Coronavirus, Explained

Coronavirus, Explained is an American documentary limited series produced by Vox. The series, along with The Mind, Explained and Sex, Explained, is a spin-off of the television series Explained.^[2] Episodes of the show explore various topics around the subject of the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring the efforts to stop it.^[3] The series premiered on Netflix on April 26, 2020. The series is narrated by J. K. Simmons, Laura Linney, and Idris Elba.

Coronavirus, Explained
Genre	Docuseries
Narrated by	J. K. Simmons Laura Linney Idris Elba
Theme music composer	Jackson Greenberg[1]
Opening theme	"Explained Theme Song"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producers	Claire Gordon Joe Posner Ezra Klein Chad Mumm Mark W. Olsen
Producers	Sara Masetti Sam Ellis Marie Cascione
Cinematography	Cory Popp
Editors	Jan Kobal Denny Thomas
Running time	20–26 minutes
Production company	Vox Media
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	April 26 (2020-04-26) – June 16, 2020 (2020-06-16)
Related
Explained The Mind, Explained Sex, Explained

Episodes

No.	Title	Narrator	Original release date [4]
1	"This Pandemic"	J. K. Simmons	April 26, 2020 (2020-04-26)
An update on an episode of Explained titled "The Next Pandemic", a look at how the virus grew and expanded around the globe.
2	"The Race for a Vaccine"	Laura Linney	June 16, 2020 (2020-06-16)
An overview on vaccines and the race to develop one to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
3	"How to Cope"	Idris Elba	June 16, 2020 (2020-06-16)
A discussion on coping mechanisms as the world grapples with the stress of the pandemic and a global lockdown.

Production

Filming

Vox Media planned to have ten weeks to work on each episode; however, the first episode was rushed to be released in two and a half weeks due to the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic. They had already interviewed Bill Gates for an episode in season 2 of Explained called "The Next Pandemic" before the pandemic began, and Vox Media ended up using some of that footage for their first episode.^[2]

Release

The trailer for the mini-series was released on April 22, 2020.^[3] The first episode was released on April 26, 2020, with the second and third episode being released on June 16, 2020.^[2]