Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 substantially impacted the American television industry.
With the spread of the pandemic in the United States, almost all television entertainment production ceased, except those capable of being produced remotely and/or with reduced personnel.
By June, certain productions resumed after implementing social distancing guidelines, quarantine measures, and other public health protocols.
The pandemic resulted in the most impactful shutdown to the American television industry since the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which had disrupted nearly all television productions. The ensuing turblent aftermath sees major reductions in the workforce and cancellations of shows right and left to save money on basic residuals and music licensing costs, which lead to the end of Peak TV and a worsening condition for writers and actors that eventually led to both the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[1]
Award shows[edit]
Several award shows were also postponed or reformatted as virtual events, since they were considered to be large gatherings that were subjected to government public health restrictions, including the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards (originally to be held March 29 in Los Angeles and aired by Fox, its ceremony was canceled on August 24, with winners announced throughout the Labor Day weekend on iHeartMedia radio stations instead of a televised ceremony),[433][434] the 2020 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (originally to be held on March 22 in Inglewood, California and rescheduled for May 2 in a remote format),[435][436] the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards (originally to be held April 5 and aired by CBS, but rescheduled for September 16),[437][238] and the 2020 Billboard Music Awards (originally to be held on April 29, but rescheduled to October 14).[438] The 74th Tony Awards (originally to be held on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall and aired by CBS) were postponed indefinitely, due largely to mandated closures of Broadway theaters in New York.[439][440] CBS aired a "sing-along" version of Grease as a CBS Sunday Night Movie in place of the ceremony.[441]
The 47th Daytime Emmy Awards canceled its in-person ceremonies, which had originally been scheduled in a new three-night format.[442] On April 28, the NATAS announced that the presentation would be rescheduled as a virtual event,[443] and announced on May 20 that the winners in leading categories would be presented in a CBS special on June 26—which marked the return of the Daytime Emmys to television in any form (after having been streamed online) for the first time since 2015, and its return to network television for the first time since 2011.[444]
On May 1, the Television Critics Association canceled their summer 2020 press tour, originally scheduled for July 28 through August 13, including the TCA Awards. The organization was unsure the tour could occur at all due to public gathering restrictions, and there was an anticipated lack of any new scripted or unscripted programming output, even in pilot form, to promote.[445][446]
The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards canceled its in-person ceremonies (scrapping plans to hold a less-crowded ceremony at Barclays Center).[447] New one-off award categories for best home-filmed music videos, "quarantine performances", and music performances by first responders were also added.[448][449][450] Its companion, the MTV Movie & TV Awards, never announced nominations or an airdate. On November 11, MTV announced that it would instead air a retrospective special, MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time, and aim to air, in late 2021, a larger ceremony encompassing 2019 through 2021.[451] The network later announced that the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards would be held in May 2021 over two nights, with the second devoted exclusively to non-scripted television.[452] After two years of in-person ceremonies, the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards pivoted to a pre-recorded virtual event for different reasons, after its planned host and guests dropped out in solidarity to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Variety remarked that the reformatted ceremony "ran a lot like a COVID-era awards show".[453]
The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards was moved to Nashville, with performances and award presentations divided between the Bluebird Café, the Grand Ole Opry House, and the Ryman Auditorium.[454] The 56th ceremony in 2021 followed a similar format, albeit with healthcare workers as guests on the balconies at the Ryman and the Opry.[455][456][457]
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards were produced as a virtual event from Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, with host Jimmy Kimmel and award presenters appearing on a stage at the arena, and all nominees appearing via remote feeds from various locations.[458][459] Kimmel acknowledged the circumstances in his opening monologue, which featured stock footage of audiences from past Primetime Emmy ceremonies, culminating with footage that showed Kimmel himself as an audience member.[460][222]
