Production Dropped 20 Percent In LA Last Year, Slide Set To Continue In 2024: Study

LOS ANGELES, CA — Scripted film and TV production dropped nearly 20 percent in the Los Angeles area last year, continuing a several-years-long downward slide of local production that officials expect to continue in 2024.

The annual report released by FilmLA, which handles much of the region's permitting, found scripted film and TV production in the region fell to 182 projects last year, down 45 compared to 2023.

The slide comes as LA has continued to lose its production market share to competitors including the U.K.; Ontario, Canada; Georgia and other states who have wooed production with tax incentives, lower costs of living and growing labor pools and infrastructure.

Additionally, the industry grappled with both actors and writers being on strike last year. "These last two years have been devastating to all the workers and businesses in the county due to the labor strikes of 2023, advancing and ever-changing technology, recovery from the pandemic, and other factors," Kelly LoBianco, director of the Department of Economic Opportunity said in a release.

This year, the industry is still "recalibrating" in the aftermath of the strikes and production has yet to recover. Researchers wrote in the report that continued impacts of the strikes and ongoing budget restraints are likely to lead to a further production decline in 2024.

Last year's decline didn't hit equally.

In LA, TV series production dropped 22.8 percent last year, but Georgia (down 35.2 percent) and the U.K. (down 33.3 percent) saw steeper drops in activity, according to the report.

LA saw similar drops in streaming series production last year, with a 27.9 percent decline, compared to Georgia (down 21.4 percent) and the U.K. (down 27.3 percent). But such production increased in New York (30.8 percent) and in Ontario, Canada (25 percent).

Read the full report on FilmLA's website.