Virus prompts late-night shows to drop audiences; delay ‘Survivor’

The ripple effect of the new coronavirus on the entertainment industry reached late-night and daytime television, a TV fan festival and far beyond to the series “Survivor” in Fiji.

Nickelodeon’s annual Kids’ Choice Awards, set for March 22 in Los Angeles, also is affected. It will be postponed for the “safety and well-being” of all involved with the show, the channel said Wednesday.

“The Tonight Show” and other late-night talk shows in New York announced Wednesday they will tape without audiences, while CBS said that production on the next season of “Survivor” was being postponed.

In a statement Wednesday, NBC said it was suspending live audiences for Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” starting Monday, citing the safety of guest and employees as the “top priority.”

CBS announced that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” also will tape without an in-studio audience, as did Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” starting March 15.

“For the past several weeks, ‘The Late Show’ producers have consulted daily to share information with other New Yorkbased late night shows, who will also be moving forward without an audience,” CBS said in a statement.

The step was taken based on guidance from New York City officials, CBS said, and out of an “abundance of caution regarding” the virus and the uncertainty of the situation.

The shows’ broadcasts will be unaffected. Not all shows will be without a live audience. “The Talk” on CBS will continue with its regular live audience.

Another daytime program, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” said it will suspend audience attendance starting Monday. The action won’t affect the talk show’s production schedule, and it will be regularly reviewed, Telepictures Productions said.

Also Wednesday, CBS said production on the 41st edition of “Survivor” has been postponed in response to the spread of the coronavirus. Filming was scheduled to begin later this month in Fiji. But CBS now said production will start on May 19, depending on events.

Associated Press Late night talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon, Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert announced they will tape their shows without studio audiences due to the novel coronavirus.