Late-night TV shows filmed in New York will now be taped without a live audience as the coronavirus pandemic spreads.
On Wednesday, CBS' "Late Show With Stephen Colbert," NBC's "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night With Seth Meyers," Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" and TBS' "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" all said they would tape their broadcasts without audience members.
The shows said that their staff is safe and there are no concerns about contamination in their studios and theaters, but producers worried that performing with live crowds would not be a smart choice as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New York City is rising.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced 39 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the state's total to 212. The largest cluster of cases remains in Westchester where there are 121 confirmed cases, followed by 48 total cases in New York City.
Morning news programs like "Good Morning America," "Today" and daytime talk shows including "Dr. Phil," "The View" and "Live With Kelly and Ryan" announced similar precautions earlier in the day.
It is unclear if NBC's "Saturday Night Live" will be impacted by this. The show uses a live audience for both its rehearsals and broadcast, but is not scheduled to air again until March 28.
Los Angeles-based late-night shows "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "Late Late Show with James Corden" and "A Little Late with Lilly Singh" have so far not decided to remove audiences.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of CNBC and NBCUniversal.