-The coronavirus pandemic put a halt
to a large portion of TV production,
but as the pandemic rages on in the United States
and around the world, some TV shows returning to air
are turning to COVID-19 for new material,
especially the medical dramas.
"Grey's Anatomy" began its 17th and perhaps final season
with a "Station 19"
crossover set in the early days of the pandemic.
It's chock-full of realities like face masks,
new hospital protocols, and temperature checks.
-If your temperature's even a hair over 100 degrees,
you go back home, no exceptions.
-Mainstay character Meredith Grey,
played by Ellen Pompeo,
is assigned to the hospitals COVID-19 unit.
The beginning of the two-hour premiere showed Meredith
in full PPE daydreaming from exhaustion.
-Hey! Grey!
-And ends with her collapsed in the parking lot of the hospital.
Episode three confirms
that she has tested positive for COVID-19.
-I think you should just release me with supplemental oxygen
so I can go quarantine at a hotel.
-ABC's fourth season of "The Good Doctor"
premiered with a similar approach --
seeing a character exhibit symptoms of coronavirus.
-Mildred St. Mary,
played by Jamillah Ross, goes to the doctor
after experiencing a fever and body aches.
As her symptoms worsen, she lands in the hospital
on a ventilator
and a coronavirus diagnosis is confirmed.
-She definitely has corona.
-This marks the beginning of a slew of patients
being admitted for COVID-like symptoms.
Both medical shows also portrayed the frustration
and heartbreak experienced by healthcare workers.
From the initial lack of tests and PPE -- -I need EKG leads.
What do you need?
-To watching patients die alone without family by their side.
-It's the fourth patient I've lost today,
and they're all dying alone.
-"Grey's Anatomy" also depicted the racism experienced
by Asian-Americans
due to the virus originating in China.
-I don't want a Chinese doctor. -Oh.
Okay.
Then you're gonna want to follow this green line
to the parking lot,
put your rude self back in your car,
and hope you don't go into anaphylactic shock.
-It's not just the medical dramas using COVID-19
as a jumping off point for new story lines.
"Superstore" is a sitcom about employees
who work at a big box store named Cloud 9.
It was only natural that its season six premiere
showed how the beginning of the pandemic was experienced
by essential retail workers.
-But I have a medical condition.
-Hey, what seems to be the problem here?
-This man is harassing me, telling me
that I have to wear that mask.
-I am only trying to keep you safe.
-It illustrated the heightened rapid race
to stock up on essentials like face masks,
hand sanitizer, and toilet paper,
and showed how far a store would go to meet customers' needs.
-As long as it's over 60% alcohol, it kills germs.
-This is 95%. Wow.
Is it even legal to sell this?
-NBC's "This Is Us,"
a drama that follows different generations of one family,
incorporated the pandemic into it's 2020 story line as well.
-I need you all the way out on the lawn, Kev.
-Alright, alright. -Please.
-In episode one of season five,
the siblings are seen wearing face masks
and social distancing.
They quarantine and get tested before a cross-country road trip
to see their mother.
In episode four, Randall, a city council member in Philadelphia,
live streams updates for his constituents
instead of holding in-person events.
This leads to a relatable and embarrassing mistake.
-Oh, my God.
Tess, call your father.
♪ First you fold it left, then you fold it right ♪
-"Black-ish" also introduced the pandemic
into its seventh season with humor.
Episode four tackled the battle many parents
have faced throughout the pandemic --
keeping up with work while ensuring their school-age
children are on track with at-home learning routines.
-So, before they were in school from 9:00 to 3:00.
Now they are "distance learning" from 9:00 to noon.
That's where the school abandons us.
-The episode shows Dre Johnson, played by Anthony Anderson,
with a good plan and a big board to help his kids succeed.
-Yeah, I knew this would be easy.
-But after one week in,
he learns they haven't turned in any of their assignments.
-Your kids haven't turned in their work all week.
-What? -Dre and his wife, Dr.
Bow Johnson, played by Tracee Ellis Ross,
come up with a new plan.
Johnson will be more hands-on instead of trusting
that his kids will be responsible.
-Eventually, we got into a rhythm.
I learned how to balance everything
and started making beautiful music.
-Eventually, he snaps. -I've been working so hard
keeping everything together, baby,
and I can't even get the damn cookies that I want!
-Sweetheart, they look the same. -They are not the same, Bow!
-The episode ends with a good reminder from Bow
to be easy on ourselves and each other.
-Look, we're used to living life with certainty,
and we don't have that anymore. And it's not just us.
It's all over the world, Dre.
This is hard.