‘Young And The Restless,’ 'Bold And The Beautiful’ Join Shows Suspending Production Due To Coronavirus

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic may have led to the cancellation of March Madness and allowed new episodes of “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” to air after they were initially pre-empted. However, the virus has also now led to the shows suspending production to help try and contain the spread and flatten the curve.

Following on the heels of ABC’s “General Hospital” temporarily suspending production from March 16 until April 10, CBS has suspended production on the two daytime soap operas. The move comes following an emergency order by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, which placed temporary restrictions on restaurants, bars and other establishments. According to Soaps.com, the shutdown went into effect on March 17 and production is tentatively scheduled to resume in two weeks' time. New episodes are still scheduled to air during that time as the shows film at least that far in advance.

As for NBC’s “Days of Our Lives,” production has also been halted for at least two weeks, but since the show tapes six months in advance, the amount of new episodes airing won’t be affected.

The suspension on the soap operas is the latest among a long line of shows that have halted production entirely or temporarily suspended things due to the worldwide pandemic. Crown Media Networks, the parent media of Hallmark Channel, announced over the weekend that they were also suspending production on their Daytime lifestyle series “Home and Family,” as well as all their new original movies. It is unclear how that will affect upcoming planned movie events, such as May’s “Countdown to Summer” or the “June Weddings” specials.

Many shows preemptively suspended production as the virus began to spread, including CBS’ “The Amazing Race,” which ended production on a 33rd season after three episodes and sent crew and cast members home due to fears about the disease. Game shows like “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,” as well as Daytime talk shows like “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” “Today,” “Wendy Williams” and more have filmed without live studio audiences until further notice.

Other shows which have suspended production include “Saturday Night Live,” “Wynonna Earp,” “Last Man Standing,” “The Orville,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Stranger Things,” “Grace and Frankie,” “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Atlanta,” “The Morning Show,” and “The Bachelorette,” in addition to several other titles.