'Star Trek: Picard' Pauses Production After Dozens Contract COVID-19
Star Trek: Picard production was halted earlier this week after dozens of members of the products tested positive for the coronavirus. Patrick Stewart, who stars in the Paramount+ series as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, was reportedly not among the people who tested positive. This is the latest show to halt production due to another spike in coronavirus cases.
Over four dozen Picard cast and crew members tested positive for COVID, sources told Deadline Thursday. The outbreak reached crew members and cast included in Zone A, which includes crew members who work directly with the cast. There are over 450 people working on the show. Production is scheduled to resume on Friday, Deadline reports.
Picard debuted in January 2020 on Paramount+ and production was now underway for the third season. Season 2 will not debut until February as the pandemic delayed production last year. The second and third seasons are being filmed back-to-back.
The show was developed by Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, and Alex Kurtzman. It follows the life of Stewart's Star Trek: The Next Generation character after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. The rest of the main cast includes Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Harry Treadaway, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, and Evan Evagora.
Several other productions based in Los Angeles have been forced to pause filming due to the outbreak caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant. Earlier this week, CBS' NCIS was postponed for a short time after someone in Zone A tested positive. However, producers expect to resume filming the show by next week so they can complete a crossover episode with NCIS: Hawai'i.
Production on NCIS: Los Angeles is on hold for a longer period of time, but not because of a positive test. As Deadline previously reported, the production has completed enough episodes that they can take an extended break as a precaution without affecting CBS' schedule. One of CBS' FBI shows also paused production to complete contact tracing. NBC has also postponed production on Chicago Fire because of the virus.
The Recording Academy has also postponed the 2022 Grammy Awards. The ceremony was supposed to take place at the Crypto.com Arena on Jan. 31 in front of a full crowd. The show, which will be broadcast on CBS, has not been rescheduled. In Utah, the organizers of the Sundance International Film Festival canceled the in-person screenings and moved the entire event online.