Covid Testing Creates Huge Backlog for Studios

Multiple U.S. based location shoots were shut down just as they got up and running due to a shortage of COVID tests. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that “safety is of the utmost importance” to studios. Among the shows facing lockdown: CW‘s Charmed, Nancy Drew and Riverdale and the superhero shows Supergirl and DC Legends of Tomorrow.

This comes after Riverdale star Lili Reinhart has repeatedly spoken out about her missing her life during shut down. Most recently, she captioned a topless shot of herself: “Nostalgic for my quarantine life.”

She recently told Nylon: “I genuinely feel like a prisoner, going back to work, because I cannot leave Canada. That doesn’t feel good. You can’t go home for Thanksgiving, can’t visit your family. No one can come visit you unless they quarantine for two weeks.”

Meanwhile, Riverdale is set to welcome Erinn Westbrook for season five, who will play Tabitha Tate, the granddaughter of Alvin Sanders‘ Pop Tate, and Drew Ray Tanner has been promoted to a series regular.