Led COVID safety operations for GSN’s trivia game show hosted by Joey Fatone.
Common Knowledge is a trivia-based game show on Game Show Network hosted by Joey Fatone. As COVID-19 Compliance Production Manager, I led COVID safety operations for the studio production, coordinating testing, protocols, and logistics for cast, crew, and audience participants.
Behind the Scenes
Where were you?
Los Angeles, California
What’s the moment things went sideways?
When a crew member needed to be replaced last minute, one of my biggest priorities was finding a testing facility that could turn results around fast enough to keep us on schedule. We ran into a similar scramble with stand-ins a few times: they fell through the scheduling cracks, and we had to do rapid testing right at the stage. It pushed our day back by about two hours, but we got everyone tested and cleared, and made sure the stage stayed safe.
A crew or cast story that still gets told
Because Common Knowledge and America Says were shooting at the same time, our crews crossed paths often, and this story is one both teams still tell. On our first day of load in, with trucks arriving and the stage starting to take shape, we were busy settling into our offices and getting ready for the season when we heard over the walkie that the fire department had been called out for a dumpster fire. We assumed it was someone joking about how hectic load in days can get, until we walked outside and saw it for ourselves, the dumpster at the company next door really was on fire. Once it was put out, we couldn’t stop laughing, even as we joked about whether it was a sign of things to come.
What would a viewer never guess?
Viewers would never guess how far in advance the whole season gets mapped out. Producers lay out every episode ahead of time to stay organized, and even the backup contestants or teams are chosen carefully, matched to fit the theme of that episode and to make sure they’d be an even match against whoever they’re going up against.
What were you actually running day to day?
My day to day centered on the testing side of production. I set up testing facilities for the cast and crew who’d be on our set, and I stayed in regular contact with crew members and COVID compliance teams from other productions to collect test results, making sure everything came back within the required time frame so it would be accepted for our set.
What are you proudest of on this one?
I’m proudest of the network I built with COVID departments on other shows. Having that open line of communication meant we could ask each other for help and compare notes on testing schedules, so a crew member’s test from another show could count for ours as long as it fell within the time frame CDC and the unions required. That kind of collaboration made everyone’s job easier.