“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has extended its hiatus in compliance with the recommendation from California Governor Gavin Newsom that Hollywood studios put a pause on filming amid the ongoing COVID-19 surge in the state.
Producers informed staff on Thursday that the show will delay its return to production by a week, rather than resuming with new episodes on Monday as originally planned. Employees will be paid and will continue to work from home.
“Due to the COVID-19 surge in Los Angeles County, and for the continued safety of our staff and crew, ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ will push production by a week,” a spokesperson for Telepictures, the producers of “Ellen,” said in a statement.
DeGeneres’ show has been on hiatus since the host tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month. In a statement at the time, DeGeneres said she was “feeling fine” but was isolating in accordance with CDC guidelines.
“Ellen” is just the latest in a string of shows to delay a post-holiday return to production amid the rising case numbers in Los Angeles County. Earlier this week, CBS Television Studios pushed the return dates for its programs that were scheduled to resume shooting next week, including “NCIS,” “SEAL Team,” “Why Women Kill” and “Diary of a Future President.”
In a letter to film industry contacts last week, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health also urged another production shutdown due to the spike in cases.
“Although music, TV and film productions are allowed to operate, we ask you to strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in COVID cases. Identify and delay higher risk activities, and focus on lower-risk work for now, if at all possible,” read the letter, which was made public by FilmLA on Tuesday.