California Fight to Lure Back TV Production Scores Two Victories

(Bloomberg) -- California's efforts to keep Hollywood on top of the film and TV world just scored two wins.

The California Film Commission announced on Monday that two TV series from AT&T Inc. -- HBO's “In Treatment” and TBS's “Miracle Workers” -- will relocate production to the state to take advantage of its subsidies.

The victories follow the July 1 renewal of California's film and TV tax-credit program, a $1.6 billion appropriation that runs for five years. “In Treatment” was filmed in New York, while “Miracle Workers” was produced in the Czech Republic. A November 2019 report from state film officials touted their success in luring work to California.

Film and TV production in much of the U.S. has been shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic. Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said on May 20 that almost 900,000 film and entertainment employees have been idled and at least 14,000 laid off. But studios and production companies are working to get shooting started again.

California has been winning back film and TV business in recent years after losing ground to other jurisdictions that also offer subsidies for production, like Vancouver, Georgia and New York. In 2014, under then-Governor Jerry Brown, California tripled its annual aid to the film and TV industry to $330 million.

“It's encouraging to see projects reinvest here and bring new production jobs and spending to California,” the commission's executive director, Colleen Bell, said in a statement.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.