Local on-location film production in the City and County of Los Angeles declined in the first quarter of 2023, mustering 7.476 Shoot Days (SD) to finish -24.0% behind the first quarter of 2022 (with 9.832 SD) and -16.8% below the region’s five-year first quarter average. The post-Covid production surge seen at this time last year was nowhere to be found in early 2023, according to FilmLA’s latest report.
“Over three consecutive quarters, we have seen a significant slowdown across all of the most economically important categories of on-location production. Particularly in the television world, decisions about future content direction are on hold, pending the outcome of corporate restructuring actions and industry labor negotiations,” noted Paul Audley, President of the FilmLA.
Television, which was a sustaining force during the region’s recovery from Covid-related impacts, posted the largest quarterly decline among the major production categories, falling -35.8% to a total of 2.868 SD. This figure was also -24.2% below the category’s five-year quarterly average.
Looking at the sub-genres of television production, TV dramas were down -40.4% compared to the previous year, declining from 1.279 to 762 SD. TV dramas that shot in the region last quarter included “The Company You Keep” (ABC), “All American” (The CW), “Mayans MC” (FX), “The Sympathizer” (HBO), “Presumed Innocent” (Apple TV+), and “Interior Chinatown” (Hulu). A total of 186 of the 762 TV drama SD (24.4%) were from projects enrolled in the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program.
TV reality production, which also performed well during the recovery period, fell -37.8% in the first quarter (1.617 SD vs. 2.600 SD). However, production levels in this category hover 17.4% above the five-year average. TV pilots, produced far less often in an age of direct-to-series orders, generated just 7 SD for the quarter – a -88.3% decline from the previous year and a -95.4% below the five-year average.
TV sitcoms posted the highest year-over-year increase of any television category last quarter, increasing to 324 SD from 259 SD. Despite this 25.1% increase, the category remained -22.1% below the five-year average. The feature film category remained flat for the quarter (595 SD in 2023 vs. 594 SD in 2022) but was down -13.1% from the five-year average. A total of 99 SD (16.6% of feature production) was tied to the state’s film incentive.
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