American Idol suspends production, allowing contestants to return home

TVLine

The ABC reality competition is the latest show to suspend production, effective immediately, but pre-taped episodes will continue to air. "Filming has been halted to ensure that contestants can get home to their families, according to a source; the rest of the production is working remotely, and has been since last week," reports TVLine's Dave Nemetz. "For now, episodes will continue to air as scheduled through the beginning of the live shows, which were slated to kick off in mid-April, but producers will continue to evaluate things on a week-to-week basis." ALSO: Idol has already ruled out shooting live shows with an audience.