On January 5, 2021, the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards were postponed from January 31 to March 14 due to the COVID-19 situation in Los Angeles.[461] The ceremony featured a mix of live and pre-recorded segments and was filmed without an audience at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It used five different stages in a circular arrangement, which producer Ben Winston stated was inspired by the British series Later... with Jools Holland.[462]
The 93rd Academy Awards were postponed from February to April due to the impact of the pandemic on the film industry; the ceremony was re-located to Union Station's historic ticket hall, with a limited number of participants in the hall at any one time, and some appearing remotely from other locations.[463][464][465] The 78th Golden Globe Awards, also postponed, took the Oscars' original date, and featured in-person attendance at both its traditional home of The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, and New York's Rainbow Room (with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-hosting from the two locations respectively), and some participants appearing remotely.[466]
On May 26, 2021, it was announced that the 74th Tony Awards would be held on September 26, 2021,[467] with the Winter Garden Theatre announced as the venue that August.[468] The CBS primetime broadcast was retooled as a two-hour concert special paying tribute to the reopening of Broadway shows, along with the presentations for the top awards of Best Musical, Best Revival of a Play, and Best Play. The rest of the individual award presentations were held during a two-hour pre-show that streamed on Paramount+.[467]
The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards were initially to take place inside the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live. However, due to concerns over the Delta variant, CBS and the Academy announced that the ceremony would be held at the Event Deck, a hybrid indoor-outdoor venue within the L.A. Live complex.[469] The ceremony was largely held inside a tent with upwards of 800 people inside; presenter Seth Rogen jokingly commented on-air that "they said this would be outdoors. It's not. We're in a hermetically sealed tent. They lied to us." Host Cedric the Entertainer later noted that all attendees were required to be fully vaccinated to attend, and that "I did not have a reaction like Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend."[470] The ceremony was produced under Los Angeles regulations for film and television productions.[471]
In December 2021, the 27th Critics' Choice Awards were postponed due to the widespread surge of the Omicron variant in the United States,[472] and were later rescheduled to March 13, 2022, the same day as the 75th British Academy Film Awards, with the ceremony split between venues in Los Angeles and London.[473][474] The following month, the 64th Grammy Awards were postponed from their initial January 31, 2022, date to April 3 of that year due to similar concerns over Omicron variant, and also moved from Crypto.com Arena to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas due to scheduling conflicts.[475][476] The 94th Academy Awards returned to its usual home of the Dolby Theatre, with proof of vaccination requirements for attendees (but not presenters and performers), and the main seating area arranged for social distancing using seats and tables.[471][477][478]
Beauty pageants[edit]
Several beauty pageants were postponed, including Miss USA 2020, which was originally scheduled in spring 2020 and planned to be broadcast on Fox but was postponed indefinitely. On August 31, 2020, it was announced that the pageant would be rescheduled for November 9, moved to the cable channel FYI, and to be held in Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, with a socially distanced audience of 300 spectators.[479][480]
Likewise, Miss Universe 2020 was originally scheduled for fall/winter 2020 and rescheduled for May 16, 2021, to be held in Hollywood, Florida, also at a socially distanced venue of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood with a seated audience of 1,750, around 25 percent of the venue's seating capacity. That event was also aired on FYI; this was the only time FYI aired the event, when its regular broadcaster, Fox, could not due to uncertainties.[481]
Miss USA 2021 had affected the scheduling of the state pageant season, which had normally been held from September 2020 to February 2021, and was now pushed to December 2020 and much of 2021, following the indefinite delay of Miss USA 2020. Some state pageants such as those for Alaska and Hawaii, were held behind closed doors as a private hotel reception. On April 20, 2021, it was announced the pageant would be held at River Spirit Casino and Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in November 2021. Sometime later in summer 2021, FYI would broadcast the pageant for the second year running.[482][483]
The Miss America pageant had planned its 94th edition (known as Miss America 2021), which was originally scheduled for December 2020 but was cancelled on May 8, 2020. The Miss America Organization opted to postpone this edition a full year to 2021, and included a one-time-only grandfather clause regarding eligibility for state qualifying pageants that were due to have been scheduled between April and June 2020, where competitors who would have exceeded the age limit of 25 years were grandfathered in for the following year. In April 2021, the Miss America Organization announced the upcoming pageant was set for December 2021, to be held in Mohegan Sun.[484]