Not too long ago, practically every major production being worked on in British Columbia was put on hold due to a shortage of Coronavirus testing capability.Of those being delayed, some of the biggest names wereRiverdaleand the CW’sBatwoman.While the length of the delay was initially unclear, due to the prioritization of schools and essential businesses, it’s been reported thatRiverdaleandBatwomanin particular have been given the green light to restart production.
Several other shows were given the go-ahead as well, includingNancy DrewandCharmed, as well as several other Disney shows. Other DC shows haven’t been so lucky:The Flash,Legends of Tomorrow, andSupergirlare still on hold for the time being.Superman & LoisandKung Fuwere expected to being filming soon, but may not be able to if the testing system is unable to process their needs in time.
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Testing is an incredibly important tool to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, and pretty much every business that involves people in close proximity is attempting to use it to keep people safe. Problem is, however,that British Columbia only has one company authorized to perform tests, and that company is currently swamped with the needs of schools and essential services. This has made it quite difficult for production staff, which require three rounds of tests a week, to perform operations safely and keep updated on the health of their crews.
On the bright side, British Columbia has done an admirable job overall of keeping the virus at bay. The Province’s capable response to the pandemic is the whole reason anyone is allowed to film anything, period. One producer from Vancouver expressed frustration with U.S. based studios' response to the pandemic: “The government here said don’t do asymptomatic testing. They came and did it anyway. It predictably didn’t work, because our government, who has been successful in fighting the virus, is prioritizing the testing they deem medically necessary.” In the meantime, studiosare losing a lot of money by holding off on production, and are working to get things started back up as soon as possible.
