COVID-19 has brought upon many changes in our world. Last March was the start to the world wide shutdown with any nonessential business closing and stay at home orders put in place around America. Movie and television shows shut down production, and concerts scheduled for months in advance were rescheduled, and thousands of fans were left heartbroken. 

“I was planning on going to the Dan and Shay concert in April at Van Andel Arena with three of my friends. Because of COVID they initially postponed the concert until August. Then 3 weeks before it was supposed to happen in August they canceled the concert and the whole tour. So we all got our money back,” Maggie Bruemmer 21’ said.

Along with the cancellations of concerts, many television and movie productions have also been put to a halt. As of now, shows have begun to continue with production while following guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

For example, many late-night television shows such as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Jimmy Kimmel Live have all continued with production from their houses, hosting interviews over zoom. 

In addition to the late shows, other shows have continued to film with a mandatory quarantine before production and daily testing. Thousands of fans have been waiting to watch Bachelorette Clare Crawley for months now. Originally planned to begin filming in March, The Bachelorette delayed production and began filming in July. All contestants had to quarantine before filming and rather than traveling across the world as contestants usually do, the season will be entirely filmed at La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California. 

Another show that has since begun filming amiss the virus is Dancing With the Stars. Contestants are required to have frequent testing, the judge’s table is long enough so that each judge is six feet apart, no audience, and contestants and their partners are required to stay six feet apart from the other contestants. 

The entertainment industry has also changed with the closing of all movie theaters. Dozens of movies scheduled to release have been released over on demand. In early March it was predicted that the US box office would lose over $5 billion due to the pandemic. Many movies released over on-demand did not make as much money as they would if released in the theatres. 

“Purchasing movies over on-demand is a great alternative to seeing them in the theatre,” Elli Gasper ‘22 said.

Despite the changes being made in the entertainment industry and the impact, COVID-19 has had on the industry, there are still high hopes for upcoming releases and seasons.