Late-night comedy shows hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Trevor Noah, and others will reportedly tape without in-studio audiences as network producers seek to implement social distancing in response to the spread of the coronavirus.
The major late-night shows are expected to continue to tape and air as scheduled but will forego the live audiences who provide the shows’ laughter and applause. NBC told The Hollywood Reporter that The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers will suspend audiences as a “precautionary” effort to “decrease the rate of transmission in our communities.”
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, will also film without a live, in-studio audience. “This move is being made out of an abundance of caution and concern regarding the spread of the COVID-19 virus and per guidance from New York City officials to take appropriate actions,” the cable network told the Reporter.
CBS also put out a statement regarding The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “This move is being made out of an abundance of caution regarding the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the uncertainty of the situation for future weeks,” the network said.
“There have not been any specific developments at The Ed Sullivan Theater to cause concern for audiences with plans to attend the show tonight, tomorrow, or who have attended in recent weeks.”
CBS separately announced that it is postponing production on the latest season of the reality competition series Survivor.
“Pending worldwide events, the plan is to return to production on May 19th. The health and safety of the castaways and production members is our top priority,” the network and producers said in a statement to multiple news outlets.
Other late-night shows including Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on TBS and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO are also suspending in-studio audiences, according to the report.
Fox News has dropped the live audience for Greg Gutfeld’s Saturday night late night comedy show The Greg Gutfeld Show, a Fox News Channel representative told Breitbart News.
This post has been updated to reflect a statement from Fox News Channel.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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