Production temporarily shuts down on several American TV shows like The Walking Dead, The Originals and some films due to Hurricane Irma's tropical storm heading to Georgia.

Production has shut down on American TV shows The Walking Dead, The Originals and some films all filmed in Georgia for the approaching tropical storm that was Hurricane Irma.

Disney films, Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and The Wasp also filming in Georgia likewise temporarily halted production, as well as the new upcoming drama series Lodge 49 about a surfer who joins a fraternity.

It's not yet clear when production will resume on the 8th season of The Walking Dead, filmed in Atlanta.

The 8th season of The Walking Dead is set to start on Sunday 22 October in America and will roll out in South Africa and across Africa on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 133) on Monday 23 October at 21:00 as an Express from the US title.

The debut episode of the 8th season of the zombie drama will be its landmark 100th episode.

The production delay and shutdown is the second this year and this season after filming was temporarily halted in July after the shocking on-set death of stuntman John Bernecker who plunged to his death from a balcony to a concrete floor. The Walking Dead resumed production 5 days later.

Filming on the upcoming 5th and final season of the youth vampire drama The Originals seen in South Africa and Africa on VUZU AMP (DStv 103) and produced by Warner Bros Television also temporarily shuttered on Monday that is also filming in the state of Georgia.

The films Marvel's  Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp filmed at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta also closed up show for the oncoming storm.

All these productions are expected to resume production again later this week once the storm has passed.

In another strange TV biz development, America is currently without TV ratings right now because Nielsen, the company that tracks and tallies TV ratings is based in Tampa, Florida where Hurricane Irma caused mass evacuations and damage to infrastructure over the weekend.

Adweek reports that Nielsen has been forced to halt reporting of TV viewership and ratings since Sunday after the company's Tampa-area based facility was evacuated over the weekend.

Nielsen said that ratings will not resume until its employees are able to safely return.

"The team that reports ratings has evacuated the Tampa Bay area due to Hurricane Irma. Therefore, our ratings will be delayed in the near term," said Nielsen in a statement.

RENEWED: Arrow, The Flash, Supernatural, The 100, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Reign, Jane all renewed for further seasons.

Eight American TV shows have all been renewed for further seasons, including Arrow, The 100, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Reign and Jane the Virgin.

America's CW network announced the series' renewal at the annual Television Critics' Association gathering in Pasadena, Los Angeles.

Arrow has been renewed for a 4th season, The 100 for a 3rd season, The Flash for a 2nd season, Jane the Virgin for a 2nd season, Supernatural for an 11th season, Reign for a 3rd season, The Vampire Diaries for a 7th season and The Originals for a 3rd season.

The bulk of the shows are seen in South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) and VUZU AMP, with earlier seasons The Vampire Diaries also shown on SABC2.

In a press statement released before the CW's TCA presentation, the CW says the shows are "smart, provocative, quality programming, targeting a savvy adult audience".

"By picking up these shows now, our executive producers can start planning next season's story lines".

Arrow, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals all renewed for another season.

Several TV shows seen in South Africa just got renewal notices in the United States, meaning an additional further season for the shows Arrow, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and its new spin-off The Originals.

Arrow (M-Net), Supernatural (Vuzu / SABC3), The Vampire Diaries (SABC2 / Vuzu) and The Originals (M-Net Series Showcase) were renewed.

Arrow will see a 3rd season, The Originals will see a 2nd season, The Vampire Diaries will have a 6th season and Supernatural will have a 10th season.

The Originals as a spin-off teen TV drama of The Vampires picked up as its own new series.

The Vampire Diaries seen in South Africa on M-Net Series (DStv 114) is getting its own spin-off entitled The Originals which will become its own stand-alone drama series about vampires in New Orleans.

The spin-off of The Originals will revolve around the characters of Elijah (Daniel Gillies), (Klaus) Joseph Morgan and (Rebekah) Claire Holt.

"As soon as we saw last night's episode of The Vampire Diaries, we knew we wanted more of The Originals.," says the American TV channel CW in a statement after The Vampire Diaries had broadcast an episode which served as a backdoor possible pilot to The Originals and which M-Net Series viewers will see a few months from now when the show resumes from May in South Africa.

"Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson have done a fantastic job with The Vampire Diaries, which is as fast-paced and well-written as ever, and Julie has created an equally compelling world for The Originals."

"It's almost like a war is brewing. It's on a grander scale - it's less about prom and more about a war between the vampires and the witches," says Joseph Morgan of The Originals.