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COVID-19: Australian TV in the hot zone

Eurovision, Logies & Q+A ...which shows are facing tough decisions?

Australian television is coming to terms with the impact of COVID-19 on current and upcoming productions.

The Amazing Race Australia has already confirmed it will not be filming overseas this June, playing it safer with a domestic race. But it’s far from being alone.

Multiple Australian productions are faced with big decisions to keep cast & crew safe, whether due to international travel, studio audiences or fan events. Almost all Australian shows entail a degree of domestic travel for crew / guests.

Q&A tells TV Tonight, “It’s an evolving situation that we’re keeping under continuous review. Currently we’re advising people that if they have any symptoms of illness they should not participate in the studio audience.”

FOX Footy show Bounce has put its studio audience on hold “until further notice.”

Australian Survivor is due to film from April in Fiji and is yet to advise of any changes, following CBS suspending the US Survivor.

It’s also not clear how dating shows, which film intimate body to body contact will fare, including The Bachelor & The Bachelorette.

Many productions have completed filming, including Travel Guides, Lego Masters, Between Two Worlds, Bachelor in Paradise, Rosehaven, Hungry Ghosts, Celebrity Name Game, Farmer Wants a Wife, Hard Quiz etc.

Here are the key shows most likely to be impacted over the next 6 months.

Studio Audiences / Sport:

ABC:
Q&A,
Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell,
The Weekly with Charlie Pickering,
Gruen,
Hard Quiz (2021)

Seven:
AFL,
AFLW,
Plate of Origin,
The Front Bar,
Australia’s Got Talent,
Holey Moley

Nine:
NRL,
State of Origin,
TV Week Logie Awards,
Hot Seat,
Australian Ninja Warrior,
The Voice,
The Block,*
Step Back in Time

10:
Australian Grand Prix,
Dancing with the Stars,
Studio 10,
The Project,
The Masked Singer,
The Living Room,
MasterChef Australia*,
Have You Been Paying Attention?,

SBS:
Insight,
Mastermind,
NBL

Foxtel:
Australia Grand Prix,
One Day International Cricket,
W League,
Bounce,
The Matty Johns Show,
The Professor’s Late Hit,
Wentworth Con (Melb)

International travel:

ABC:
ABC News,
Foreign Correspondent,
Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery,
Four Corners

Seven:
Seven News,
Sunrise,
Olympic Games,
Paralympics,
Holey Moley,
SAS: Who Dares Wins,

Nine:
Nine News,
60 Minutes,
Today,
A Current Affair,
Love Island Australia,
Getaway,
Travel Guides (2021)
Married at First Sight (2021)

10:
10 News First,
The Project,
The Amazing Race Australia,
Australian Survivor,
Neighbours

SBS:
Eurovision Song Contest,
Dateline,
Who Do You Think You Are?,
Every Family Has A Secret ,
Tour de France

Foxtel:
SKY News
Wentworth Con (Chicago  / New Jersey)

* select events

6 Responses

  1. Surely even shows like Neighbours and Home and Away will have to consider whether to continue production. Neighbours is in a better spot, given that they have a large backlot to shoot on (although they may have to forego filming on the street), but Home and Away relies heavily on Palm Beach. I can’t imagine that’s going to be accessible for much longer.

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