Basically, the COVID-19 coronavirus has shut down everything. Production on nearly every TV show and movie has been shut down. National treasure Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were the first celebrities that reported that they had contracted the illness during pre-production in Australia on his next movie, the untitled Baz Luhrman Elvis Presley biopic. Now comes word that both Netflix and Apple TV+ have shut down all of their original productions, and that pilot season is in turmoil as the networks now won’t be able to screen pilots of potential series on schedule.
Among the Netflix shows that have shut down is ‘Stranger Things’, which JUST got started on production of the fourth season last week.
Among the Apple TV+ shows that have shut down are ‘See’, ‘For All Mankind’, ‘Servant’, and ‘Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet’. Apple TV+ just launched late last year, so it is still building its audience. Who knows if this delay will cost them subscribers?
Warner Brothers has also shut down all production on current series and pilots. That includes nearly everything on The CW, including ‘The Flash’ and ‘Batwoman’, as well as the pilot for ‘The Lost Boys’, a show that has been trying to get on the air for years now. That also includes literally everything on DC Universe and HBO Max.
Presumably, EVERY show on every network and streaming service will be shut down within the next 24 hours or so, but these have been officially confirmed.
As for pilot season, not only are all the pilots on hold, but the networks have all cancelled their in-person May upfront presentations to advertisers. As Deadline notes, this is usually the “finish line” for pilot season. Reportedly, the networks will still court advertisers via streaming, but without the glitzy in-person extravaganzas. But still… what are they going to present, if production on all these pilots is shut down?
Reportedly, production could be delayed until June, which is well past pilot season.
Among the pilots that we have been keeping an eye on are ABC’s Dracula-based ‘The Brides’, NBC’s alien invasion series ‘Debris’, and HBO Max’s ‘DMZ’.
AND, as if all that weren’t enough, there was already a potential writers strike that was to go into effect on May 1. This little one-two punch might result in NO new shows on the networks this fall.
Stay tuned for updates!
