Production in LA Is Still Down. Maybe Next Quarter? — SkimNews
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- FilmLA reported LA on-location production fell 12.7% from Q2 2025 and sat 35.9% below the 5-year average, totaling 4,711 shoot days for the quarter.
- California's Film & TV Tax Credit Program 4.0 has now granted credits to 170 projects, with the most recent batch of 41 features including Disney's "Hexed" and the "Shrek" prequel "Donkey," most of which FilmLA says will appear in next quarter's data.
- Mayor Karen Bass said she created the state's first film and TV tax credit, fought to expand it to $750 million, and is now pushing for an uncapped version that includes reality TV and above-the-line spending.
- TV drama shoot days were down slightly from 2025 but jumped 55.1% from Q1 2026, with "Baywatch," "The Night Agent," "Prison Break," and "Ballard" among the shows filming locally.
- TV comedy shoot days dropped 43% from 2025, though FilmLA said shows like "Shrinking" and "The Studio" were likely shooting on sound stages that aren't counted in the on-location tally.
- Commercial production fell 21.5% from 2025, while the "Other" category covering student films, documentaries, online content, and music videos rose 10% year-over-year.
- FilmLA CEO Denise Gutches pointed to Emmy-nominated "Hacks" and tax-credit recipient "The Pitt" as examples of the scripted series LA is trying to lure back to restore industry jobs.
Why it matters: LA production is running 35.9% below its own 5-year average, and the city is staking its near-term recovery on 170 tax-credit projects — most of them not yet visible in the data — while declines in TV comedy and commercials show the slump isn't only a feature-film story.
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