Russian TV Station Suspends Filming After Its Stars Leave Russia To Escape Mobilization: Report

The United Nations says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has forced almost 150,000 people to flee to neighbouring countries AFP / Yuriy Dyachyshyn

KEY POINTS

Russian station TNT has suspended the filming of comedy shows
The station is still airing the newest season of 'Improvisation' but has yet to renew the comedy show
The station also pushed back the newest season of 'Comedy Battle' for next year

Russian TV station TNT has suspended filming its comedy shows after many of the network's artists fled the country following President Vladimir Putin's announcement of "partial" mobilization.

Under the direction of new CEO Tina Kandelaki, who took over in February, TNT will focus on releasing more serialized dramas. Comedy shows like "Improvisation," "Improvisation.Teams," "Where is the Logic" and "Two in a Million" are to be suspended indefinitely, according to the Telegram channel Baza.

"No more 'Comedy Battle' and 'Improvisation.' TNT has suspended the filming of comedy shows - the comedians have left the country, and the management wants to make series," Baza wrote on Telegram, as translated via Google Translate. "Changes on the TV channel began after Tina Kandelaki took over in February. According to Base's sources, she decided to release more series, so TNT suspended the production of the comedy shows 'Improvisation,' 'Improvisation. Teams,' 'Where is the logic' and 'Two in a million.'"

Currently, the station is airing a new season of "Improvisation" that was filmed in April. The show has not been renewed. The newest season of "Comedy Battle" was also postponed for next year after some of the show's stars left Russia following the mobilization announcement. Baza noted that the web page for "Comedy Battle" is now displaying a 404 error.

While Kandelaki did not comment on Baza's reporting, she reposted the outlet's claim on her own Telegram channel and said TNT will announce 60 new projects Friday.

"Friends, are you kidding me? Have a little patience and you'll find out everything. This Friday we are presenting TNT's new season with 60 new projects, wait for the news," Kandelaki wrote on Telegram.

Reports of people fleeing Russia to escape the mobilization come as the war stretches into its ninth month. It is believed that between 600,000 and 700,000 people left the country following Putin's mobilization announcement, Forbes reported, citing multiple sources, as translated by Ukrainska Pravda.

It is unclear how many people left Russia as tourists. According to estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Russia lost 69,220 soldiers in the war as of Thursday.