The conclusion of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA work actions on September 27 and November 9, respectively, came too late for production to pick up by year’s end, according to FilmLA, partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions, which issued an update regarding regional filming activity.
The report noted that local on-location filming declined steeply in the fourth quarter, with 5,520 Shoot Days (SD) logged for a -36.4% decline against the same period in 2022. Viewed on an annual basis, summing four consecutive quarters of double-digit decline, production activity fell -32.4% year-over-year in 2023, to 24,873 SD.
“History offers no point of comparison to the present. The pandemic year aside, we have to look very far back – farther back than permit records allow – to find a time when production levels stayed so low, for so long. Everyone we are speaking to is eager to see production resume. Even as it does, we will remain in uncharted territory. We have months to go before we can describe what the new normal looks like for filming in LA,” said Paul Audley, President of FilmLA.
After the near immediate return of some programming, including late night talk shows, in October, many hoped scripted television might return before the holidays. Once able to resume filming in November, only a handful of continuing series attempted new episodes. That left television production down -54.3% to 1,707 SD for the quarter, and down 43.8% to 9,430 SD for the year.
Most television production that has taken place since May came from reality series. The reality TV category was down -29.2% in the fourth quarter to 1,425 SD and down -28.1% to 7,221 SD for the year. Nonetheless, reality TV comprised 76.5% of all on-location television production in 2023. Local reality productions included “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), “Death in the Dorms” (Hulu), “Master Chef” (Fox), “Selling Sunset” (Netflix), and “Murder in the Heartland” (Investigation Discovery).
TV drama production dropped -91.3% from October through December (101 SD in 2023 vs. 1,155 SD in 2022), and TV comedy production dropped -85.6% (51 SD vs. 353 SD). During that time, projects qualifying for the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program logged 25 SD. Dozens more qualified projects are expected to restart in January. The shows quickest to return to production included “Loot” (Apple TV+), “The Family Business” (BET+), “Quantum Leap” (NBC), “The Rookie” (ABC), “S.W.A.T.” (CBS), and “Unstable” (Netflix).
Feature film production also dropped steeply last quarter, with a -57.5% decrease to 323 SD. Most feature projects in production this summer were smaller, independent productions, among a few moving forward under SAG-AFTRA interim agreements. Three independent features in production last quarter were associated with the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program: the films “Hurricana,” “Shell” and “Starstruck,” which together generated a total of 28 SD.