Billion-Dollar GA Film Industry Thriving Amid Global Decline

GEORGIA — If you have seen "The Walking Dead" or "Cobra Kai," you may recognize some familiar scenery.

While watching the ever-popular "The Stranger Things," you may say to yourself, "Hey, I know that place."

That is because Georgia has been setting the stage for these beloved TV shows and other works for years.

Filming in the Peach State continues to be a billion-dollar industry, with the Georgia Department of Economic Development reporting an estimated $2.6 billion was spent on filming in Georgia during the fiscal year 2024.

Economic development officials said $11 billion has been spent on filming in Georgia in the last three fiscal years.

This comes amid an overall downtrend of global filming due to a change in customer habits and economic strain, ProdPro, which tracks production data, said in its Quarter 3 2024 Global Production Report released in October.

The global number of film projects in quarter three compared to December 2022 dwindled by 17 percent, ProdPro reported. Filming in December 2023 was thrown into disarray after Hollywood strikes, ProdPro said.

Georgia DED officials said 273 productions were filmed in Georgia between July 1, 2023, and June 30, including:

• 25 feature films
• 30 independent films
• 166 television and episodic productions
• 37 commercials
• 15 music videos

Notable stars have visited Georgia to film headline-grabbing productions, including Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump" (Savannah), Jason Bateman in "Ozark" (Braselton and Atlanta), Lawrence Fishburne in "Fled" (Stone Mountain Park) and Burt Reynolds in "Deliverance" (Chattooga River, Lake Tallulah Falls and other sites).

Feature sites, like the Fox Theatre and The Varsity, are among several Georgia film locations.

Others are The Colonnade, Perimeter Mall, The Westminster Schools, the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Sweetwater Creek State Park, downtown Athens and Tybee Island.

Potentially, one of the most famous was the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, which set the scene for Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy in "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991). The noteworthy movie was also filmed in Fayetteville, Senoia, Newnan, Whitesburg, Zebulon, Agnes Scott College in Decatur and Conyers.

In 2011, "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son," starring Martin Lawrence and Brandon T. Jackson, was shot in Atlanta, Douglasville and Agnes Scott.

Production for Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels' "Dumb and Dumber To" reimagined Marietta Square as El Paso, Texas. The 2014 acclaimed movie was also filmed in Grantville, Atlanta and the Cobb Energy Center.

In August, the Business Facilities Magazine named Georgia the No. 1 state for film and television for the second consecutive year in its 2024 rankings report. Louisiana and New Mexico, respectively, followed in the second and third spots.

"Georgia has the whole package for productions, including world-class production facilities, a deep local crew base and a unique blend of locations from the mountains to the city to the coast," Georgia Film Office Director Lee Thomas told Patch.

"Productions also benefit from resources like the Georgia Film Academy, which is preparing Georgia residents for jobs in the industry and can quickly develop curriculum to suit productions’ needs. Georgia continues to host beloved episodic shows like 'Will Trent' and 'Tyler Perry's All the Queen's Men' and looking forward to the release of new fan favorites such as NBC's 'Grosse Pointe Garden Society.'"

Here is what is currently filming in Georgia:

• "7 Little Johnstons," Season 16, TLC/Discovery
• "Behind the Curtain," Season 5, ASO
• "Beyond the Gates," CBS
• "Cedar Lodge," Netflix
• "Day of Reckoning," indie
• "Design Atlanta," BET+
• "Dish Nation," Season 13, FOX
• "Double Life," Season 1, Paramount+
• "Family for Hire," indie
• "For My Man," Season 9, TVOne
• "Give Me Back My Daughter," unknown
• "Grosse Point Garden Society," Season 1, NBC
• "His and Hers," Season 1, Netflix
• "I Love Boosters," indie
• "Jay and Pamela," TLC
• "Poetic Justice," indie
• "Portia," Season 3, FOX
• "Savior," indie
• "Single Black Female III," Lifetime
• "The Atlanta Opera Showcase," Vimeo
• "The Last Drive-In with Joe Briggs," Season 7, Shudder
• "The Ms. Pat Show," Season 5, BET+
• "The Untitled Monique Smith Story," Lifetime
• "Tyler Perry's All the Queen's Men," Season 5, BET+
• "Uncensored," Season 7, TVOne
• "Will Trent," Season 3, ABC