Georgia is tied for third among the most popular places for U.S.-produced scripted TV production, behind only California and New York, according to FilmLA, a nonprofit group and film office for Los Angeles.
The study covers the time period between June 1, 2020, through May 30, 2021. The pandemic shut down production for more than two months in Georgia, which reopened TV and film production in June, several weeks before California and New York. Stages in Georgia were largely full by the fall as networks and production companies scrambled to catch up with a backlog of TV series.
California saw scripted TV production fall 39% year over year to 98 series. New York saw series production drop from 60 to 41. Georgia tied for third with British Columbia with 39 scripted TV shows each.
Georgia’s number actually matched is 2019-20 production despite the pandemic.
>>You can read the entire report here.
FilmLA excluded theater and TV movies and non-scripted television shows such as “Real Housewives of Atlanta” and “Family Feud.” It broke down 331 English-language, U.S.-produced TV series down by filming locations via three types of distribution platforms: broadcast, cable and streaming.
Streaming represented 43% of shows, with cable at 33% and broadcast at 24%. The year before, FilmLA tracked 452 scripted series. Given the seemingly insatiable demand for original content from streaming services, it’s like the 2021-22 cycle will match or exceed that 452 number.
The shift to streaming content is palpable. A decade earlier, when streaming was in its infancy, cable represented 63% of scripted shows, broadcast carried 34% and streaming a mere 3%.
Among broadcast TV series, Georgia came in fifth with just five, but among cable series, the state came in second with 17, just behind California with 20. Among streaming series, Georgia also came in second with 17, well behind California at 41.
Next year, FilmLA will add scripted movie productions to its study, which will likely help Georgia and Canada. California and New York offer tax credit incentives like Georgia and Canada, but Georgia and Canada do not cap their credits. This has enabled Georgia to draw big-budget movies like “Creed 3″ and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
About the Author
