I wonder if future movies / tv shows will incorporate the pandemic / quarantine into regular, previously established plot lines, or ignore it.
For example, NCIS in fall 2020: There is a dead marine, Gibbs gathers the team. Israeli music plays as Zeva leaves a cryptic message on Gibbs’ cell phone. Suddenly, everyone is forced into quarantine. Ducky makes a cameo appearance, rambling on about the pandemic of 1918, which apparently, he lived through. The newer, younger characters solve the crime using the internet and cell phones. Gibbs is in his basement, either taking apart or putting together his boat. All is good.
Meanwhile, on House : Patients start flooding the ER with symptoms of a mysterious new, flu-like illness. Cuddy and House bicker (alright, already! Why don’t you two just do it already!). Cuddy, who watches lots of Fox News (the reason House won’t “do” her), wants to inject patients with hydroxychloroquine. House says no. Various treatments are tried. People keep dying, now it’s spread to little kids, who develop weird coronary symptoms, too. Suddenly, summer comes, everyone stops wearing masks, and the death toll of the pandemic isn’t counted any more, and everyone ignores House when he says, “Just wait till fall”.
Golden Girls : Corona virus spread throughout the house, friends, and community of the Golden Girls. Everyone dies. No one cares.
Big Bang Theory : Raj, after visiting his family in India during winter break, brings Covid-19 back to the USA and the Cal Tech community. Everyone gets a mild case of it and is ok, but the university shuts down for 3 months. Since Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj are all on soft-money research grant funding, they all lose their jobs, and can’t pay rent. Stuart closes the comic book store forever. Everyone moves in to Howard’s mom’s house, and now Bernadette, Penny, and Amy are the only ones working and bringing home money bc they work for big pharma. The guys sit around on the sofa all day, playing video games, until Bernadette forces them to become door dash delivery guys, using Howard’s scooter.
Modern Family: Jan 2020: Lots of people in southern Cal are getting sick, no one knows what’s going on. The Pritchetts, Jay and Gloria, staunch Republicans, refuse to quarantine or wear masks. Jay dies. Gloria inherits a lot of money, and starts looking for husband #3. Manny gets sick, but survives, albeit w lasting heart disease. The Dunphys, stuck together in their home for 3 mo, all squabble, but are ok. The disease is mild for them. When the quarantine ends, Claire files for divorce bc she just can’t take it any more, cleaning up after everyone else all the time. Cam and Mitch both catch it (from not practicing social distancing) and Cam dies, bc he has pre-existing conditions and is obese. Mitch is devastated, bc Cam did everything, and Mitch is incompetent. Lily spends the rest of her life taking care of Mitch, but resents it.
Life in Pieces: Covid-19 strikes, everyone goes into quarantine. Grandpa John and Grandma Dr Joan hunker down, refusing to see anyone without a mask. They kick Matt and Colleen out of the garage. John and Joan are ok, but their co-dependent children complain all the time since they can no longer mooch off of them constantly. Tim and Heather are stuck at home with all their kids, losing their minds. Their son, who lives in a tiny house in the backyard w his girlfriend, breaks up, then makes up, with the gf a dozen times. Matt and Colleen, kicked out of the parents’ garage, buy a tiny house and park it in Tim and Heather’s backyard - now there are two tiny houses back there, and 8 people living at that residence, which only has 2 bathrooms. Heather claims the upstairs bathroom for herself, forcing all 7 to share the one downstairs. Corona virus ravages them all, due to the cramped living conditions, but everyone is ok. Both Clementine and Colleen get pregnant, have babies, making their population now 10. Sophia takes care of them all. Greg and Jen avoid everyone. Jen bitches a lot about everything, cleans constantly, and drinks heavily. Greg hides in various places around his home (attic, basement, garage, closets) bc he’s afraid of Jen.
