The halt in production in Chile has forced Mega to finish Yo soy Lorenzo and suspend the broadcasts of Hidden Truths.
With audiovisual production still paralyzed in Chile and no return date as of yet, Mega has had to make two drastic decisions regarding its fictions.
On the one hand, and according to El Mercurio, the network’s drama division has decided to terminate the period television series Yo soy Lorenzo.
As detailed in the report, the series set in the 60s will have an unusual and special ending, with a farewell to the characters from their homes and by video call.
The coronavirus crisis erupted when eight episodes of the series were still to be filmed, which left its production cut short. The decision comes due to the high costs of keeping it in suspense and starting it again later to broadcast only eight episodes.
On the other hand, Mega has decided that its series Hidden Truths will go of the air indefinitely, as there are no new episodes left.
Although its production was paralyzed in mid-March, Mega had more than a month of episodes already recorded, which have all aired. In the absence of new episodes, Mega decided to suspend its broadcasts from next Friday, May 8.
“This is not an end, it is a see you soon, because we have a lot to tell,” said Patricio López, executive producer of the series to El Mercurio.
“Our script team, headed by Verónica Saquel and Carlos Oporto, continues to write and work creatively to accompany audiences as soon as we can film again. So Hidden Truths still has time, “he added.
Both fictions join to 100 days to fall in love, which went into recess a few days ago.
TVN REDUCES ITS TEAM
In addition to affecting productions, the coronavirus is also generating an economic crisis for Chilean channels, which has translated into a significant reduction in personnel at TVN.
The network has just announced that it will fire 71 people from various areas.
“As is public knowledge, Televisión Nacional de Chile has faced a difficult financial crisis more than six years ago, which added to the social crisis and the current pandemic caused by Covid-19, has made it essential to carry out a deep restructuring of its operations, seeking to achieve financial viability”, they explained.
“In this complex scenario, TVN is forced to reduce its structure today by 71 people from various areas. With this process, the channel closes a cycle of restructuring that it has been carrying out in recent months, with which the dismissals add up to 164 people today. This decision is part of a package of measures that TVN has been implementing in recent months, to ensure its financial viability and sustainability over time,” they added.
Among the measures it has already taken are: elimination of management to alleviate the structure; reduction of salary up to 50%; decrease in executive salaries; investment freeze; freezing of hires, renewals and salary increases; a strong plan to reduce costs in terms of services, suppliers and purchases in all managements and areas; among others.
