Food Network, Discovery and E! Say They Have Enough Programming to Keep Us Entertained Through the Coronavirus

The coronavirus has forced scripted TV shows and movies to cease production for an undetermined amount of time, but reality TV isn’t going anywhere. Cable networks like TLC, E!, HGTV and Discovery all have a stockpile that they say will continue to entertain viewers through the coronavirus pandemic, Variety reported.

Between premiering new programming, airing re-runs and promoting show marathons, networks are set for the next few months, so you’ll be able to get your fix of Botched and also see new episodes of Naked and Afraid when you’re stuck at home. Networks like Discovery have programming that was shot entirely before the pandemic shutdown and is still set to premiere as scheduled, so they can give viewers new content to watch instead of entirely airing re-runs. One example is Discovery’s Deadliest Catch, which has an entire 26-episode season shot and ready to premiere April 14, Nancy Daniels, Discovery’s chief brand officer, said. The network is also airing Shark Week in a Weekend starting April 4, a collection of Shark Week favorite content to keep viewers occupied all weekend long.

For reality shows that have finished filming but are currently in post-production, the process to complete the programming has been impacted, because everyone is working from home and not in a single collaborative office. We TV President Marc Juris noted that it’s “slower than usual.” Although “The challenge is figuring out what we have, and what we can get — and then what we can turn around to put on the air… We’re pretty much good through the end of the summer.” That means months and months of We TV content like Bridezillas and Marriage Bootcamp are still coming to your screen for some quarantine comfort viewing.

With so many people at home turning to TV for entertainment and distraction, networks are seeing a spike in cable viewing. Dave Kaplan, senior vice president of strategic insights and research at Bravo, E!, and Oxygen, told the outlet that Shahs of Sunset hit a viewership high, while E! viewership in total is up 34% from last month in early March.

Bravo told Variety that three of its Real Housewives shows — New York City, Beverly Hills and Potomac —  will air without interruption or hiatuses this month. But as any Real Housewives fan knows, confessionals are one of the juiciest parts of the show, when the ladies can voice their inner thoughts and narrate scene or moment to give viewers extra details. Lisa Rinna from Beverly Hills isn’t sure how the confessionals will be filmed this time around, since Bravo films them as part of post-production. “It’s not like Netflix where they do all the shows, and they’re ready to go,” Rinna said. “I mean, they’re doing the shows as they’re airing them. I don’t know what that’s going to look like. When are we going to do our interviews?”

For fans wondering about the fate of their beloved cooking shows, Food Network is also delivering. Kathleen Finch, chief lifestyle brands officer at Discovery, also oversees content for Food Network and assures fans that there is plenty of food-based programming stocked up. “Our schedule is set for quite a few months,” Finch said. “I have enough Chopped episodes to go well into 2021.”

Hopefully we won’t still be working from home and homeschooling students by 2021, but it’s a small comfort to know that at least we’ll have plenty of reality shows.