Seven TV projects — two relocating series and five new series — have been selected for the state’s latest round of film and television tax credits. These projects will spend an estimated $527 million in California during their first season and employ 1,585 crew, 629 cast, and 19,994 background actors.
The Amazon Studios thriller “Citadel” will move production from the U,K. for its second season to become California’s highest-spending relocating TV series to date, with an estimated $119 million in qualified expenditures. With the two additional relocating projects announced today (4/17)–“Citadel” and HBO’s “Wondermill” from Oregon–California’s tax credit program has welcomed a total of 33 relocating TV series from other states and nations since the expanded tax credit program was launched in 2015.
"Citadel" will receive an estimated $25 million in tax credits; "Wondermill" an estimated $4,285,000,
Among the new TV series selected for the latest round of tax credits is the BET drama “True to the Game” (based on the film trilogy with the same title), which will generate an estimated $11 million in qualified expenditures during its first season (set to receive an estimated $2,215,000 in tax credits).
Other new TV series in the current round include “Forever” (Netflix; $12,081,000 in estimated tax credits), “Paradise City” (Disney; $12,220,000 in estimated tax credits), an untitled Amazon Studios series (an estimated $10,329,000 in tax credits) and an untitled Paramount Global series (an estimated $14,352,000 in tax credits).
“We’re thrilled that our tax credit program is welcoming such a diverse range of TV projects in terms of storytelling, budget and employment,” said California Film Commission executive director Colleen Bell. “‘Citadel’ will become our biggest relocating TV series so far in terms of qualified spending, while a project like ‘True to the Game’ affirms that our tax credit program also addresses the needs of smaller-scale yet still very impactful TV projects.”
“Thanks to California’s tax credit program, I will be able to work here in my home state,” said “True to the Game” director Vivica A. Fox. “Executive producer Manny Halley looks forward to producing the franchise here and creating hundreds of high-quality jobs in California.”
Together, the relocating and new TV series announced today are on track to spend a combined $527 million in California during their upcoming season of production. This figure includes $397 million in qualified spending, defined as wages paid to below-the-line crew members and payments made to in-state vendors. Only the qualified portion of each project’s budget is eligible for tax credits under California’s uniquely targeted incentive program. Therefore, the seven projects will generate an estimated $130 million in unincentivized spending across the state.
In total, the projects will employ an estimated 1,585 crew, 629 cast, and 19,994 background actors/stand-ins (the latter measured in “man-days”) for their next season of production. They will spend an estimated 646 filming days in California, including 23 shoot days planned outside the Los Angeles 30-Mile Studio Zone. They will also generate significant postproduction jobs and revenue for California VFX artists, sound editors, sound mixers, musicians, and other workers/vendors.
In addition to the relocating and new TV series announced today, the tax credit program currently has 26 recurring (legacy) series accepted during previous allocation rounds and in various stages of production.
The California Film Commission’s latest tax credit application period was held March 6-20, 2023. A total of $80.4 million in tax credit allocation has been reserved for the seven projects selected. The list of conditionally approved projects is subject to change, as applicants may withdraw from the tax credit program and their reservation of credits reassigned to one or more projects on the waitlist.
The next application period for TV projects will be held June 5-12, 2023. The next application period for feature films will be held July 24-31, 2023.
