Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC Pictured: John Legend
John Legend recently shed some light on future episodes of The Voice, one of the few shows still airing that hasn’t been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 virus. However, Legend told the Associated Press that the show has only been taped through the end of April, and the network is “playing it by ear” regarding future episodes and live shows.
“There were only three weeks of live shows planned and those were for May. So who knows what we’ll do? I don’t know if we’ll be able to do them without an audience. I haven’t spoken to the producers about what the plans are,” he told The Associated Press in a March interview.
The next new episode of The Voice airs Monday, April 6 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. Keep reading for details on how future episodes might be affected by the coronavirus:
John Legend Says The Network is ‘Playing it by Ear’ in Terms of Live Shows in May
NBC
Although the live shows don’t begin until next month, ABC has already shut down production on The Bachelorette, as have several other networks with major TV programs, so it’s possible The Voice might be postponed if the nation is still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic by May.
According to the Associated Press interview with Legend, the show has pre-taped episodes slated to air through the end of April, but they are “playing it by ear” on whether or not they will be postponing or altogether canceling the live shows. However, Legend hopes they will find a way to do the live shows, even if that means taping them without an audience.
“I think everybody’s playing things by ear because we don’t know where the world’s going to be in May. But if we can do those shows in May, that’d be great. Possibly without an audience, that would be understandable,” he added. “But, you know, if we can pull it off, then that would be great. We’ll see if that’s doable.”
Legend also added that the network has seen decent ratings over recent episodes of the show, considering everybody is stuck at home watching TV. Talking about the March 16 episode of the show, Legend told AP, “We had a very highly-rated episode, obviously, because people are home and … watching shows like The Voice.”
The April 6 Episode Features the ‘Battle Rounds’ Part III
The Voice/NBCThe Voice coaches this season: (L-R) John Legend, Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and Nick Jonas.
The April 6 episode of The Voice features the third night of the Battle Rounds, where the contestants face off against one another and the judges get a chance to save, steal or eliminate each of the artists.
The description for Episode 8, titled “The Battles Round 3,” reads, “The ‘Battle Rounds’ conclude as the coaches enlist music industry powerhouses Jonas Brothers (Team Nick), Dua Lipa (Team Kelly), Ella Mai (Team Legend) and Bebe Rexha (Team Blake) to prepare their artists to go head to head in the hopes of advancing to the ‘Knockout Rounds.’ Each coach has one steal and in a new twist, one save, that will enter their saved artist into a Four Way Knockout.”
New episodes of The Voice airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. You can find more coverage on The Voice here.
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