SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Less than $3 per week View Profile The Explainer Talking Points The Week Recommends Newsletters From the Magazine The Week Junior Food & Drink Personal Finance All Categories Newsletter sign up Culture & Life today's big question Is Hollywood losing its luster? Television and film production is moving, leaving Hollywood to ponder its place in pop culture Newsletter sign up The 'bright lights of Los Angeles have dimmed' because other countries and U.S. states 'offered better tax incentives' (Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images) Joel Mathis, The Week US 30 May 2025 For more than a century, the word "Hollywood" has been synonymous with "movies." That reality is changing. Television and film productions are moving to other states and countries, leaving America's glamour capital to ponder its place in the pop culture firmament. The steep drop in Hollywood-based productions has begun to "spark panic and anger within the industry," said The Guardian. The number of shows and films being made in California has dropped more than 30% over five years, a wound inflicted by COVID, writer and actor strikes and even the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles over the winter. Just 20% of shows made for North American audiences are filmed in the Golden State. Those numbers are "an emergency" for Hollywood, said Alexandra Pechman, a Los Angeles-based writer and director. What did the commentators say? Finances come into play. Rob Lowe's Fox TV game show "The Floor" was shot in Ireland because it "makes more financial sense than filming in California," said The New York Times. International studios have "lower labor costs and more expansive tax incentives" than Hollywood can offer. The risk now is that California will "become to the entertainment industry what Detroit has become to the auto industry," said Michael F. Miller Jr., a vice president at the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. The "bright lights of Los Angeles have dimmed" because other countries and U.S. states "offered better tax incentives to lure the industry away," Ed Lammi, a former executive vice president of production for Sony Pictures Television, said at CalMatters. California must increase the size of its tax incentives and expand the kinds of productions that qualify for them. Otherwise, shows like "Cobra Kai" will continue to be shot in places like Atlanta instead of Hollywood. "No one should have to leave California in pursuit of the Hollywood dream." Hollywood "doesn't need a tax subsidy," said The Wall Street Journal editorial board. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is urging President Donald Trump to get "on board" with a proposed $7.5 billion tax credit to expand film and TV production in California. The high cost of production in the state is the "result in large part of the state government's policies." Fixing those policies would mean getting crosswise with "progressive interests." Republicans who control Congress should not "fall for the Tinseltown tax gambit." In early May, Trump announced tariffs on foreign productions, a move that "scrambled all bets" on Hollywood's immediate future, said The Hollywood Reporter. Movie executives pooh-poohed the idea, but "at least he's trying something," said one unnamed indie filmmaker. There are opportunities in Hollywood "working for YouTubers, starring in mini-dramas, and building side hustles," said Business Insider. The pay for actors and production crew is not as good as it was for big old-school movie productions, but the work can be consistent. And such projects may be where the audience of the future is at, said Marisa Levy, who once made shows for Discovery TLC but now makes "branded content" for Rebel Girls, a digital media company. "You can still shape the culture," she said. Explore More Gavin Newsom Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Joel Mathis, The Week US Social Links Navigation Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association. White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain You might also like Film reviews: Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning, Lilo & Stitch, and Final Destination: Bloodlines Tom Cruise risks life and limb to entertain us, a young girl befriends a destructive alien, and death stalks a family that resets fate's toll. Here comes the end of 'Squid Game!' Plus more great TV shows to see this June. the week recommends The next great sports comedy, a young Marvel heroine and the conclusion of 'Squid Game' Film reviews: Friendship and Fight or Flight An awkward dad unravels after he's unfriended and Josh Hartnett attempts a John Wick sidestep 'Forever': Judy Blume's controversial novel gets a modern adaptation The Explainer The Netflix series gives the 1975 novel all the trappings of modern teen life What's wrong with America's air traffic control systems? Today's Big Question The radios and radar keep going out at Newark International Crime alongside friendship, death as unrelenting force, and a music star's album companion piece all star in May's movies The Week Recommends The Weeknd is back on the big screen, Wes Anderson pulls another ensemble cast and a horror franchise about death gets a new life TV to watch in May, including 'The Four Seasons' and 'Duster' The Week Recommends A comedy from Tina Fey, a '70s crime thriller from J.J. Abrams and an adaptation from the pages of Judy Blume Film reviews: The Accountant 2 and The Shrouds A number cruncher crushes a new set of bad guys and mourners buy a view into their loved ones' graves View More ▸ Contact Future's experts Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Advertise With Us The Week is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street