Los Angeles film and television production has unexpectedly slumped below the low levels seen during the 2023 strikes, with a significant drop in reality TV shows leading the decline. This ongoing downturn highlights deep industry shifts, including reduced content spending and persistent ‘post-strike paralysis,’ impacting the future of filmmaking and countless livelihoods.
The bustling heart of the entertainment industry, Los Angeles, is experiencing an alarming and sustained slump in film and television production. New data reveals that on-location filming activity has fallen even further than the depths plumbed during the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes. This unprecedented decline, marked by a sharp drop in once-resilient reality television, signals a challenging new era for Hollywood and its dedicated workforce.
For enthusiasts of classic films and the art of moviemaking, this trend is more than just statistics; it represents a contraction in the very ecosystem that produces the timeless stories we cherish. The industry is grappling with a “post-strike paralysis” and a broader reevaluation of content spending, creating an uncertain landscape for future productions.
The Echo of the Strikes: A Look Back at 2023’s Historic Downturn
The year 2023 was undoubtedly a difficult period for Hollywood, largely defined by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes. These labor disputes pushed Los Angeles’ film and TV production down by 36.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023 year-over-year, culminating in an annual decline of 32.4%, according to FilmLA’s official report. FilmLA President Paul Audley noted at the time that “history offers no point of comparison to the present” for such prolonged low production levels.
During these challenging months, reality television emerged as an unexpected lifeline. In the third quarter of 2023, reality TV comprised an astonishing 97.3% of all on-location television filming, stepping in while scripted projects were largely halted. Even for the entire year 2023, reality TV constituted 76.5% of all on-location television production, keeping many crews employed when other avenues were shut down.
Post-Strike Paralysis: 2024 Reveals Deeper Issues
While the strikes concluded in late 2023, the anticipated resurgence in production has yet to materialize. Instead, the industry has fallen into a state of “post-strike paralysis,” exacerbated by a broader industry trend of declining content spending by studios and streamers. FilmLA’s latest quarterly studies illustrate this continued slump.
In the second quarter of 2024, on-location shooting in Los Angeles dropped 12% compared to the previous year, a period that already included the beginning of the WGA strike. This decline occurred despite the return of scripted production work, suggesting that underlying economic factors are now the primary drivers. FilmLA’s VP of Integrated Communications, Philip Sokoloski, highlighted that “streaming content spend is down, and Los Angeles and its many global competitors are still reeling from post-strike paralysis.”
Reality Bites: The Unexpected Plunge in Unscripted Television
Perhaps the most startling development in the current downturn is the significant drop in reality television production. In the third quarter of 2024 (ending September 30), total location shoot days fell to 2,631, which is 145 fewer days than the fourth quarter of 2023 when SAG-AFTRA was actively on strike. This quarter also marked the second-worst for reality TV production in the last 15 years, trailing only the peak of the pandemic shutdowns in Q2 2020.
Reality TV shoots declined by 42% in Q3 2024 compared to the prior quarter, and by a substantial 56% year-over-year in Q2 2024. This category, which was unaffected by the 2023 labor disputes and provided crucial work, is now facing its own significant contraction. Sokoloski emphasized that while reality TV’s employment impact might be lower than scripted productions, it “remains an important part of LA’s production economy.”
Scripted Content and Feature Films Still Lagging
The scripted sector, including television dramas, comedies, and pilots, continues to struggle below historical levels. In Q2 2024, drama shoot days were down 19.2%, comedies down 44.4%, and pilots a staggering 72.5% compared to the five-year average. While these numbers represented a rebound from the near-complete shutdown during the strikes, they are far from a healthy recovery, echoing Paul Audley’s earlier concerns about defining a “new normal.”
Feature film production, which typically has a longer lead time, also saw a 57.5% decrease in Q4 2023. Although there was a slight quarter-over-quarter increase in Q3 2024, from 476 to 522 shoot days, this figure still represents a 30% decrease below the five-year average. The overall struggle reflects studios cutting back on greenlighting new projects, impacting both the quantity and diversity of upcoming films.
The Promise of Incentives and the Reality of Global Competition
California lawmakers have attempted to counter this trend by significantly expanding the state’s film and TV tax credit program, increasing it from $330 million to $750 million annually. This initiative, which also broadened eligibility to include sitcoms and large-scale competition shows, aims to entice more productions back to the Golden State. However, the effects are slow to manifest in the data, as FilmLA’s Sokoloski cautions that “it will take a little while for new incentive-backed projects to get underway and be reflected in our data.”
Moreover, the competition for production dollars is global. The decline in L.A. production is mirrored by similar drops in other major filming hubs such as Georgia, New York, Canada, and the U.K. This suggests a systemic industry-wide contraction in content investment, rather than just a localized issue. The benefits of California’s incentives, while welcomed, are expected to be “globally distributed” rather than leading to a single massive rebound in L.A., as Variety reported.
The Human Cost: What This Means for Film Enthusiasts and Industry Workers
For those who adore cinema and television, the prolonged production slump has tangible consequences. Fewer projects mean fewer opportunities for the next generation of classic films to be made, and a potential stagnation in the creative output that fans eagerly anticipate. It also impacts the diverse pool of talent and crew members—writers, actors, camera operators, set designers, and countless others—whose livelihoods depend on a vibrant production economy.
Many industry workers, whose finances were already strained by the 191-day work stoppage in 2023, have reported little to no entertainment-related employment since the strikes. Paul Audley’s earlier sentiment, “It hasn’t been good for anyone who works in the industry,” remains profoundly true. As the industry navigates these uncharted waters, the central question persists: “What is the new normal?” The answer will shape the future of filmmaking and television for years to come.
