Los Angeles production volume slips despite tax-credit boost
FilmLA says shoot days fell 3.1% in Q2 2026, with TV gains unable to offset weaker film and commercial activity.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Los Angeles production volume dipped again in the second quarter of 2026, with FilmLA reporting a 3.1% drop in location shoot days for TV, film and commercials compared with the prior quarter.
The latest count, based on location permit data for the Los Angeles region, shows a recovery that is still sputtering despite California’s expanded film and TV tax-credit program. Film and commercial shoots declined in the quarter, while television activity rose enough to soften the slide but not reverse it.
FilmLA’s figures track location shoot days and exclude several other types of production, including still photography, student films, documentaries, shorts, online content, music videos and industrial videos.
Why is Los Angeles production volume still down?
FilmLA’s report points to a smaller local production business after the post-strike slump, even as more projects use state subsidies. California more than doubled its support for film and TV production last year, but the broader trend in local shooting remains below historic levels, according to the report.
The incentive expansion appeared to help earlier in 2026, when production edged up from the final quarter of 2025. The second-quarter decline has cooled hopes that the industry had fully turned a corner.
Television supplied the quarter’s brighter spots. FilmLA reported gains for reality TV after a long decline, and TV drama rose for a second straight quarter. Comedy fell, though FilmLA’s location-based report does not capture much of that category because many comedies shoot on soundstages.
Overall TV production was up about 34% from the previous quarter, according to FilmLA. Even with that jump, it was still down from the same period in 2025 and nearly 50% below the five-year average.
How much of L.A. production is now tax-credit backed?
A growing share of the shoots still happening in Los Angeles are receiving California tax credits. FilmLA said subsidized projects accounted for one-third of all feature film shoot days in the second quarter, up from 22% in the previous quarter.
The report also found heavy use of incentives in scripted TV. State-backed productions made up 38.3% of TV drama shoot days and 36.8% of TV comedy shoot days.
Commercials and most reality shows do not qualify for the state program. Lawmakers have focused the incentives on production categories with a larger concentration of union labor, according to the report.
Denise Gutches, FilmLA’s CEO, said scripted television matters because it supports more industry employment than any other production category. In a statement, she said attracting those productions is part of bringing filming back to the region, restoring jobs and strengthening the local production economy.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also pointed to the rise in incentivized work. In a statement, Bass said FilmLA’s quarterly report showed incentives are working because local subsidized productions are increasing and creating union jobs and economic opportunities for Angelenos.
The production slowdown has become a major issue in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, Variety reported. Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who is set to face Bass in a November runoff, has argued that the mayor has not done enough to simplify permitting.
Both Bass and Raman have called for California to remove the $750 million cap on the state incentive program, according to Variety. FilmLA’s report, meanwhile, describes a local industry that is smaller than before and more dependent on state support.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.