ABC Just Scrapped 3 New Shows

ABC is reportedly scrapping three new shows before they even got off the ground. [...]

ABC is reportedly scrapping three new shows before they even got off the ground. Thirtysomething(else), The Brides and Valley Trash will not be getting pilot orders, according to Deadline. The outlet notes that many decisions such as this are being made in part due to the strain that the coronavirus pandemic has put on Hollywood.

Thirtysomething(else) would have been a sequel to the late '80s/early '90s sitcom Thirtysomething and would pick back up in the current lives of the characters from that series. The Brides is a re-imagining of the story of Dracula, but this time it would have a trio of strong female leads at the forefront of the plot. Valley Trash is about "a scrappy, blue collar family living in the deep Valley who suddenly experience a major culture clash when their fourteen-year-old daughter, Abby, gets accepted to a prestigious LA private high school filled with students and parents who want nothing to do with her, her family or their 818 area code." Notably, producers of both Thirtysomething(else) and The Brides are said to be planning to shop them elsewhere.

The prospect of getting back to filming is something that all the networks are having to approach thoughtfully, as coronavirus cases are staring to spike all over the country again. In May, producers of Blue Bloods had shown "serious interest" in getting "germ-zapping robots" to help disinfect the set, per The Hollywood Reporter. San Antonio-based Xenex Disinfection Services developed the "robots" in question, the Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot. Xenex co-founder Dr. Mark Stibich spoke to THR about the robots, saying, "The way we like to think of it is that our pathogens, like coronavirus, have evolved — but our tools that clean the environment haven't." Stibich added, "We're still basically using buckets and mops and wipes, and what we need is a new tool in order to reduce the risks that the environment may cause an infection."

Notably, CBS's daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful was the first scripted series to resume production on U.S. soil, following the three-month shutdown. It restarted on June 17 but did have to pause to change COVID-19 testing agencies, as the one they had been using repeatedly came back with false positives. ABC soap General Hospital is planning to resume production in July.

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