Photo Source: ABC
As dramatic productions have fled for other locations, Los Angeles has had a lock on television comedies because of its community of writers -- who need to be close at hand for script changes -- and its infrastructure of soundstages and raucous studio audiences. The rise of single-camera comedies such as "Happy Endings" and "Modern Family," which aren't shot in front of a studio audience, was thought to threaten that dominance, but according to the not-for-profit FilmL.A., which coordinates permitting for local productions, L.A. continues to be the home for the majority of sitcoms.
Of a total of 34 single-camera comedy pilots produced for network and cable last development cycle, 32 were shot in L.A. Moreover, of the 43 multi-camera comedy pilots developed last cycle, 38 were produced in the city.
While comedy remains rooted in California, dramatic series are fleeing for financially greener pastures. Drama pilots are now filming outside the L.A. area by a ratio of more than 2-to-1, according to FilmL.A. "Without a more competitive California tax incentive program, Los Angeles will find it hard to increase its share of total TV drama production," said Paul Audley, president of the group.
California's $100-million-a-year film and television tax credit program is set to expire, and state lawmakers are mulling an extension.
With an eye to making the tax credit program more competitive, the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute released a report last week calling for the state to target television productions with specific incentives. The nonpartisan economic think tank also suggested Sacramento increase the size of the incentive program's $100 million budget.
While that's considered a nonstarter by some California lawmakers, the report was enthusiastically endorsed by SAG-AFTRA, which is advocating for an extension to the incentive program.
"The Milken Institute report clearly supports our assertion that the incentive is a positive job builder that has been proven to fight runaway production," said Jennifer Heater, who handles government relations and policy for the union.
"The overwhelming popularity of the [California] lottery also shows how much demand there is and how well the program has done. SAG-AFTRA is very interested in seeing the incentives package extended so that productions have the stability they need to plan their projects."
Funding is available for feature and independent films, miniseries, movies of the week, and new and relocating television series. But money is awarded on a per-project basis and not evenly split among the mediums. In the latest round of credits that were awarded to 28 projects in early June, 10 TV series received funding.
The Milken Institute's report called for synchronizing the selection of TV projects with their development cycle and making the tax credits available to all original broadcast network shows, with the exception of half-hour comedies and reality-TV series.
Officials with FilmL.A., which also backs the credit program, said California is lagging behind other states in terms of offering financial incentives for productions. Still, because of the state's infrastructure, it doesn't need to beef up its funding to match that of, say, New York, which offers $420 million in tax credits annually.
But critics of the tax incentive program, whose extension is expected to come up for a vote in midsummer, say it's not money well-spent.
"States are in a bidding war with each other for film productions," said Mark Robyn, an economist with the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan think tank. "Other states will do more."
