Nine cases of COVID-19 have been recorded among crew members during pre-production on Ava DuVernay’s “Colin in Black & White,” Variety has learned.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health logged the cluster of coronavirus cases as occurring on a Netflix production at 18421 S Main St in Gardena, Calif.
Production crew is currently preparing the set for the scripted series, which centers on Colin Kaepernick’s high school years and his road to the NFL and activism. Principal photography begins in January, and filming has not been delayed as a result of the COVID-19 cases, according to a source familiar with the situation. Netflix declined a request for comment.
Earlier in December, Netflix also recorded four COVID-19 cases among construction crew at its upcoming 13-story Epic building on Sunset Blvd. Staff were originally scheduled to move into the offices in January; that has been postponed until at least the spring of 2021, depending on the state of the pandemic, per a source.
Separately, four cases were recorded in early December on the set of Netflix comedy “Family Reunion,” which shoots at Paramount Studios and remains in production.
Among other recent outbreaks are the near 20 positive cases at Lionsgate TV-produced “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet” that have occurred since mid-November at CBS Radford in Studio City, Calif. CBS Radford has been the site of an increasing number of cases, with clusters of 11 and seven at two separate sound stages, impacting CBS Studios’ “Why Women Kill” and Sony Pictures TV’s “Call Your Mother” last month, in addition to “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet.”
Also in November, NBC Universal Studios Stage 1 logged a coronavirus cluster related to the “Kelly Clarkson Show,” as Variety previously reported.
Non-residential settings — a category that includes workplaces, restaurants and retailers — are required to report cases to the county if at least three people have tested positive for COVID-19.
At an update on Monday, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that 150 worksites had reported outbreaks over the weekend, as cases continue to surge in the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday.