Following in the footsteps of daytime dramas, nighttime shows are getting back into production and are employing many of the same safety protocols that soaps are doing. Case in point: Law & Order: SVU is being as careful about COVID-19 as the show’s fictional lawmen are about bringing perpetrators to justice!
Mariska Hargitay Is Glad To Be Back
“It’s all happening,” series star and Emmy-winner Mariska Hargitay, who plays Captain Olivia Benson on the long-running NBC procedural police show, says. “Back in hair chair with @cassihurdhair. First day of shooting season 22!! 😮Making history. So grateful to be back at work. #SVU22 ###WearAMask #safety1st #We’reNotMessingAround #DailyTesting #GetInLine #Grateful #BeyondGrateful #Let’sDoThis #NewYorkStrong #NewYorkTough #newyork #HappyFirstDay”
The show’s executive producer, Warren Leight, shared on Twitter that so far, everything’s going well. “Watching a live feed from set,” Leight posted. “Crew masked at all times, working in pods; warnings regularly repeated: ‘Six feet! six feet!’ Actors masking up the second a take ends. Only those essential to the scene on stage. Everyone, thankfully, taking this very seriously.”
Adds Ice-T, who plays Sargent Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, tweeted: “SVU Behind The Scenes: It’s hard to explain the new way we’re working to stay safe. The entire crew stays in masks all day. We COVID test every day. We rehearse in masks and ONLY remove em for the short moments we actually film. Then back on. We wanna stay safe AND keep filming.”
On the second day of production, the actor gave this update: “SVU. 2nd day of filming… Yes, lots of safety precautions in place. But happy to be back! #SVU22.”
Watch for the show to address COVID-19 in the return episode titled Remember Me In Quarantine. Fans are eagerly anticipating the return to the Law & Order: SVU original cast member Christopher Meloni, who is reprising his role as Elliot Stabler, the character he played from Seasons 1 through 12, in the series Law & Order: Organized Crime. The upcoming Benson/Stabler reunion will be a highlight of the 2020-21 TV season! Law & Order: SVU is set to return for Season 22 on Thursday, November 12 on NBC.
Watching a live feed from set. Crew masked at all times, working in pods; warnings regularly repeated: “Six feet! six feet!” Actors masking up the second a take ends. Only those essential to the scene on stage. Everyone, thankfully, taking this very seriously.
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) September 16, 2020
SVU Behind The Scenes: It’s hard to explain the new way we’re working to stay safe. The entire crew stays in masks all day. We Covid test every day.We rehearse in masks and ONLY remove em for the short moments we actually film. Then back on.. We wanna stay safe AND keep filming
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) September 15, 2020
SVU. 2nd day of filming… Yes, lots of safety precautions in place.. But happy to be back! #SVU22 pic.twitter.com/0QmpzGVUI8
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) September 15, 2020
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