‘The Conners’ Starts Production On Season 3 As Comedies Begin Return With COVID Safety Protocols

ABC’s flagship comedy series The Conners is back in production on its upcoming 19-episode third season. I hear production started today, with the first taping slated for later this week. The multi-camera show is being shot with minimal crew and without an in-studio audience.

The Conners is believed to be the first broadcast comedy series to resume production on set. It is produced by Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment.

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Independent studios have been the most active in pursuing return to production amid the pandemic with strict COVID-19 protocols.

Sony Pictures TV’s S.W.A.T. became the first broadcast drama to start filming new episodes, while Tyler Perry was the first to start primetime series production in the U.S. with his BET shows. Sony TV’s The Goldbergs is eying a production restart in a week; The Good Doctor is looking to get filming underway in Vancouver at the end of this month.

Elsewhere in comedy, I hear Peacock/Uni TV’s Saved by the Bell series reboot resumed production last week after being shut down due to the pandemic in March. I also hear the NBC/Universal TV comedy pilot Night School, based on the hit movie, started the prior week and has been completed.

Disney TV Studios, Warner Bros. TV and TV Studios’ comedy series have been exploring September returns.

Shooting in Los Angeles, The Conners is enforcing rigorous safety and health protocols, aligned with all state and local requirements as well as union and industry guidelines for production. They had been developed by the show’s producers for several months.

The Roseanne spin-off, featuring Dan, Jackie, Darlene, Becky and D.J., stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Michael Fishman, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara and Jayden Rey. Produced by Werner Entertainment, it is exec produced by Tom Werner, along with Sara Gilbert, Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez. Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan and Bruce Rasmussen are also writer

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