Film and TV production in Los Angeles hit another record low, underscoring the city’s struggle to reclaim its place as the heart of the entertainment industry.
From July to September, filming across the region fell more than 13% year over year, according to a new report from FilmLA — marking the lowest third-quarter total on record. The downturn continues a slide that began after the production boom of 2021, worsened by last year’s dual writers’ and actors’ strikes.
High labor costs, limited tax credits, and aggressive incentives from other states and countries have accelerated the migration of productions away from California. To stem the losses, the state recently expanded its tax credit program, offering up to $3.75 billion over five years to lure projects back.
While television remains the hardest hit — reality TV filming is down 67% from its five-year average — feature film production showed a modest rebound, rising nearly 10% from last year. New projects from Apple TV+ and HBO are among the first to benefit from the expanded incentives, and state officials hope they mark the beginning of a broader recovery. Still, optimism is cautious. If most of the newly approved productions would have filmed in California anyway, the credits could end up subsidizing business as usual.
