Riverdale Shuts Down Production After 'Team Member' Comes in Contact With Coronavirus Patient

Production on Riverdale has been shut down after a member of the cast/crew came in contact with an individual who tested positive for coronavirus.

“We have been made aware that a team member from ‘Riverdale,’ which is produced in Vancouver, was recently in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. The team member is currently receiving medical evaluation,” said a Warner Bros. TV spokesperson in a statement to Variety.

“We are working closely with the appropriate authorities and health agencies in Vancouver to identify and contact all individuals who may have come into direct contact with our team member."

"The health and safety of our employees, casts and crews is always our top priority. We have and will continue to take precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world. Out of an abundance of caution, production on Riverdale is currently suspended.”

Riverdale Season 4 was in the home stretch of production, with only a handful of episodes yet to be shot before The CW drama takes a hiatus before production on Riverdale Season 5 kicks off.

However, the series has been shut down for the time being, and there's no way of telling when it will enter production again.

This is not the first scripted series to be affected by the rising threat of what has now been deemed a pandemic.

A crew member on the Chicago-shot FOX drama, NeXt, which finished filming last week at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, has tested positive for coronavirus.

The crew member is a woman in her 50s who recently traveled from California to Illinois, according to several outlets.

“The health and safety of our staff and tenants are paramount to us,” Cinespace said. “We are in full compliance with the City of Chicago health directives issued last week. We distributed those directives to all film/television production tenants and all of our employees.”

Fox’s parent company, Disney, said the crew member is receiving treatment.

“We are working closely with the (Chicago Dept. of Public Health) to identify and contact all individuals who came in direct contact with the crew member, and are taking precautions to protect all who work on our productions.”

Additionally, many TV shows are saying goodbye to studio audiences for the time being.

What are your thoughts on this news?

Hit the comments.

Riverdale airs Wednedays at 8/7c on The CW.