It’s the question I get asked the most: how has this COVID situation affected Nine’s production? Can the show go on? Will we get to air?

For networks and the people who work in the industry it’s been incredibly hard, but I have learned so much from the way my colleagues – producers, camera people, editors, everyone – have all responded to a crisis wrapped in a dilemma: what do you do when your shows are all shut down, especially when more people than ever are turning to you for entertainment.

There was a moment early in the filming of The Block 2020 in Melbourne when host Scot Cam calls the contestants and the foremen, Keith and Dan, into one of the partly finished bedrooms where a TV is set up.

Together, they all watch Scott Morrison outline what will be the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. They hear: “No more than 100 people together at one time;”; “We want Australians to start working from home”; and that, for the time being, building construction will not be shut down. One contestant turns to her husband and says, with a quiver in her voice, “This is getting really serious, isn’t it?” He comforts her, saying “Don’t worry, darl, we’ll be OK here,” as Scotty watches the television and slowly shakes his head in disbelief.

As we now know, events moved quickly and two weeks later the site for The Block shut down, the contestants were sent home to look after their families, and it was tools down for a crew of 120 as the program came to a shuddering standstill.

For 12 years, nothing ever stopped The Block. Not real estate slumps, contestant walk-offs or even the odd heart attack. Yet our response to this situation that seemed so much bigger than just a TV show was much like everyone else’s in this industry right around the world: how quickly can we get back to making the shows our audience love the way we used to make them? And what can we make in these strange times when so many people are watching television that reflects how we are living now?

Of course, there were no easy answers. However, thanks to some brilliant producing on behalf of the makers of The Block, that emotional moment above is now a central part of the storytelling of the show in 2020. That look on Scotty’s face, when he turns to camera and realises just how big this thing is, is fascinating to watch now that we all know the trajectory COVID-19 has taken in Australia and around the world.

The Block – adhering strictly to Victorian government guidelines – is now back in full swing and I have to say it’s a better series for having the story of how this pandemic has affected all of us at its core. Our other big shows like Australian Ninja Warrior and The Voice have been fundamentally changed too, but it’s been a wonderful creative challenge that all our producers have risen to.

The Voice has started as the show we know, which Australia is loving again, but in upcoming episodes George and Kelly will be mentoring live from their loungerooms. When we get into the studio, while Delta and Guy will be in the big red chairs, George and Kelly will inhabit their chairs live from studios in LA and London. Keep watching for how we make it work. We think it’s going to be amazing.

But you’ll note that Nine is not making shows about being trapped in lockdown. Although I’ve been pitched Australia’s Loungerooms Have Got Talent and Celebrity (in their loungerooms) Squares many times over the last three months, the best of our reality shows have taken the absolute reality of what has happened to Australians, and all we’ve achieved as a society at containing this thing, and woven it into the stories we tell.

We now know that our content slate for the rest of 2020 – The Voice, Australian Ninja Warrior, The Block, Travel Guides and Halifax Retribution – is going to be as strong or stronger than ever. We were lucky to anticipate that Lego Masters would be the perfect tonic for a nation in lockdown and we’re already planning for 2021.

What the last few months have taught me is that sometimes the solution is embedded in the problem. Don’t try and find a way around the issue. It’s much more authentic to go through the middle, just like the audiences who engage with our journalism, entertainment and sport have. Australians have been incredibly resilient through all of this and it’s our job to honour that story.

Adrian Swift is Nine’s Head of Content Production and Development.