On March 19, NBC Universal Television sent an email notification to all members of the FBI: Most Wanted Department, saying that one member of the crew had been diagnosed with covid-19, and that there were 6-10 close contacts in the crew, including Lexis Alexander, one of the show's directors.
Stills from FBI: Wanted Criminals. Image from the web
NBC Universal Television pointed out in an email that the crew member who was diagnosed with new crown pneumonia on March 18 has been absent from the shooting set since March 11, and his symptoms are mild and he is recovering. Earlier, out of "prudent consideration" to prevent the spread of new crown pneumonia, NBCUniversal announced on March 12 that the FBI: Wanted Criminals Department would be discontinued. The company also wrote in an email on March 19: "We consulted medical experts who believed that the employee did not return to work on the set after developing symptoms, so the risk of transmission was low." Despite this, we took steps to contact employees who had close contact with the confirmed member on the last day before the crew stopped filming. ”
Lexis Alexander, director of FBI: Wanted Criminals, received a notice from NBC's Universal Television Division on March 18 that she was one of 6-10 "close contacts" of the confirmed patient. Lexis Alexander was "angry" by the belated notification, and the company's human resources department told her that as long as she didn't have symptoms now, it would be fine, but in fact the coronavirus could spread asymptomatically. "Even if they just suspected (the crew members were infected with COVID-19), why didn't they tell us before we got home?" If they tell the truth, I'll self-isolate first. Lexis Alexander expressed concern to the media about the asymptomatic spread of COVID-19, saying she was not a "director hiding behind a monitor" and that on the last day of filming, she had contact with at least 80-90 people in all kinds of work on the set.
Another person involved in the production of "FBI: Wanted Criminals" but did not want to reveal his identity for work reasons told the media that according to the characteristics of the production of the TV series, the member infected with the new crown pneumonia virus "could not" have only 6-10 close contacts on the set. Taking a step back, the member really only contacted 6-10 people, so these 6-10 people will also contact more creators and staff on the set, and it is likely that the virus will spread without symptoms. Lexis Alexander said that in the context of the pandemic, losing one's job is indeed worrying, but it is all the more important to tell the truth, because it is a matter of life.
FBI: Wanted Criminals is a pilot episode of the FBI spin-off series co-starring Julian McMahon, Kesha Custer Hueth, Kenan Lutz, and others, focusing on a division of the FBI whose mission is to hunt down inmates on the FBI's "most wanted list."
Beijing News reporter Yang Lianjie
Edited by Tong Na Proofreader He Yan