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COVID-19 pandemic

Revision as of 03:34, 27 May 2020 by Antsamthompson9 (talk | contribs) (→‎"At Home" Productions)
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Sesame Street Heroes in Your Neighborhood Song

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Oscar the Grouch Says Stay Home

The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19). The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, 2020 and a pandemic on March 11th.

The pandemic has had a substantial impact on the film and television industry, particularly in the United States, mirroring its impacts across other sectors, shutting down or delaying production of television programs.

"At Home" Productions

In mid-March, Sesame Workshop launched "Caring for Each Other," an initiative to help children and families cope with the social impact of the pandemic. The initiative included videos, coloring pages, eBooks, and information sheets. Many of the videos, featuring the Sesame Street Muppets, were filmed at the puppeteers homes and focus on messages of social distancing, hygiene, routines, adjusting to the "new normal" and thanking health care workers and other "essential" personnel (such as truck drivers, grocery store workers and emergency services).

Sesame Street also produced a half-hour special, Elmo's Playdate, which dealt with the pandemic and socializing with others remotely. It premiered on April 14th, airing in simulcast across multiple WarnerMedia networks. Additionally, Sesame Street partnered with CNN to host The ABCs of COVID-19, a series of family-friendly specials addressing questions about the virus.

The Jim Henson Company and Apple TV+ launched a spin-off of Fraggle Rock in April entitled Fraggle Rock: Rock On!. The series of shorts were filmed entirely using iPhone smartphones from the performers' homes and focuses on a message of the Fraggles staying connected even though they may be apart in separate caves.

During periods of social distancing and quarantining, many artists released "at home" performances of songs on social media to help raise spirits. Kermit the Frog released a "from home" performance of "Rainbow Connection" in April.(YouTube) Additionally, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy appeared in a video for the song "Brave Little Spark," written and performed by the Walt Disney Imagineers from their homes during the pandemic.

Both the Sesame Street Muppets and the Disney Muppets have appeared in various "from home" television specials to build awareness or support during the pandemic, including: One World: Together at Home and The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II. Grover and Cookie Monster appeared in#Graduation2020, a virtual graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 due to many in-person ceremonies being canceld. Bear of Bear in the Big Blue House also recorded a special TikTok message for the graduating class of 2020 who "knew it wouldn't be east but didn't really expect this."(video) During a May 18th appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (via video chat), Elmo talked about social distancing and said Oscar was enjoying the pandemic because "there's a lot of be grouchy about."

Live Events

In response to COVID-19 concerns, the Puppets for Puppetry event honoring Brian and Wendy Froud (originally scheduled for May 8, 2020) was postponed.

Online programming, public video chats, group panel discussions, table reads, and live-streams became popular as in-person events were canceled and people were confined to their homes.

Dave Goelz participated in a Q&A hosted by the Walt Disney Family Museum website on April 17th and Bonnie Erickson will appear in a similar Q&A on June 5th.

A discussion about the making of The Muppets Take Manhattan with Frank Oz and Goelz was hosted by the Museum of the Moving Image on April 18. Craig Shemin hosted a trivia night on the MOTMI Facebook page on April 11th and Shemin, along with Stephanie D'Abruzzo and Bill Barretta, hosted a Q&A session on May 9th as part of the Museum of the Moving Image's "Jim Henson's World: Conversations" series.

The cast of Muppet Guys Talking (Frank Oz, Fran Brill, Dave Goelz, and Bill Barretta) reunited in a video conference event on May 16th to talk about Jim Henson and his work, and to raise money with a fundraiser "to help those who are on the front lines battling COVID-19."

Muppet fansite Tough Pigs hosted a series of live-streams, entitled "The Cabin Fever Interviews," with various Muppet personnel and celebrities - including Brian Jay Jones, Hornswoggle, Katie Cook, Craig Shemin, Griffin Newman, and Chris Cerf.

Live Streams

See also

Wikipedia has an article related to:
  • Public Health
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