'House Of The Dragon,' 'Bridgerton' Season 2 And 'Matilda' Productions Shut Down Due To COVID

Remember COVID? It's back! Okay, to be fair, COVID never actually went away. It's just that human beings, in their infinite ignorance, assumed "Slowly getting the pandemic under control" was somehow the same exact thing as "the pandemic is gone." But it's not, and while everyone is desperate for some return to normalcy, that's not going to be so easy. Case in point: three different productions – the Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, and the Netflix titles Bridgerton and Matilda – have had to shut down due to recent outbreaks.

Before we get any further, let me just say that if you haven't been vaccinated yet and you're able to get the vaccine, please get on that ASAP. The vaccine is safe and getting it will help both you and those around you. It will also help end this seemingly endless pandemic. With that said, let's talk about productions getting shut down again, shall we? First up: House of the Dragon, one of several Game of Thrones spin-offs at the works at HBO.

Deadline reports that the "UK shoot has been paused for two days after a positive case in zone A, which includes cast and crew," and that "a production member tested positive and in compliance with industry guidelines, will isolate and close contacts are required to quarantine. Production will resume on Wednesday."

Starring Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Fabien Frankel, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, and Sonoya Mizuno, House of the Dragon is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.

Meanwhile, THR reports that shooting on Bridgerton season 2 has "been halted for the second time this week following a positive COVID test." Filming is "paused indefinitely while the streamer and Shondaland producers create a timetable for a return to production." THR adds:

This marks the second shutdown since Thursday, which also saw production halted for 24 hours following a positive COVID test from a crew member. After testing positive, the crew member was isolated while everyone else working on the series was tested. At the time, no cast members had been affected and production was back underway on Friday.

Bridgerton was a huge hit for Netflix, and they've already gone ahead and ordered a third season even though season 2 is still in the works. Like House of the Dragon, Bridgerton was filming in the UK.

Finally, here's another Netflix production that also shut down along with Bridgerton. It's Matilda, a film adaptation of the Broadway musical (which was inspired by the Roald Dahl book that also inspired the 1996 movie starring Mara Wilson). Per Deadline, "the first filming unit on Working Title's Matilda had to down tools yesterday following a positive Covid test. A source said the hiatus could last as long as 10 days. The second unit continues shooting." And, as you might've guessed, this production is also happening in the UK.