CBS' LeBlanc 'Flint' Drama Spotlights LA Tax Credit Push
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- CBS is developing a cop drama called "Flint" starring Matt LeBlanc that, if greenlit, would film in Los Angeles, joining other locally-shot CBS series including Matlock, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, NCIS, and NCIS: Origins.
- Paramount TV chief George Cheeks said the network wants to shoot in LA as much as possible but must hit a financial model, pushing for both a federal tax credit and improvements to the California credit.
- Lawmakers and union leaders chose to forgo above-the-line cost eligibility in last year's California Film & TV Tax Credit program revamp, but Cheeks called making those costs reimbursable a "key component" of bringing robust production back to the region.
- CBS chief Amy Reisenbach said shooting in LA is ultimately a studio budget decision, adding that CBS will film locally "when we can, and if it makes sense."
- The Entertainment Union Coalition (EUC) met this week with most California gubernatorial candidates—excluding Chad Bianco and Tony Thurmond—to push for production landscape improvements, with above-the-line tax credit eligibility and post-production incentives on the agenda.
- President Trump has signaled support for a tariff on films made overseas, but most experts say it would do more harm than good, with stakeholders instead steering the conversation toward tax breaks that reward domestic production.
Why it matters: Above-the-line cost eligibility is the central demand from both studios and unions heading into California's gubernatorial transition, after stakeholders deliberately left it out of last year's program revamp. Cheeks called it the "key component" to bringing robust production back to LA—an area where soundstage occupancy still hasn't reached hoped-for levels—meaning the policy fight is existential for the region's production infrastructure.
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