Back in June, Matthew Belloni (the former The Hollywood Reporter editor now running a “What I’m Hearing” newsletter and working on the Puck News company) broke the news of upcoming NBC show Ultimate Slip n’ Slide halting production following a breakout of intestinal disease giardia, which someone who later spoke to The Wrap described as causing outbreaks of “awful explosive diarrhea.” That was a big deal, as that show (hosted by Ron Funches and Bobby Moynihan, and featuring a 65-foot scaled-up Slip n’ Slide; non-scaled-up version shown ) was originally set to get the post-Olympics Closing Ceremony slot on NBC on Aug. 8. That plan changed after the production halt, with the Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard-hosted Family Game Fight! now set to air there, and Belloni tweeted Friday (in funny fashion) that Ultimate Slip n’Slide has now been fully canceled:
The NBC slip-n-slide show that was plagued by a giardia outbreak has been canceled. Only a week was remaining in the shit, er, shoot.
— Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) August 6, 2021
Variety‘s Joe Otterson has more on this:
“Ultimate Slip ‘N’ Slide” is officially being flushed from the NBC schedule.
…Production was first halted by Universal Television Alternative Studio on June 2 after a case of the parasite-induced intestinal infection was reported on set. In coordination and cooperation with the LA and Ventura County Health Departments, the studio worked with a third party environmental lab to test the water on location and all of it tested negative for giardia, including a well, pond, slide pool, water truck and the restroom sinks. By June 10, testing showed giardia was also in the surrounding area. The next day, the studio announced they would continue shooting elsewhere.
That’s obviously a tough break for those involved with the show, but the giardia outbreak sounds even tougher. As Belloni wrote back in June, the outbreak sickened an estimated dozen people, some seriously. That’s a problem considering the severity of this disease. Here’s more from that piece:
NBC is mum on details, and producers Greg Lipstone and Shye Sutherland Sharp wouldn’t chat when I rang them yesterday. But it’s bad, according to two sources close to the production. Giardia, also known as “beaver fever,” is a nasty gastrointestinal parasite transmitted primarily via animal or human feces in water (or, in this case, waterslides?). It can cause severe diarrhea, cramps, fatigue and nausea. It’s also communicable.
That’s certainly not something anyone wants to catch. And the “beaver fever” in question has now taken down this show for good.
[Matthew Belloni on Twitter]
