including series like American Horror Story, The Orville, You, Mom, Shameless, Grey's Anatomy, Last Man Standing, Black-ish, Mixed-ish, 911, and many more.

Hollywood is one of the many industries repeatedly impacted by the pandemic throughout 2020, and it doesn't look like things will change any time soon. COVID-19 has forced major changes in the industry, resulting in some unprecedented decisions, including Warner Bros. plan to drop its new movies on HBO Max alongside theatrical releases in 2021.