Regardless of what its net effects on world health end up being, the COVID-19 coronavirus has already had a major impact on almost every industry that requires human beings to come together—i.e., most industries, including those that make up the pop culture institutions we obsess over and love. Now—in the wake of a hefty new slate of cancellations this afternoon—we’re assembling a running list of the TV shows, concerts, conferences, and more that have been delayed or canceled in response to the outbreak.
First up: TV. We’ve already reported on the effects the virus has had on some of television’s most successful (and travel-based) reality shows, with both The Amazing Race and Survivor postponing upcoming seasons. Now we can also report that a more domestically-minded series, Riverdale, has also had its production stopped due to viral concerns. Per Entertainment Weekly, someone on the team for the show—which films in Vancouver, hub for TV production—came into contact with a person infected with COVID-19, and so the show has been put on hiatus. There’s no word yet from The CW of how long the delay is expected to be, or what effect it’ll have on the show’s release schedule.
Meanwhile, over in the world of film, the majority of delays have been release date-based, with Peter Rabbit 2 joining the new James Bond film No Time To Die in vacating upcoming release dates in hopes of facing brighter pastures in the fall. So far, no other major films have been moved, although we can’t help but wonder whether Disney is eyeing Black Widow’s April 24 release date with some concern—the company’s stock price is already down, a potential symptom of the sheer number of entertainment pies it’s got its hand-sanitizer-heavy fingers in.
Music has been hit even harder, though, with Bikini Kill and They Might Be Giants both announcing today that they’re postponing North American tours in response to the virus. The TMBG shows (in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.) have already been rescheduled for this fall and winter, while Bikini Kill announced its cancellations of a Pacific Northwest tour, asking that fans possibly donate to Interfaith Works Emergency Overnight Shelter, the Olympia-based group that one of the shows was meant to support, to make up for some of the lost funds. Pearl Jam has also suspended the opening leg of an upcoming tour, while Coachella and Stagecoach have already announced that they’re both moving to the fall.
On the topic of festivals: All of this comes in addition to the numerous conferences that have already been canceled or postponed, with SXSW remaining the most high-profile of the bunch. The Game Developers Conference and E3 will both have a major impact on the world of gaming, though, and its still an open question of what the virus will do to the upcoming slate of annual film festivals. Donald Trump’s announcement of a 30-day travel ban to the United States from Europe earlier this evening will likely have an impact on the Tribeca Film Festival next month. specifically.
Oh, hey: Sports! After the last-second cancellation of a game in Oklahoma tonight—reportedly spurred on by worries over the health of Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert—the NBA has now announced that all of the league’s games are suspended going forward. There’s no word yet on how long this hiatus is expected to last, although it comes not long after increasing conversations about banning fans from attending games in person.
We’ll keep this list updated as more cancellations come in; in the meantime, it’s becoming clear that, no matter how this all ends up playing out, COVID-19 is going to have a major impact on how the entertainment industry conducts itself and plans events going forward, if only because, holy shit, even Tom Hanks can get sick. (Also, this is going to end up costing a lot of people an extraordinary amount of money, and could potentially impact people’s willingness to expose themselves to so-called “experiential entertainment” for years to come.)
Update, 10:17 p.m.: Well, that was fast. Variety is reporting that CinemaCon, the annual meeting that sees studios woo theater owners from across the country, has now also been canceled. As noted in the report, said theater owners have been very leery about giving American consumers any indication that coming together in large gatherings—like, say, movie theaters—isn’t perfectly safe, but the group has now officially pulled the plug, cancelling the annual Las Vegas event. It was scheduled to run from March 30 to April 2.
Update, 11:37 p.m.: We can now add “award shows” to the mix of events exercising caution, whether about the virus itself, or the travel restrictions now falling into place around it. Per Entertainment Tonight, Nickelodeon’s Kid Choice Awards have now also been postponed, with the Chance The Rapper-hosted event previously having been scheduled for Sunday, March 22. On a less slime-based tip, the Paley Center has also announced that several of its regular PaleyFest TV screenings are also being rescheduled.
Update, 3/12 @ 10:54 p.m.: A Quiet Place Part II, which was slated to begin its international roll-out next week, has decided to halt their global premiere for the time being, per Deadline. Paramount released an official statement on the matter:
“After much consideration, and in light of the ongoing and developing situation concerning coronavirus and restrictions on global travel and public gatherings, Paramount Pictures will be moving the worldwide release of A Quiet Place Part II. We believe in and support the theatrical experience, and we look forward to bringing this film to audiences this year once we have a better understanding of the impact of this pandemic on the global theatrical marketplace.”
Director John Krasinksi also released a statement, emphasizing that it would be best to release the movie when everyone could see it together safely:
Paramount has also scrapped releases for Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae’s Lovebirds, originally scheduled to premiere April 3, and the British crime thriller Blue Story, which was due for a limited release March 20. The studio has not assigned new release dates for either film.
Update, 3/12 @ 6:41 PM: We just want to add that Fast & Furious 9, Mulan, New Mutants, Antlers, trips to certain theme parks, just about all sports, and most major tours are postponed as of today.
