'Name That Tune' Is Filmed in Front of a Live, COVID-Safe Audience in Australia

2020 saw a wide variety of entertainment that normally has an audience get filmed without one. The nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has largely prohibited large crowds from gathering to watch live entertainment, which has meant that things like late-night shows are now forced to go without one. Name That Tune, a new show airing on Fox, appears to be filmed in front of a live audience, but is it actually?

Name That Tune is indeed filmed in front of a live audience, and it was also filmed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. While that may concern pandemic-conscious people around the world, the show has taken a variety of extra precautions in order to film safely. The most major of those precautions is filming the show in Australia, where the pandemic is much more under control than it is in the U.S. 

In addition to filming in Australia, the show is also adhering to a variety of other protocols to ensure that all of its production crew, cast, and audience members are entirely safe. Thus far, the decision to film in front of a live audience seems to be working. If the show remains safe, many other productions may wind up moving to countries where the pandemic is more under control.  

"[Being in] Australia to film it, the live band, the live audience, it felt like being at a live concert every taping, every night," host Jane Krakowski told TV Insider about filming the show. "And the audiences really appreciated it and loved it." 

Although Name That Tune may seem like a new concept for younger audiences, it's actually a revival of a game show that was popular decades ago. Now that Jane is hosting the new version of the show, she's also reliving fond memories of watching the original when she was a kid. "I loved Name That Tune growing up as a kid. I grew up in a pretty musical family," she told TV Insider. 

"I have a musical background, and I just thought it would be a hoot to do, and here I am," Jane continued. "I just completed hosting season one, and it was so much fun that I really hope we get many more seasons to come." 

Jane also spoke about working with Randy Jackson, who is also on the show. She said that, although the two of them didn't know one another beforehand, they had an almost instant connection. 

"We got along so fast and furious," Jane explained. "I think we partly bonded because we had to quarantine for 14 days. We checked on each other every day, we were playing sample games [on] Zoom every single day in quarantine, and by being quarantined in a foreign country together for so long we really bonded." 

It seems that the quarantining paid off for the show. Unlike most TV being filmed right now, Name That Tune can sustain a live audience in a way that is, at the very least, reasonably safe.