Saturday Night Live CANCELS live audience and limits cast and crew on set due to COVID-19 outbreak
‘Everyone is fearful’: SNL CANCELS its live audience for final show of year with Paul Rudd after showrunner ‘Head writer Colin Jost and three other stars tested positive for COVID’
- Four Saturday Night Live cast members have tested positive for COVID and three reportedly called in sick
- Showrunner Lorne Michaels, 77, tested positive along with head writer Colin Jost, according to reports
- Tina Fey, the show’s former head writer, will reportedly replace Jost as anchor on Weekend Update segment
- Cast member Cecily Strong has reportedly been pushing the show’s producers to cancel the taping
- The reported outbreak at SNL comes as NY sets another daily COVID case record fueled by Omicron varient
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Saturday Night Live canceled their live audience for tonight’s show with Paul Rudd hosting and musical guest Charli XCX bowed out of her scheduled performance due to the limited number of people permitted on the set following an outbreak of positive COVID-19 cases.
The weekly sketch comedy show was on the verge of shelving the entire production after ‘four actors’ tested positive for coronavirus and ‘three others’ have called out because they are now ‘fearful’ about coming to NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Center, according to the New York Post.
Insiders told the publication that executive producer Lorne Michaels had tested positive, adding that the ‘show must go on but don’t expect to see Colin Jost, Sarah Sherman or (Aristotle) Athari.’
Jost’s seat as co-anchor of the satirical news segment Weekend Update will be filled by star alum Tina Fey, according to the Post.
Fey, who once held Jost’s role as head writer of the popular sketch comedy series, co-anchored Weekend Update alongside Amy Poehler from 2004 until 2006.
She also shared the anchor role with then-SNL star Jimmy Fallon, who is currently host of the Tonight Show.
SNL is just the latest New York City institution that has experienced disruptions caused by positive COVID-19 cases among staffers. The Radio City Rockettes and several Broadway productions were forced to shut down after infections were reported among staffers.
Oh no: Saturday Night Live canceled their live audience for tonight’s show with Paul Rudd hosting, and also limited the cast and crew on set due to an outbreak of positive COVID-19 cases
‘Due to the limited crew at tonight’s taping of snl my musical performances will no longer be able to go ahead,’ Charli XCX wrote on her Twitter account.
‘I am devastated and heartbroken.’
She then urged her fans to ‘look after yourselves out there and make sure you get vaccinated if you haven’t already.’
Sources said the ‘cast and crew were currently in rehearsals at Studio 8H for the episode,’ but its unclear how tonight’s episode would proceed and that ‘everyone is fearful here.’
‘Due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution, there will be no live audience for tonight’s taping of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and the show will have limited cast and crew,’ a statement read.
‘The show continues to follow all government safety guidelines in addition to a rigorous testing protocol.’
‘Due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution, there will be no live audience for tonight’s taping of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and the show will have limited cast and crew,’ a statement read
Tough time: This week’s episode is set to star Paul Rudd and mark his fifth time hosting the popular comedy program; seen arriving for rehearsals earlier in the week
Challenges: It’s unclear how producers will work with and around the outbreak
The insider revealed that Cecily Strong was one of the cast members ‘who has voiced concern over the outbreak.’
This week’s episode is set to star Paul Rudd and mark his fifth time hosting the popular comedy program.
English singer and songwriter Charli XCX is slated to return as musical guest nearly six years after debuting on the show with her songs Boom Clap and Break the Rules.
Difficult: English singer and songwriter Charli XCX is slated to return as musical guest nearly six years after debuting on the show with her songs Boom Clap and Break the Rules; seen arriving for rehearsals earlier in the week
