Late night shows to go without live audiences as coronavirus spreads

As the coronavirus outbreak worsens, late night is going staff and guests only, with a select few suspending production altogether.

On Wednesday, multiple New York-based productions — including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah —announced they would begin taping without live audiences starting March 16. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, set to film Wednesday evening,did the same effective immediately.

By Thursday, Los Angeles-based productions The Late Late Show with James Corden and Jimmy Kimmel Live! announced their decisions to follow suit.

Meanwhile,NBC suspended production for both Late Night and The Tonight Show through previously planned hiatuses, and CBS is doing the same for The Late Show. The earliest the shows could return is March 30.

Local officials are currently reporting 95 confirmed cases of COVID-19 within New York City limits. The no live audience precaution has already been taken by numerous daytime talk shows in the area. The View, Live with Kelly and Ryan, Tamron Hall, and Rachael Ray began filming without in-studio audiences on Wednesday. The Ellen DeGeneres Show,based in Burbank, California, will tape without an audience starting Monday.

A chilling clip of The View host Whoopi Goldberg greeting a sea of empty chairs and an Instagram post of Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa preparing to perform for their small staff piqued concern among fans. Both shows acknowledged the strange setup on-air — with Seacrest quipping, "This is going to be an embarrassing hour. It feels like we’re doing a pilot."

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The "social distancing" tactic mirrors numerous other entertainment industry decisions in recent days, among them the cancelations of SXSW and E3 2020, the delayed release of multiple films, and the suspension and cancelation of sports seasons.

"The safety of our guests and employees is our top priority," NBC said in a statement on Wednesday, per The Hollywood Reporter. "Per guidance from New York City officials, the company is hoping to do its part to help to decrease the rate of transmission in our communities."

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CBS shared similar sentiments on behalf of The Late Show, adding that audience restriction was not cause for alarm among recent studio visitors.

"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," the statement read, again per The Hollywood Reporter. 

"For several weeks, the team at the theater has been taking all necessary precautions to protect everyone who enters and works in the theater with enhanced cleaning and sanitizing procedures."

At the time of writing, additional information on the status of HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was not available.

UPDATE: March 12, 2020, 5:18 p.m. PDT Edited to include production suspensions at Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and audience restrictions at The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as well as updated COVID-19 case numbers within New York City limits.

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