California’s film and television industry has struggled mightily over the past five years. COVID-19 forced the world to stay home and away from theatres. The streaming bubble popped, leaving many industry workers without jobs. A series of guild strikes followed. The Hollywood Reporter predicted that Hollywood would become the “Next Detroit Auto” in a report written last year.
Besides streaming and global pandemics, the primary issue is California’s production costs. It has been too expensive to shoot in California, leading many productions to flee the state for greener pastures. In June 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 132 into law. It doubled the Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million annually for five years. Nearly a year in, productions are starting to return to California. Is this a gold rush? Not quite, but the numbers look promising so far. To protect one of California’s most valuable industries from losing production to other regions, it must continue to make production costs more affordable and modernize its film permitting process.
With the signing of AB 132, productions are starting to return to the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced that 38 new film projects will be coming to California thanks to the new incentive program. This is how progress starts — productions need to learn to trust California again before they flood back in. It is going to take years for California to regain any semblance of the powerhouse it once was. In March, Los Angeles city council officials approved seven measures that would streamline the city’s permitting processes. The voices of film workers in this state are being heard, but the foot must be kept on the gas. Each day that goes by, new films and shows that could be shot here are being greenlit elsewhere else in order to cut costs.
Filming in California has been far too expensive for far too long. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that California lost approximately 40,000 film and tv jobs in 2024. The loss boils down to the high production costs associated with shooting in California. If you’re working with a modest budget, states like Georgia, Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico often provide more generous tax incentives than California. The Golden State has tried to rely on its Hollywood legacy, completely ignoring the fact that productions could leave the state to save costs. The Hollywood sign, over the past half-decade, has represented a bygone era. However, the home of filmmaking is Los Angeles — the way big tech started in Silicon Valley and steel once belonged to Pittsburgh.
Film is not the driver of culture it once was. To help movies recover their cultural significance, production should be brought back to California, Los Angeles and the surrounding communities. There are thousands of film and television workers eager to get back on set. The assembly bill signed into law last year is a step in the right direction. Film industry workers need to continue voicing their concerns to government officials in this state if progress is to continue. Progress is on the horizon, but it remains to be seen if this new incentive structure will bring Hollywood back to its former glory.
Sam Jenson is an Opinion Intern for the spring 2026 quarter. He can be reached at sjenson1@uci.edu.
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