The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the entertainment industry, with productions having to take whatever precautions necessary to slow the virus’ spread. In many locations, circumstances surrounding the pandemic have begun to improve, leading to some film and TV productions beginning to resume. And according to a new report, shows that film in Vancouver, BC – including The CW‘s The Flash, Supernatural, Riverdale, and Charmed – could be ramping up to begin filming in the coming months.
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Supernatural, which just has a handful of episodes to film for its fifteenth and final season, is reportedly aiming for an end-of-July return to production, before series star Jared Padalecki pivots to The CW’s Walker. With Supernatural scheduled to air its final episodes in the Fall 2020 season, there is reportedly a “bigger urgency” to resume filming, albeit with new restrictions and safety protocols in place.
The Flash, Riverdale, and Charmed are all currently poised to return in January of 2021, and all three series’ are reportedly “cautiously” planning how and when to do so. Riverdale and The Flash are reportedly considering restarting in August or September, with Charmed eyeing a potential August 10th start date.
This comes after British Columbia’s workplace safety authority WorkSafeBC published health and safety protocols for the motion picture industry, noting that employers are required to develop COVID-19 safety plans before being allowed to resume production.
Of course, all of these plans could end up being in a state of flux once August rolls around, given how ever-evolving the pandemic has become. Still, the notion that a handful of series could hopefully pick back up again – and possibly resolve some dangling plotlines in the process – is certainly promising.
“The end of this season because of production stopping will be the end of act two of our movie, which is a perfect point to break your story because there’s a huge cliffhanger and there’s a hero at his lowest point,” The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace previously told ComicBook.com. “To get now, you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. So, it actually was very fortunate for us, even though it was very sad to see production end and not be able to get to what is essentially act three of our movie. When we come back, not only are you presenting the ending in a house of fire, but where we lead this year’s cliffhanger isn’t just an ordinary episode.”
h/t: Deadline
