There was some significant signs that Hollywood and the state of California’s show business production looks to be gearing up for a restart after all TV and film production was halted a few months ago as the coronavirus pandemic hit the state, our country, and the globe.

The reopening for production may not include L.A. County, however, which is the epicenter of the state’s show business production.

According to Deadline: On Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state could begin TV and film production as early as June 12th.  While the California Department of Public Health released the following guidelines:  “Music, TV and film production may resume in California, recommended no sooner than June 12, 2020 and subject to approval by county public health officers within the jurisdictions of operations following their review of local epidemiological data including cases per 100,000 population, rate of test positivity, and local preparedness to support a health care surge, vulnerable populations, contact tracing and testing. To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, productions, cast, crew and other industry workers should abide by safety protocols agreed by labor and management, which may be further enhanced by county public health officers. Back office staff and management should adhere to Office Workspace guidelines published by the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Industrial Relations, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.”

For LA County,  on Friday, the same day the guidelines were announced they saw a slight increase in hospitalizations, which could cause delays in getting production started.  “This has been a slight increase over the last three days in the number of people hospitalized,” said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, “and we’ll need to make sure that we’re not starting to see a significant increase in the number of people requiring hospitalizations.”

Newsom has said modifications to regional guidance would be allowed so long as there are attestations at the county level that there are adequate plans in place should a rise in COVID cases be seen again.   As of May 18, when L.A. filed its attestation, the county had a stable or declining number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19.   However, there has been an uptick in cases as of Friday which could effect the production restart in Hollywood as well as the noted uptick in hospitalizations; all of which are measures in the protocol guidelines that need to be on the decline for things to move forward.

So the question remains: if there is a surge in Los Angeles in COVID-19 cases production could again be delayed getting started back up and running? So what do you think about the June 12th date for the state of California to start TV and film production? Do you hope your favorite soaps get back into production as soon as possible, or do you want to make extra sure that all your favorites will be safe and sound when they tape new episodes?

On Monday, the two states with the most television and film production in the United States (California and New York) received a plan from many Hollywood studios, producers and the entertainment and production guilds of a plan and outline to be able to rejigger and restart production of your favorite shows and films.  This includes the soaps: General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of our Lives.

Via Deadline: In an effort to get the industry moving-forward again where jobs were lost or put on hold, and production were completely stalled out-of-the-blue, the guidelines submitted by “The Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force (the “Task Force”) is asking for consideration and adoption for the resumption of motion picture, television, and streaming productions in an environment that minimizes the risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19,” says a report for Governors Gavin Newsom of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York.

Photo: AP

You can read the details of the report here.  While there has been no word from the Governors and their offices if they have seen the report, bets are that several more steps will be needed before anyone would head and report back to a set yet.

As one would expect, limiting contact, social distancing, regular temperature checks, ways to handle props, and a COVID-19 compliance officer for all productions are part of the proposal.   As well as virtual writers room meetings, avoiding filming on-location as much as possible and filming in front of large audiences.

So, glad to know that this major step has been taken to try to get production back on track in Hollywood and New York? Comment below.