The TV industry has found creative work-arounds to get the job done during the coronavirus crisis
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"Hollywood is an industry built on the work-around," says Mary McNamara, adding: "So it’s not surprising that even before COVID-19 formally shut down film and television productions (on Friday, March 13, not that anyone in Hollywood is superstitious), the industry was scrambling to figure out how to keep working, together but separately, to ensure that production can resume the moment safety concerns allow. Especially TV: Any frustration about the wild overabundance of content has turned to list-making gratitude as shelter-at-home orders proliferated and lengthened; and while production stopped, creation has not. Studio equipment was sent to people’s homes, security protocols were loosened, computer systems were shored up and everyone, obviously, downloaded Zoom." For instance, Dickinson creator Alena Smith has found a way to complete postproduction on Season 2 while sheltering in place at her parents' home in upstate New York. “It is ironic that we’re doing a show about Emily Dickinson and her need for human connection while (we’re) sheltering at home,” she said. “It’s good to know we can do more things remotely than we thought we could, but I don’t think anyone would choose to do it this way again.” Other shows have found a way to be productive by opening writers' rooms via Zoom.
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TOPICS: Coronavirus, 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined, Dickinson, Monster Garage, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Alena Smith, Conan O'Brien, Gayle King, Jenna Fischer, Jimmy Kimmel, Kelly Dodd, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rainn Wilson, Tom Holland, Summer Olympics
