CBS Legal Drama to Produce New Episode Using FaceTime and Zoom

(Bloomberg) -- CBS plans to use FaceTime, Zoom and other apps to make a new episode of the drama “All Rise” that deals with the coronavirus crisis, a novel way to churn out shows even with production shut down by the pandemic.

The program will depict a judge presiding virtually over a trial, with producers piecing together footage from the actors’ homes. Visual effects will be used to make backgrounds, and a cinematographer will capture footage of a desolate Los Angeles by driving around the city solo.

Talk shows and news programs have already adapted to the shutdown, with hosts such as Jimmy Fallon delivering material from their living rooms and basements. But “All Rise” will test whether the approach works for scripted programs as well.

The episode is slated to air on May 4. The legal drama, in its first season, is produced by Warner Bros. and CBS Television Studios, part of the recently merged ViacomCBS Inc.

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