The late-night o talk shows were the first to come back because, well, we all know they are not really live anyway but taped in the afternoon. They did have a live audience, however. And the question of whether they could garner the same kind of excitement without the cheering was a big one and one that has not been fully answered quite yet. Stephen Colbert, James Corden, Conan, Seth, Trevor, and the Jimmys – Fallon and Kimmel – have been doing a good job bringing some laughs during the pandemic and having largely the same interesting and high caliber guests on as before. With the country in the midst of civil unrest and an upcoming election, their monologues have become more poignant for everyone who does not want to listen to the news 24/7. At least there is some humor in their recap of the day’s events.

American Idol. Their live shows were scheduled to begin just as the lockdown started. The top 20 contestants, instead of being set up in a Hollywood hotel, going to daily rehearsals, lessons, and styling sessions, returned home to their families whatever their homes looked like. With one exception. Just Sam, the eventual winner, who lives with her grandmother in a one-room apartment in the Bronx could not return and endanger her only relative. She sequestered herself in a small apartment in L.A. The producers had to speed up the elimination process but provided everyone with a ring light, a new iPhone and all other necessary equipment. They set up online rehearsal sessions, sent over decorations and instructions for how to set them up for a nice backdrop, and pre-taped a lot of the show with each contestant. The jurors, Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Katy Perry were live from their living rooms and host Ryan Seacrest looked better from the comfort of his home than many others. And anyone with a heart shed tears when the one person who does not have anyone but her grandmother, had to celebrate her incredible win and the biggest night of her life completely alone. "Times New Roman";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;background:white’> took a different approach: host Carson Daly moderated from an empty set, pointing to the abandoned red judge’s chairs. The clips from the contestants meanwhile used every digital and special effects trick in the book to keep the highly stylized look from the actual live shows. Even though The Voice had to do without the constant bickering between its judges and the immediacy of seeing the contestants interact with their celebrity coaches in person, the imagery clearly worked.

normal’>AI as well as Game of Games increased their audience by 30%. The finale of Big Brothers all over the world, from Brazil to the UK, have seen a spike in viewership and a never-before-seen social media following: color:black;mso-themecolor:text1’>. “It’s also quite fascinating to watch shows about human interaction at a time when that’s the one thing we’re not really able to do.”