Television and film crews will now follow the same travel restrictions as everyone else in the UK, meaning individuals must isolate for ten days upon their arrival to the country, according to The Guardian. This is reversal of the UK government’s July decision to restart the industry within their country by exempting production crews from these quarantines, according to The Guardian.
However, most arrivals to the UK can use their Test to Release system by paying for a private test after five days in the country, and if the test comes back negative, they can conclude their isolation, according to Deadline.
Under the new rules, essential BBC workers are the only media employees who are still completely exempt from the mandatory isolation.
It’s not clear, yet, whether this will immediately affect the production of any beloved series, but according to The Wrap, season two of Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis’s (Colossal, We’re the Millers) Apple TV+ comedy, fortunately started production Friday, per the Apple TV+ Twitter account.
Matt Reeves’s The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse, Twilight), though, may be affected, according to The Guardian, given the production has already suffered due to Pattinson’s contracting COVID-19 in September.
England has been under national lockdown since Jan. 5, its third lockdown since the pandemic began, according to The Sun.