This isn’t about Channel 7, this is about filming in Sydney and the way that can be safely done.
Hospitality cannot enforce a rule that you are double vaxxed. A tv production can.
I’ve suggested Rapid Antigen tests can help mitigate the risk, among other things. And in fact there’s news in the last 24 hours that it’s use in Australia is expanding and the Commonwealth Bank has even been testing it in Sydney.
You can move your production temporarily to Melbourne (currently in lockdown) or Brisbane (known for going in and out of lockdown). Or you can keep your production in Sydney, where it’s currently based, where your host lives and works on another tv show, with the highest and fastest rates of vaccination in the country, and where they are actively trialling the expansion of rapid antigen tests.
Yes and like I just said we are talking the immediate not three months down the track is my point so that is what we are discussing here
These new ways of testing and protocols won’t just be approved over night. Moving forward 100% it’s the way of the future but in the current climate of Sydney it isn’t feasible to do so among the current surge.
Sydney may be getting vaccinated faster but the cases are breaking new records each day now - they keep climbing.
Being vaccinated doesn’t 100% prevent the disease being spread. It mitigates your chances of ending up in hospital and in some cases helps reduce the a chance of it being spread but it’s not a guaranteed saviour at this point.
Everyone needs to be vaccinated but the timings for people getting their second dose isn’t a week, there needs to be a decent timeframe between,
So in my eyes if they want their show to continue in the short term moving it interstate and doing “specials” may be the way to do it.
The expansion and trial of rapid antigen tests is happening right now. There’s no reason why they cannot take part.
It’s also not a must have, they can just enforce the rule that contestants are double vaxxed. That + social distancing + temperature checks etc is enough.
Moving your production to another city which is currently in lockdown or at risk of being in lockdown isn’t really the best solution.
But also risking being a hotspot as a network and being a super spreader isn’t really a safe idea either until that testing becomes legitimately approved.
They are talking a big risk if they participate and the legitimacy of the test isn’t 100% and that person then infects the whole building.
Then the network overall has no staff who can work.
I don’t disagree there are risks. But obviously Larry moving between both studios is actually your biggest risk. So you are protecting him the most, eg: double vaccination and regular PCR tests.
As for filming in Sydney… your Rapid Antigen test should be seen as your last line of defence and probably used in place of a temperature check on arrival.
Before arriving you could either be subject to double vaccination or a PCR test. The rapid antigen test alone is not the answer.
Obviously nothing is “regular” at the moment but presumably The Chase has had to adapt it’s regular filming schedule to accomodate Larry if he is not taking time off The Morning Show to film - so perhaps filming just two shows per afternoon once he’s done with The Morning Show. Not sure what the previous filming schedule was but the UK version films four a day usually in two seperate blocks, so I suspect it was similar.
Moving from Sydney seems a non-starter and I suspect continuing with a schedule of Larry doing the Morning Show in the morning and filming a couple of episodes in the afternoon is probably safer than taking him off The Morning Show for a week or two and really churning out the episodes at a rate of at least 4 a day.
I suspect Seven will be happy enough to switch to Friday repeats sooner rather than later - in theory it’s something they could do almost immediately. They then basically need 4 months of episodes at 4 days a week to take them through to the end of ratings season, so around 80 episodes. I suspect a good chunk of those were filmed prior to the lockdowns. Possible he did some full filming days during the Olympics too.
What’s everyone’s thoughts of Larry now that he is in his fourth week in the role?
I think he’s a refreshing change, but I still prefer Andrew. Larry may put on a happy face but he’s probably bored, these sort of quiz shows aren’t really his thing, he’s more suited to Price is Right type shows. I think Larry would thrive in a game show with a live studio audience.
Was last night’s episode a repeat? That’s what someone suggested on the tvtonight website. If so, then that was quick (with the Larry Emdur episodes). If so. then there were 4 weeks of new “normal episodes” over 5 nights, followed by 4 new episodes this week and i assume for the rest of the year? Note that the first two weeks of the Larry Emdur episodes were shortened around the time of the Olympics.
The reason why they have started repeating the Larry era episodes is due to the COVID lockdowns. Filming was suspended when the lockdowns first started, although there are reports across social media that will start to film again on the 20th (also taking into account domestic quarantine in the home states for Issa (Supernerd), Matt (Goliath) and Brydon (Shark) when they finish filming)