When shows wrapped for the season towards the beginning of the year, none of us could have predicted that we would have to wait longer than ever to have those cliffhangers resolved. We waited with bated breath, but the time as finally come to get the resolutions we have all been looking for. Some of your favorite shows, reality television included, are finding imaginative ways to get back to what they do best, entertaining an audience. If you thought television producers or writers had a hard-enough job coming up with exciting stories and preparing places to film, you won’t believe everything they have had to do in 2020. From making their actors and crew feel safe, to incorporating present day issues into scripts, here you will learn all the ways that television is adjusting to these strange times we are currently living in.

*Warning. This article contains spoilers from shows such as “This is Us” and the “Bachelorette”. Read on at your own risk*

On March 24^th, 2020, the show that we can always count on to make us laugh and cry in the same hour,

“This Is Us”, premiered their season 4 finale. “This Is Us” is a heartwarming show that follows the individual lives of Kevin, an aspiring movie star with a drinking problem, Kate, his twin sister who struggles with being overweight, and Randall, their adopted triplet brother who has anxiety and struggles with the thought of being an African American man raised by a white family in the 1980s. The show takes us back in fourth in time all the way from the childhoods of Jack and Rebecca Pearson, the parents of the three main characters, to a future where the three children are in their 60s and their mother is gravely ill. It is a difficult show to explain, but it is just one of those shows that makes you think every time you watch it. In the last episode of the most recent season, we were left with Kevin and Randall in the biggest feud of their lives, Kate and her husband contemplating adopting a sibling for their one-year-old, blind son, Rebecca deciding to enter a clinical trial to help with her memory loss, and Kate’s best friend being pregnant with Kevin’s twins. It was a jam-packed finale that left the show’s massive fan base wanting to see what happened next. Well, on October 27^th, the show aired its season 5 premiere. The special two-hour episode picked right up where it left off, but in a world where the Corona virus pandemic had just taken off. The episode took us on a roller coaster of emotions touching on sensitive topics such as racism, the pandemic, and white guilt. In the final moments, we learn that Randal’s birth mother is still alive. The show did a wonderful job of creating an entertaining first episode that was safe for every actor and crew member, and still lived up to the fans’ expectations. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Another show that has recently returned is the “Bachelorette”. This popular reality show has been running for 15 seasons and is currently on its 16^th. The new bachelorette, Claire Crawley, was announced at the end of Peter Weber’s bachelor season.

Only a few days before Claire was set to fly out to the mansion, the stay at home order was announced. After months of waiting, Claire was finally able to have her season, just with a lot of precautions. First of all, instead of all the guys staying in the famous bachelor mansion, they moved to a secluded resort in La Quinta, California. Claire quarantined for two weeks before even coming to the resort, and then for two more weeks after arriving. After many COVID tests, she was finally cleared to find love. All 31 guys fighting for Claire’s heart were required to go through the exact same process. When everyone tested negative several times, the “Bachelorette” was back to entertain its audience. There have been three episodes so far, but it seems like this season might be cut short due to Claire’s instant connection with retired professional football player Dale. She seems to have the most interest in him and all of the other guys are starting to notice. At the end of the last episode, we were confused when we saw Tayshia Adams, a finalist in Colton Underwood’s season of the “Bachelor” and a contestant in the most recent season of “Bachelor in Paradise”, coming out of pool located at the resort where the “Bachelorette” has been taking place. Could she be Claire’s replacement? If so, has she gone through the same protocols as the other contestants? These are all questions that will hopefully be answered next week. Although this show has been filled with plenty of drama already, it has taken a lot of effort in order to make the production of this show safe, and I think all fans of reality TV can appreciate that.

Wondering when your favorite show will be back in production? Well, there’s a good chance it already is! It has been confirmed that the new Netflix show “Outer Banks” is back in production, as well as “Superstore”, “Riverdale”, “The Voice”, and so much more! Thanks to the diligence and hard work of television workers and actors across the world, we are receiving some sense of normalcy with the ability to watch our favorite shows on television again.