Commercial production is leaving Los Angeles and California. The Los Angeles Times reports commercial shoots were down more than 30% in 2025, a 35.3% drop against the five year average. That decline ripples outward. Fewer jobs, weakened vendors, and a creative middle class that is increasingly priced out. LAMag said L.A.’s quality of life has reached its lowest point–the depleting film industry is having a serious effect on the city.
There has been a meaningful first move. The Association of Independent Commercial Producers pushed legislation to expand Program 4.0, adding a $15 million annual allocation specifically for commercial production. California Assembly Bill 2403 is now with the state’s Committee on Revenue and Taxation, which will vote on the measure on Monday, April 27. The proposal offers a 20% credit for qualified spend in studio zones like Los Angeles, and 30% outside major cities, an effort to drive production statewide.
It is a step in the right direction. But it is not enough.
To put it in perspective, a single Super Bowl campaign can run anywhere from $9 million to $19 million all in. A $15 million annual pool does not materially shift behavior at scale. If the goal is to bring commercial production back, this needs to be part of a broader, more structural reset.
A few places to start:
Go Guild
Commercial production companies should have a seat at the Producers Guild of America. It is long overdue. We are a core part of the ecosystem, but we are not formally represented at that level. More voices, properly aligned, strengthens the entire industry, especially when policy and incentives are being shaped.
Fast Track Permitting
Permitting in Los Angeles is slow, fragmented, and overly complex for the way commercial production actually works. Insurance requirements vary widely by municipality, and brokers are left stitching together coverage just to get approvals. FilmLA will tell you to apply early, but commercial timelines do not always allow for that. MyFilmLA has improved things for features and television, but it is still not built for the pace and flexibility spot production demands. We need a faster, more responsive system.
Teamwork
Not every project carries a union budget. This is just reality. There needs to be a workable path for non union production without friction or fear. Let crews work. Let companies operate. These jobs still hire locally, still spend locally, and still build careers. In many cases, commercials and music videos are where emerging directors and crew get their start. Remove that layer, and you weaken the entire talent pipeline.
Crunch Time
AI is already reshaping production, and lower cost models are accelerating. The timeline to adapt is short. That means real investment in retraining crews and rethinking workflows. If we do not get ahead of it, we risk losing not just jobs, but relevance.
Up the Ante
If California is serious about reclaiming its position, the incentive pool needs to reflect that ambition. A $250 million commercial rebate, combined with the existing $750 million under Program 4.0, gets us to a $1 billion framework. That is the right scale for the global center of filmmaking. Nothing else competes with Los Angeles when it comes to filmmaking. The weather, the locations, the crews, the talent.
This is a complex problem with a lot of moving parts, exactly like a commercial production. Brands and clients who want to shoot here need a clear understanding of the constraints, financial and operational, which make it challenging.
But the upside is still here. The infrastructure is still here. The talent is still here.
With aligned incentives, smarter systems, and real cooperation across stakeholders, from clients to unions to the state and city, we can bring it back.
And we should.
Charlotte Woodhead is the managing executive producer at CANADA US based in Los Angeles, where she collaborates with directors Lope Serrano, Nicolás Méndez and Réalité, among others.
