ABC's "American Idol" announced that the show's live performances are temporarily halted due to the worsening situation brought by the 2020 global coronavirus pandemic.
Last Thursday, Fox News learned that AI had suspended their live performances. Contestants have also been sent home with their families amid the crisis.
The production team said to Fox News that they will examine things every week.
They, meanwhile, told ABC 6 that AI also wants to make a live performance without the audience behind the judges, but the team decided to halt the production after the company Fremantle was advised by the Los Angeles County government to ban large gatherings in the county.
The Top 40 contestants have been selected. They went to Hawaii to perform in the Showcase round. The showcase performances are slated to air on March 29 and 30. American Idol has yet to announce the future schedule of Season 18.
Meanwhile, The Daily Mail announced also that America's Got Talent, another production of Freemantle, also paused production after Heidi Klum, one of the judges, fell ill. Daily Mail reports on March 19 that she is feeling better.
Other Suspensions
Aside from AI, many TV shows temporarily halted their live performances. Some even canceled their canned television shows. Some movies also moved their premier dates due to the pandemic. More than 100 shows from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and many others postponed their shows to avoid spreading the virus.
CBS, NBC, and ABC suspended their daytime soaps "The Bold and the Beautiful", "The Young and the Restless", and "General Hospital".
The CW delayed the airing of their Arrow-verse series like "Flash". "Supergirl", and "Batwoman", but "Black Lightning" is still there for its third season. "Legends of Tomorrow" finished season 5 production. CW also suspends "Legacies". CBS suspends more of their shows like "All Rise", "FBI: Most Wanted". and many more. NBC, ABC, and Fox followed suit.
For NBC, some of the canceled shows until further notice are "Law and Order: SVU", "The Blacklist", "One Chicago", and "New Amsterdam".
Fox postpones some of their shows like "Empire", "Last Man Standing", "The Resident", and "Prodigal Son".
ABC canceled their shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Goldbergs" aside from AI.
In terms of live shows, "Family Feud", and "Jeopardy", also suspended live productions in their respective timeslots.
Normally, the network suspends or cancels a show due to low ratings, production team's idea, like giving a cliffhanger, or preparation for a new season. However, this time, with the coronavirus pandemic, TV networks canceled or made cliffhangers to keep production teams on and off camera safe from the virus.
COVID-19 Update
More than 402 deaths due to COVID-19 has been recorded in the U.S. as of writing. The total case of the virus in America is now at 46,447, and it can rise anytime soon. There are now 334,981 cases worldwide, with deaths of about 14,652 according to the report of WHO.
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