False-positive COVID-19 test causes brief filming delay for 'The Morning Show'

Production for the Apple TV drama "The Morning Show" endured a COVID-19 scare that could have stopped production, after a member of the crew allegedly received a false-positive result for a coronavirus test.

A night shoot for "The Morning Show" was set to take place on Thursday in Culver City, CA., but was supposedly pulled due to a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. The shoot was part of the second season of the Emmy award-winning show, and risked completely shutting down production altogether.

According to sources of E! News, the shoot was pulled in caution, with those who were in contact with the crew member made to go into self isolation until a second round of tests took place on Friday. In that second round, the crew member in question received a negative result, suggesting the first was a false-positive.

For production, the false-positive delayed at least one shoot, which can be more easily rearranged than a full production delay. The show had already paused production until October due to COVID-19.

"The Morning Show" is not the only Apple TV+ program to have been affected by COVID-19. "Foundation" and "Invasion" have both endured delays in production, while a COVID outbreak on the set of "Mythic Quest" has caused a rift between crew members and producers.

5 Comments

appleinsideruser 5 Years · 663 comments

About 4 years ago

That conclusion is back to front. False negatives are more common than false positives. The first test is more likely to be correct.

seanj 16 Years · 322 comments

Sounds like they must have been using lateral flow tests, the rapid ones that don’t need to be sent to labs. As they have lower specificity, they are only meant to be used to identify people who are infected, not to prove people are not infected.

PCR tests which are lab processed have a specificity average of 99.6% depending upon supplier; which makes false positives extremely rare. If it was a PCR test then there was probably cross-contamination, either when the test was taken or at the lab.

EFletcherSOC 4 Years · 3 comments

seanj said:

Sounds like they must have been using lateral flow tests, the rapid ones that don’t need to be sent to labs. As they have lower specificity, they are only meant to be used to identify people who are infected, not to prove people are not infected.

PCR tests which are lab processed have a specificity average of 99.6% depending upon supplier; which makes false positives extremely rare. If it was a PCR test then there was probably cross-contamination, either when the test was taken or at the lab.

The entire motion picture industry uses PCR Tests. I get a test three times a week because I am Red Zone, the zone with the actors