The Pandemic Affected ‘Every Stage’ of ‘Killing Eve’ Season 4
Killing Eve is the TV series that is responsible for Jodie Comer’s rise to stardom—and a show that has earned serious critical acclaim. Also starring Sandra Oh, Killing Eve follows the story of a British intelligence investigator who is tasked with bringing an assassin named Villanelle to justice.
As each successive season has premiered, Killing Eve has earned more and more fans—and these days, it is one of the most buzzworthy programs in the world. With new episodes currently airing, many fans are looking back, discovering just how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected the filming of the fourth and final season.
When did ‘Killing Eve’ first debut on BBC?
Killing Eve debuted on television in early 2018, and quickly started gaining acclaim from critics and viewers. Many praised the way that Killing Eve not only portrayed the intense back and forth between investigator Eve Polastri and the psychopathic Villanelle, as well as the masterful way that showrunners were able to bring the characters to life. A black comedy that has become a major pop culture phenomenon, Killing Eve has helped boost Jodie Comer’s presence in Hollywood, making her a major star.
The second season of the hit show premiered in 2019, and the third season started airing in early 2020. While it seemed as though Killing Eve was on a hot streak, the COVID-19 pandemic had a swift impact on nearly every avenue and pocket of the entertainment industry—and Killing Eve was no exception.
How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact Season 4 of ‘Killing Eve’?
The fourth and final season of Killing Eve is currently airing on BBC America, more than two years after the third season premiered. In a recent interview with Insider, a Killing Eve showrunner detailed how the pandemic affected the filming process. “It was right in the middle of the pandemic and it affected every stage of the process. Really,” lead writer Laura Neal said, speaking of the challenges of filming the first few episodes of the fourth season.
“We were two weeks into the writer’s room when the UK went into lockdown,” Neal said. “So we had to switch from an in person room to a virtual room. That was the first big change. Then we were constantly hoping, as everybody would, that this, this would be a short-term thing, hoping that we could film as we usually would.” Neal went on to note that she and the rest of the production team had to find some “creative solutions” to certain things, utilizing some “clever trickery” to ensure that Killing Eve doesn’t feel like “a COVID show,” and more like the series that fans everywhere have grown to count on for black comedy and intense drama.
What can fans expect in Season 4 of ‘Killing Eve’?
In her interview with Insider, Neal also discussed some of the fan theories about the fourth season of the show, offering up her thoughts on the fan speculation that both Eve and Villanelle will die by the season’s end. “It’s not surprising that there are those theories around, considering the show’s title,” Neal said. The showrunners refused to offer any insight, however, noting “I’m obviously not gonna reveal anything that happens. But I think that title could be read in a whole load of different ways.”
With the promise that the final season will “switch up viewer expectations,” it is likely that fans will be talking about Killing Eve for a long time – well after the hit season goes off the air for good in the spring of 2022.
