As parts of the country begin to open up to varying degrees, production (for the most part) remains on lockdown, and the prospect of starting it up again remains mired in many unanswered—or as yet unanswerable—questions. Questions principally regarding what kind of measures will be required, and how they could be implemented, for filmed narrative to once again get underway.

There has been a surge in unpolished workarounds, like the three “at home” episodes of Saturday Night Live and the one-off “quarantine edition” episodes of shows like All Rise and the Parks & Recreation reunion. But they’re all still temporary measures, at best, designed to hold us over until “real” filming can begin again.

Beyond the enormous practical considerations surrounding when or how production proper on traditional scripted narrative will resume, there exists perhaps an even bigger narrative question: how to factor the COVID-19 lockdown into stories.

While there will undoubtedly be innumerable movies inspired by the current situation (in fact, there already is this quickie indie horror comprised mostly of stock zombie footage), ongoing television narratives that lean towards the realistic will have a big decision to make about whether or not they should factor the pandemic and subsequent quarantine in at all.

With barely any pilots shot, the upfronts upended, and Summer TCA press tour cancelled, the new fall season is going to be unlike any we've ever seen. However, those shows that are able to get up and running probably still won't know what the world they eventually play out in will look like.

It's less of an issue for genre-centric programming, but for contemporary dramas that take place in the here and now, there are many factors to consider. If they ignore the lockdown, and social-distancing measures are still in place by the time they play out, they run the risk of seeming out of touch.

On the other hand, if they choose to lean into the current crisis, and things are back to "normal" by air time, they could potentially alienate an audience that is very much ready to move on from this bizarre period in modern history.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, prolific writer-producer John Wells (ER, The West Wing) said he is factoring the pandemic—specifically its economic impact—into the final season of his long-running drama Shameless, which follows the struggles of a blue collar family living in Chicago.

In the same article, other producers are proving to be a bit more hesitant in their plans with the uncertainty surrounding the immediate future, and indeed society as a whole, driving the lack of commitment either way.

Meanwhile, Freeform has commissioned the first Covid-19-centric scripted show in the form of Love In The Time of Corona, a four-part romantic comedy helmed by Good Trouble EP Joanna Johnson.

Hanging a new show entirely on the crisis is one way to avoid delicately trying to address it, but a huge number of existing TV shows are going to face the difficult decision of how they navigate this societal disruption sooner or later.

It's obviously much less of a concern than the direct impact the crisis is having on the health and livelihoods of innumerable people, but it will be fascinating to see how this situation affects narrative creativity going forward.