Television City: COVID-19 Outbreak At Los Angeles Studio Complex

UPDATE FRIDAY 10:20 AM: In a statement to Deadline, Television City owner Hackman Capital Partners confirmed the three positive COVID-19 cases reported by the LA Department of Public Health.

“The three employees are CBS corporate employees who are separated from, and not tied to, any production,” the company said. “No productions have been shut down in connection with this isolated incident.”

The positive tests triggered built-in safety protocols, with the individuals sent home to seek medical care and contact tracing implemented.

Meanwhile, Deadline learned that a staffer from The Bold and the Beautiful production company Bell-Phillip Television tested positive for COVID-19 three and a half weeks ago. As a precaution, the studio moved up the show’s dark week for that month and added a second dark week. The daytime drama has since returned to production at Television City.

Here is Hackman Capital’s full statement:

We can confirm that three individuals who accessed Television City Studios were recently diagnosed with COVID-19. The affected individuals were immediately sent home and sought appropriate medical care. Additionally, the studio undertook thorough contact tracing to ensure that any other persons who had contact with the three individuals were appropriately notified and self-quarantined. The three employees are CBS corporate employees who are separated from, and not tied to, any production. No productions have been shut down in connection with this isolated incident.

Our response to this situation is consistent with a set of best-in-class operating procedures that were developed and implemented prior to the re-opening of Television City Studios. Such measures include, among other important controls, site entry restrictions and temperature checks, thorough and regular cleaning and disinfecting of all areas of the property, extensive on-site COVID testing, on-site medical staff, including a licensed epidemiologist, staggered staffing schedules, enhanced hygiene controls, and mandated social distancing. Since the resumption of production activities in June, hundreds of individuals on a daily basis have safely accessed the studio lot.

The health and safety of the individuals who work at Television City Studios is paramount. We are complying with all requirements and will continue to evolve our protocols to ensure that our operations are proceeding in the safest and most responsible manner possible during this challenging period.

PREVIOUS THURSDAY PM: Three staffers at Television City in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles have tested positive for the coronavirus, the LA County Department of Public Health revealed as part of its daily release of COVID-19 data classified by location and demographic.

The current list, last updated on Wednesday night, has three confirmed staff infections at Television City’s address of 7800 Beverly Blvd. The iconic studio complex is listed as “CBS,” stemming from the facility’s longtime name, CBS Television City. It was renamed after the network sold the property to Hackman Capital in 2018.

CBS still leases sound stages and offices in the complex, including for late-night talk show The Late Late Show with James Corden, which returned to the studio ten days ago after months of remote broadcasts. It is not impacted by the outbreak, sources said.

CBS’ The Bold and the Beautiful, which was among the first productions in the U.S. to resume production after the coronavirus-related shutdown, has been taping at Television City for over a month. It had to shut down after its first day back to switch labs over multiple “false positive” test results but has been in production since. It is unclear whether the long-running soap has been affected by the outbreak.