On-location production continues to decline in the Los Angeles area, even though California’s Film and Television Tax Credit program supports much of what remains.
According to FilmLA’s latest report, on-location filming accounted for 4,171 filming days from July to September 2026, a 4.8% decrease from the same period last year. However, the organization also notes that state tax incentives account for about 40.3 percent of on-location scripted production during that time, nearly double the share a year ago.
Television benefits the most from incentivized productions. Projects accepted into the program accounted for 62% of all TV comedy filming days and 49.4% of TV series filming days (up from 19% and 20.6%, respectively) during the same period last year.
This doesn’t tell the whole story, as television production, particularly comedies, often takes place largely on soundstages, which are not accounted for in this data. The soundstage occupancy rate also remains well below the levels it maintained ten years ago.
Incentive TV series filmed in Los Angeles last quarter included One hundred percent (Netflix), Baywatch (Fox), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Amazon), Contraction (Warner Bros.TV/Apple TV+), High potential (ABC), The Night Agent (Sony Pictures Television/Netflix), Tracker (CBS), I love Los Angeles (HBO), and Rooster (HBO).
Feature films finished the third quarter with 533 shooting days, a slight increase of 2.1% from the same period last year. Incentivized projects represent 24.4% of this total, the majority of which are independent. However, there are a few studio films in the mix, including 13 In progress 30 (Netflix), Cut (Warner Bros.) and They follow (Neon).
Commercials marked the biggest decline, down 15.9% to 562 days of location filming during the third quarter, although these are not covered by California’s tax credit program.
On-site production in Los Angeles has been in decline for years, and that trend continues despite California’s massive effort to expand the state’s tax incentive program last year. Not only did lawmakers increase the cap to $750 million per year, but the revamped bill also significantly expanded eligibility for the program. Certainly, this quarter’s decline is less than the 13% drop in the second quarter.
Gn entert
