The world currently finds itself in the strange situation where there’s both a crisis and a standstill happening at the same time. The Coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate on a daily basis, with an increasing number of cases being confirmed around the globe, and as a result, our society and culture has been given a number of restrictions in an effort to try and stop the spread of the disease.
People are self-isolating, schools are closing, entire nations are on lockdown, and we’re all facing an uncertain time as the situation develops. One of the hardest-hit sectors has been the entertainment industry, with most major theater chains in the United States shutting their doors and countless film and TV productions getting delayed or shut down, with hundreds of crew members now unable to work.
Netflix has halted virtually their entire slate of projects for the time being, including the fourth season of Stranger Things, which is still expected to hit the streaming service at some point later this year. And in a recent interview, producer Shawn Levy revealed why they decided to stop shooting, despite nobody involved showing any symptoms of the Coronavirus.
“I was having phone-calls with Netflix while directing takes and blocking scenes. We shared the news with our cast and crew that we would be pausing production out of an abundance of caution. There were no sick crew members, no one was exhibiting symptoms, but it seemed like the right thing to do. When you’re shooting, you create this micro-society, this community. You’re aware of the world beyond, but in all my years of directing and producing, I’m hard-pressed to come up with any comparisons for this truly global situation.”
Stranger Things is one of the biggest and most popular TV shows in the world, never mind just on Netflix, and while fans are disappointed that it might take a little longer for the latest batch of episodes to arrive, the safety of the cast and crew is the number one priority for any movies or TV shows that have had to halt production. As such, Levy and his team definitely made the right decision in delaying shooting as we wait to see how the pandemic unfolds over the coming weeks and months.