Making TV in the coronavirus pandemic: Why the television industry is watching what Neighbours does next

Long-running soap opera Neighbours is about to go back into production following the COVID-19 shutdown — but it will be a very different environment on set.

There will be no kissing or holding hands, the cast and crew will be isolated into three distinct groups, and camera trickery will be used to make physically-distanced actors look more intimate.

"It's going to look a bit odd," said Chris Oliver-Taylor, the chief executive of Neighbours' production company Fremantle Australia.

"[But] Neighbours is a show that can get away with it.

We employ hundreds of staff who want to work and feel they can. It's important we continue to produce a show that reaches millions of people in the UK and a significant audience in Australia."

Neighbours is believed to be the first suspended TV drama to resume production in the English-speaking world.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-20/neighbours-resumes-as-aussie-tv-adapts-to-coronavirus-rules/12161150