‘Riverdale’,’Supergirl’, ‘Nancy Drew’ pause production due to COVID-19 testing delays

A delay in testing at a local lab in Vancouver has caused the production of a number of U.S.-based TV shows to come to a pause.

Many TV series had resumed shooting but with proper guidelines and tests. Now, U.S.-based location shoots in Vancouver have come to a sudden pause as the only local commercial laboratory, LifeLab, has run into a shortage of rapid COVID-19 testing capacity.

According to a report of The Hollywood Reporter, LifeLab is hiring more technicians to boost its capacity to meet a 48-hour turn around standard for American shoots. Report further quoted the lab’s statement, “A recent spike in positive Coronavirus cases in Vancouver prompted the provincial government to ensure it and other commercial labs had enough COVID-19 testing capacity to support local public health efforts to control the pandemic.” Due to this, the producers are unable to meet with their own demands of testing even as LifeLab is increasing its testing capacity. The report mentions the production houses considering this as a temporary glitch and not a shutdown. The lab anticipated returning to standard test turnaround times by the end of this week.

Advertisement

American TV shows ‘Charmed,’ ‘Nancy Drew’, ‘DC Legends of Tomorrow’, ‘Riverdale’ and ‘Supergirl’ have paused or delayed their production until further notice.