Film Incentives Working, More Productions Returning to California, State Commission Says

HOLLYWOOD, CA - A pair of Ryan Murphy-helmed shows, "American Horror Story" and "Scream Queens," are among nine television projects approved for the latest round of state tax credits aimed at encouraging more local production, officials said.

"Scream Queens," which filmed its first season in New Orleans, will be relocating to California, making it the fifth project approved for tax credits to do so, state Film Commission officials said.

The HBO show "Westworld" was also newly approved for credits, as were three pilots, "Bunker Hill," "Citizen" and "Four Stars," and three new series -- "Good Girls Revolt," "I'm Dying Up Here" and "Shooter."

"American Horror Story," which is shot in the Los Angeles area, is a return recipient of the program.

In this fifth and final round of tax credits allocated for the 2015-16 fiscal year, nine projects were selected from a total of 21 applications competing for $37.6 million in funding.

Credits were also approved for television projects in two previous rounds. Feature and independent productions each also received a round of credits.

A total of $230 million in tax credits were set aside for the current year, the first in the newly expanded Film and Television Tax Credit Program that raised the annual pot from $100 million to $330 million. The additional $100 million that would have gone to projects this year was used instead for the previous year.

Commission officials say the incentives approved this year are expected to spur about $1.7 billion in spending for the economy.

--City News Service, photo courtesy of Prashant Gupta / FX