THE WORST COVID-19 PLOTS
The COVID-19 pandemic threw the entire world into disarray — and it also gave TV a unique challenge: How should entertainment address “the new normal”?
Here, the most “meh” pandemic renditions on the small screen this year.
“Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)
The long-running medical drama has dug into the coronavirus, giving it to lead Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). Through her COVID-induced dreams, the show has brought back beloved dead characters from past seasons, including Derek Shepherd aka McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) and George (T.R. Knight). It has been shocking and emotional to see them back on the show — but dream sequences with dead characters are also high-cheese soap opera territory.
“Love in the Time of Corona” (Freeform)
This miniseries starring Leslie Odom Jr. and his wife, Nicolette Robinson, was a “Love Actually” for 2020, jumping around between different couples in various scenarios. It was too middling to live up to its grandiose title and too rooted in current anxieties to provide any real sense of comfort or feel-good TV it was clearly aiming for.
“Social Distance” (Netflix)
This anthology series depicted the first few months of the pandemic — including episodes with bickering couples, a virtual funeral and online support groups. The cast was solid (Mike Colter, Asante Blackk) and the subject matter was relevant. It’s just hard to drum up any profound insights about a situation that you’re in the middle of. This show might have been welcome in a decade or two, but for now, add it to the list of “who asked for this right now?” programming.