How Shows Like ‘Married At First Sight’ Are Exploring ‘Options’ To Get New Content Amidst Pandemic
In the new days of quarantine and social distancing, the staff at television shows are brainstorming ways to continue on with the production of new episodes and some could even start as early as this summer.
Since the coronavirus pandemic has caused most of the world to go in quarantine and stay at a social distance when out, television shows such as the reality series Married At First Sight and the sitcom The Conners, have come to a halt but certain options may give some series opportunities for new content soon. Some of these options include waiting until the summer to shoot new episodes with a limited cast and crew or filming it virtually.
“Many shows are planning for production right now for very late summer early fall,” one source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “Writers on sitcoms are still working. The Conners, for example, has been discussed to come back with just the cast and very, very limited crew in early to mid-summer. A lot of shows are exploring this option and how to do it safely if need be. Some networks are even looking at shooting in other countries who aren’t having as big of outbreaks as the U.S. or have already peaked and life is open again in a limited role.”
“Reality dating shows like Married At First Sight are discussing potentially shooting virtually, but as a whole, Hollywood is trying to see how this rides out for a few more weeks,” a second source EXCLUSIVELY told us. “Right now with reality TV as a whole, all options are on the table, but everybody is waiting as long as they can before making decisions. Agents and managers are booking clients and writers are as busy as ever writing content so they’re ready to go once this passes. The writers are doing a lot of virtual meetings.”
One of the other reality shows in question is Little Women: Atlanta. Even though the state of Georgia is reopening things and allowing their residents to go out once again, it looks like the staff of the show are still staying put for now. “Cast and crew of of Little Women: Atlanta are also not planning on going out regardless of them opening up barbershops and bowling alleys in the city,” a source EXCLUSIVELY revealed.
In addition to new episodes of series, some show’s reunions have been affected as well, including the season eight reunion for Vanderpump Rules, which was supposed to happen on Apr. 3. Although things are still up in the air right now, it turns out the reunion could go on virtually instead, but not all cast members are happy about it. A source EXCLUSIVELY confirmed that the cast is “bummed out” that they most likely won’t have a regular reunion but understand because the safety of everyone comes first.