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If you’re reading this, you’re one of the millions of people living through a historic global pandemic (and hopefully OK, and wearing a mask when you go out.) As you’re well aware, COVID-19 has upended everything, and while there’s still plenty of stuff on streaming networks now now and in the coming months that hasn’t been affected by the coronavirus, you’d better believe that the near future will show just how much the disease has altered the shape of what’s to come.
And that’s not just from a production standpoint; obviously, many shows have been shut down or placed on indefinite hold because they’re not allowed to gather and film. But, beyond merely being able to film, lots of shows are already thinking about how to incorporate COVID-19 storylines into their upcoming seasons. (It should be noted that plenty aren’t thinking about incorporating coronavirus too; count American Horror Story among those that plan on staying way more than six feet away.) For a healthy segment of other shows though, COVID-19 might as well be a new guest star or a new big bad next season, because it’s going to play a significant role. Here are all the shows we know of so far that are putting coronavirus storylines into their next season.
Freema Agyeman and Ryan Eggold, New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
As Season 2 was concluding, creator and executive producer David Schulner told TV Guide that COVID-19 will absolutely be a part in Season 3. Especially since the virus impacted this show like no other — some cast members got infected, as did Daniel Dae Kim. “All our plans have been blown out of the window,” Schulner said. “In Season 3 we have to rethink everything. Their priorities are going to change after this pandemic. I don’t think we can force storylines on a new world we’re living in — it would ring false. They’re going to change.”
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Shameless
Executive producer John Wells told THR, “It’s impossible to do a satirical comedy about the working poor without addressing what happened and what is going to happen to that community.” So you can expect the Gallaghers to be dealing with some heavy problems in the series’ final season.
Grey’s Anatomy & Station 19
Entertainment Weekly reported that executive producer Krista Vernoff said in an Emmys panel, “We’re going to address this pandemic for sure. There’s no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes.” Where Grey’s goes, Station 19 surely follows.
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Executive producer on the creepy love story Greg Berlanti told THR we can probably expect to see COVID-19 in a new season. “Not addressing it wasn’t an option,” he said, though admitting the pandemic would probably happen between seasons. “You’re in a pact with your audience where you have to deal with real-life sh–.”
Curb Your Enthusiasm” width=”2070″ height=”1380″ title=”Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm” data-amp-src=”https://tvguide1.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2017/10/01/7fe73979-d4ae-44b1-84aa-582d107a26ef/watermark/11021405515c91f29736876a6b275e73/171001-curb.jpg”>Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Of course noted germaphobe and master of awkward situations Larry David is going to make the pandemic part of a new season. Showrunner Jeff Schaffer told THR, “There’s still plenty of aberrant behavior to look back on, like who said they were social distancing but clearly got a haircut every few weeks. Just because people were supposed to be in their houses and everyone says they were in isolation, were they really?”
9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star
Considering how many of the insane cases on 9-1-1 and and its spin-off are based on real headlines, it makes sense that COVID-19 would factor into future seasons.Tim Minear, the boss on Fox’s explosive procedurals told THR, “If we pretend like it’s an alter-universe where this thing hasn’t happened, we’d quaint ourselves into irrelevance.”
The Good Fight
“What seems likely,” Michelle King told THR, “is that regardless of when we broadcast, people are still going to experience the economic aftermath, so my expectation is that we’ll at least touch on that.”
Nancy Travis and Tim Allen, Last Man Standing
Last Man Standing
Tim Allen told TV Guide earlier this year that there was no way LMS wouldn’t make COVID-19 a part of the Baxter family story. “We kind of have to,” he said. “We try to keep it as real as we can. The virus would have impacted the [Last Man Standing] universe. I’m going to have to look at, what happened to pot shops? What was that experience like? I guarantee you Outdoor Man will be facing the repercussions of the economy. How did lockdown affect outdoor equipment use? How are they going to re-open? We will ask ourselves all those questions to see how lockdown affected all of that.”
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Showrunner Dan Goor told THR at the end of Season 7 ”The question is how they have been affected by the virus and the pandemic as New York City residents and as first responders in New York City.” The comedy reportedly had to start over on Season 8 after the start of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd to address the current climate.
grown-ish
Creator Kenya Barris told THR that he was sure the show, set in a fictional college, would incorporate the pandemic but he isn’t currently sure how, “It’s like, ‘Do we start the year off, like, ‘Senior year, bitches!’ and then kids are at home studying online?” Online classes aren’t the only dilemma to decide for the comedy. Last season ended with Zoey (Yara Shahidi) deciding to drop out of school to begin her fashion career — but how can you style people in the current social distancing conditions?
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