COVID-19 TV Production Safety: General Hospital Led The Way?
Disney TV’s Dana Walden explained that the soap opera showed Disney how to keep their productions safe…
So I didn’t expect to be writing about General Hospital as part of a post about Disney having success in keeping its productions safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But here we are. Yahoo Entertainment explained:
When asked about the coronavirus pandemic had changed the vast Disney content operation that she oversees, Walden noted that the ABC soap “General Hospital” was the studio’s first show to go back before the cameras last year after the sudden shutdown in mid-March. The fast pace of production on a daytime soap opera proved to be a good place for the studio to learn how to apply COVID safety procedures on other sets.
“They get so much done because of the production cycle of that show — it’s a machine. We got to learn so much about best practices,” Walden said.
What an interesting note! Who knew how Disney might design its production procedures during the pandemic?
Yahoo added:
The Disney Television Studios imprints that Walden steers had to shutter some 65 active series in a matter of days. After “General Hospital,” ABC created a production bubble at a hotel in Palm Desert, Calif., to film a season of “The Bachelorette.” As dozens of other shows have come back online, Walden said the studio has kept transmission rates under 1%, compared to as much as 7%-9% for other areas of Los Angeles County. She credits the determination of cast and crew members to stay back in business as usual.
“Our shows have become some of the safest places in this city because of a very motivated workforce,” Walden said. “Everyone wants to be back at work.”
Walden was interviewed as part of an online conference produced by the Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business. The executive was given a lifetime achievement award from the undergraduates.