Update, 3/12 @ 8:10 PM: And now the various taped live TV productions are starting to shut down, as well, with The Tonight Show, Late Night With Seth Meyers, The Wendy Williams Show, America’s Got Talent, and—perhaps inevitably, given how typically hug-based it is—The Price Is Right all stopping production for the next several weeks. A number of these shows already had hiatuses scheduled for this month, including Jimmy Fallon’s late night institution, but they’ll now be embarking on them early after wrapping up tonight’s previously scheduled slate of shows.
Update, 3/12 @ 10:28 PM: TV shutdowns continue to spread among the industry, with both Grey’s Anatomy and Netflix’s Grace And Frankie stopping production earlier tonight. Per TV Line, the Grey’s stopdown (expected to last for at least two weeks) happened after filming on the 21st episode of the current season, which is currently expected to air in mid-April. Deadline reports that Grace And Frankie has stopped production midway through its seventh and final season, with no indication of when it might come back.
Update, 3/13 @ 7:41 AM: Per Deadline, Studiocanal is shuttering their U.K. offices for the next two weeks and moving the Secret Garden premiere from April 3 to August 14: “A film that most certainly appeals to a family and older audience, the studio has has taken the decision to move out of a potentially high-risk period as the coronavirus situation continues to escalate.”
Update, 3/13 @ 11:37 AM: More TV sets go dark for a spell as CW’s The Flash halts production as of today. Deadline reports that the Vancouver team received word from unit manager Brent Cowell to stay home “until further notice.” They join fellow Vancouver production and CW mainstay Riverdale in the effort.
Update, 3/13 @ 3:33 PM: We’ve transitioned from individual shows temporarily pausing production to companies halting all active operations. Per Variety, Netflix has, for now, shut down all TV and film productions in the U.S. and Canada, Disney TV Studios has halted 16 pilots and a number of currently running shows, and Warner Bros. Television Group has temporarily shuttered over 70 series and pilots. CBS, Showtime, Paramount are still making decisions.
Update, 3/13 @ 4:12 PM: And now, true to form, Apple is playing catch-up to Netflix once again, announcing that all Apple TV+ productions are now also on hiatus. Sorry, Mythic Quest. (Also, you should watch Mythic Quest, it’s pretty fun!)
Update, 3/13 @ 10:49 PM: Rounding out the night, we can now add HBO, Jimmy Kimmel, General Hospital, FX, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and—say it ain’t so—Bill Maher to the list of shows and studios that have now also stopped production. For talk programs like Kimmel and Real Time, the delays will, obviously, be immediate; it’ll be a lot more interesting to see what these stopdowns will do down the line to the return dates on shows like The Righteous Gemstones, Atlanta, and Fargo. Perhaps most importantly, this now adds one more death mark to FX’s Y: The Last Man show, a series that is literally about a devastating pandemic sweeping across the country, and which was already never going to be released—now, only doubly so.
Update, 3/14 @ 2:18 PM: Another day, another round of production closures, with many of today’s shutdowns focusing primarily on the world of film. Among the most high-profile projects delayed: Both Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World: Dominion. (And also Rachel Morrison’s boxing drama Flint Strong, suggesting that neither the Dark Knight, nor the terrible thunder lizards, nor Ice Cube himself are capable of standing up to the need for social distancing.)
Over in the world of music, meanwhile, the majority of tours continue to be canceled, with special notice going to the Jonas Brothers’ Las Vegas residency, which was set to begin next month. (Ditto Kelly Clarkson’s, scheduled to start the same day.)
And hey: We know you might need a reassuring, soothing voice to talk you through all this stuff right now. So have this video of The Rock telling the crew of Netflix’s Red Notice that they’re stopping production on the film for at least the next two weeks:
Update, 3/15 @ 5:30 PM: Just when we thought we were literally running out of things that could be closed, on a day when some major cities announced that local bars and restaurants would shut down, we can add The Handmaid’s Tale, the Sylvester Stallone movie Samaritan, Pose, American Housewife, The Resident, Empire, The Bold Type, and some kind of Goonies TV show (we assume it’s this) to the list of things that are temporarily suspending production. Also, the Academy Of Country Music Awards, the Tech Emmys, and the Sports Emmys are all being postponed to future dates.
Update, 3/16 @9:40 PM: Today, the final two TV pilots that were still in production have been suspended: Fox’s This Country and The CW’s (already a little troubled) adaptation/remake/revival of The Lost Boys. British productions are also going dark for now, including Peaky Blinders and The Witcher (with Kristofer Hivju testing positive for the virus). Also: The Matrix 4, which recently wrapped up its work in San Francisco and moved to Berlin for more filming, has been put on hold, as has Sony’s Uncharted video game adaptation. The premiere of the new season of Fargo is also getting bumped back from its original mid-April date, and both Jeopardy! and Wheel Of Fortune are being suspended (though it sounds like they both have some episodes banked).
Update, 3/17 @ 8:38 AM: As Europe continues to halt productions across the continent, the latest casualties are James Cameron’s long-gestating Avatar sequels. Per Deadline, production in New Zealand has ceased for the time being. Though Weta Digital is continuing to work on the effects, producer Jon Landau is unsure of when production will resume: “If I told you we are going to know something in two weeks I’d be lying. I might not be wrong – even a broken clock is right twice a day. But I would be lying because I don’t know…We’re in the midst of a global crisis and this is not about the film industry. I think everybody needs to do now whatever we can do, as we say here, to flatten the [coronavirus] curve.”