The COVID-19 pandemic has evidently dominated our lives and the conversations we have this year so it begs the question, won’t it dominate our TV shows too?
For years, TV shows have taken inspiration from real life to reference trending pop culture events and even matters of global importance. Many see TV and films as a mirror to the society we live in so it’s no surprise that considering the bizarre turn of events that have occurred this year, TV shows are changing plots and incorporating pandemic-story lines into scripts.
NBC show ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ creators Dan Goor and Michael Schur are looking to include the corona outbreak into the plot of season 8. The show is a cop-comedy that has previously highlighted issues of racism, sexism and homophobia via its character arcs so it’ll be interesting to see how the buddy cops at the ‘Nine-Nine’ will deal with the pandemic crisis in their signature dead-pan humorous style.
CBS show ‘All Rise’ filmed a digital episode that was centered on conducting a trial over video conference with all the characters appearing in their homes and live streaming the proceedings to the fictional public of the show.
Another expected show that’s centering a season on the pandemic is medical-drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. The show will probably showcase the plight and heroic battle that first-responders like doctors, nurses and paramedics have fought in defeating the contagious virus. It is a good opportunity for the show to tell real stories of how the virus impacted the personal lives of doctors and the struggles they’ve gone through. And because it’s a drama, it won’t be a surprise if Meredith Grey comes up with a vaccine before it even comes in real life!
Talking about grassroots impact, another group that has been affected the most are grocery store workers and ‘Superstore’ is one show that humorously showcases the everyday challenges faced by minimum wage and grocery store workers. The expectations from this one are high to show an accurate portrayal of the ordeal they’ve gone through.
So it’s suffice to say that many shows are definitely going to include this memorable event to their narratives whether it be full blown plot lines or just a mere reference to the pandemic.
But many could also choose to eliminate the topic consciously so as to not make the show feel “dated” and create a shelf life of the show. Producers and makers may also want to create an ‘escape from reality’ for viewers so that they are not constantly bombarded with worrisome news and dread.
Many content creators and YouTube channels have already started the trend of putting up 30 minute short series on how the lockdown has affected lives and changed how we interact with our surroundings but more mainstream hour long shows for which shooting has stopped since mid-March would need additional time to create a cohesive and well-written narrative on the pandemic.
Comedy, sci-fi, dystopia, horror or drama, whatever the form or shape may be, one thing’s for sure, the pandemic will stay with us in real and reel life for a long time.
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