‘Saturday Night Live’ Returns This Weekend and Will Air Remotely Produced Content
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They might not have a studio to work out of, but that isn’t stopping the “Saturday Night Live” team from producing new content.
NBCUniversal announced on Thursday that its long-running comedy show will air original content during its usual time slot on Saturday, April 11. The material will be produced remotely and show elements will include the “Weekend Update” segment and other original content from the show’s cast members.
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It is unclear if any of the upcoming sketches and other comedy bits will be live and it is also unclear how long the show will air and whether or not the upcoming Saturday show will be a one-off. “Saturday Night Live,” currently in its 45th season, was originally slated to return on March 28 with “A Quiet Place” director and “The Office” star John Krasinski, who recently started his own YouTube series to spread good news during the ongoing pandemic.
Though the news bodes well for “Saturday Night Live” fans, it’s been a particularly trying period for the show’s cast members. Michael Che recently revealed that his grandmother died due to the coronavirus, while the Grammy-winning Hal Willner, a longtime “Saturday Night Live” music producer, died due to the virus earlier in the week.
NBCUniversal, like most other entertainment companies, has suspended production on most of its television series, including the “Chicago” franchise, “Law and Order: SVU,” “New Amsterdam,” “FBI,” and “Angelyne,” among others.
That said, the “Saturday Night Live” news is the latest in a string of announcements about various television shows producing new content remotely during the pandemic. CBS recently made headlines when it announced that “All Rise” would be returning with a special quarantine episode. The legal drama’s upcoming episode will be virtually produced and shot via social media platforms and online technologies, while producers plan to use VFX to create the necessary backgrounds.
IndieWire is keeping track of all film and television industry-related events and projects that have been impacted by the pandemic. IndieWire is also documenting all of the positive news to come out of the outbreak and also has a list of resources available to entertainment industry workers in need of aid.
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