NBC’s New Amsterdam, a medical drama that is not actually new or set in the Netherlands (or dare we say, not a very good show), has shelved an episode about a deadly, flulike pandemic that hits New York City — due to, of course, the coronavirus pandemic ravaging America and beyond. Per Deadline, the episode (originally titled “Pandemic” but renamed to “Our Doors Are Always Open”), was set to air on April 7. However, the network decided to pull the episode for the foreseeable future, with plans to air it on a later date. “The world needs a lot less fiction right now, and a lot more facts,” New Amsterdam showrunner and creator David Schulner explained, noting how the episode was written in 2019. “Sometimes, what the mirror reflects back is too horrifying to look at. We shot a fictional pandemic episode right before a real pandemic hit. People are dying in real life. Do we really want to watch fake people die too?”

Schulner noted that numerous New Amsterdam staffers are now sick, such as actor Daniel Dae Kim, who recently tested positive for the coronavirus after guest-starring in an episode. (In cruel irony, Kim would’ve made his debut as a trauma surgeon in the pandemic episode.) New York City, where the show is filmed, has become an epicenter for the virus in recent days.

New Amsterdam Cancels Pandemic Episode for Obvious Reasons