Keeping productions in Los Angeles – and even in the country – has become a challenge, at a time when film and TV production has increasingly moved elsewhere.
Why it matters: According to FilmLA, which issues film permits, production still hasn't rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic and delays triggered by the writers and actors' strikes in 2023. Studios and streamers also aren't ordering as many shows these days.
Why now: The issue came to national attention this month, when President Trump took to Truth Social to declare, "The movie industry in America is DYING a very fast death." He announced he would authorize a 100% tariff on movies made outside the U.S.
On a Hollywood backlot in Los Angeles, you can find a replica New York City street — complete with a diner, a newsstand, brownstones, a bodega and a subway entrance.
It's part of the Radford Studio Center, a sprawling production hub in Studio City. In 1928, silent film actor and director Mack Sennett built the studio on what was once a lettuce ranch. Classic TV shows Gunsmoke, Gilligan's Island and The Mary Tyler Moore Show were all made here. So was the hit 1990s TV show Seinfeld.
"This stage has a ton of positive juju," says Zach Sokoloff from Radford's soundstage nine, where Seinfeld taped. Sokoloff is senior vice president at Hackman Capital Partners, which manages Radford Studio Center and studios around the world.
Riding in a studio golf cart to the backlot, Sokoloff points out the spot where the show's famous episode "The Soup Nazi" was made.
The lot is full of recognizable Seinfeld spots: "Up there, you've got the balcony where Jerry threw the marbled rye," he says.
Sokoloff explains that the studio built this backlot for Seinfeld in 1994, after a massive 6.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Los Angeles and destroyed much of the set.
"There was trepidation about remaining in LA, so we decided to bring New York to the production, as opposed to having the production go to New York," he says.
Building a replica New York City is what it took to convince Seinfeld to stay in California, says Sokoloff. But keeping productions in the area – and even in the country – has become a challenge, at a time when film and TV production has increasingly moved elsewhere.
The issue came to national attention this month, when President Trump took to Truth Social to declare, "The movie industry in America is DYING a very fast death." He announced he would authorize a 100% tariff on movies made outside the U.S.
Trump's proclamation — prompted by a visit from one of his "special ambassadors" to Hollywood, Jon Voight – shocked and confused film industries around the world. But the president quickly paused to consider the idea, saying he'd meet with industry leaders because he wanted "to make them happy." In the days since, Voight, and fellow "ambassador" Sylvester Stallone teamed up with the Motion Picture Association and several industry unions to craft a letter urging the president to consider enacting federal tax incentives and adjusting certain tax provisions to increase film and TV production in the United States.
The entire episode opened a conversation about the decline of TV and movie-making — and what can be done about it.
A worldwide competition for production work
According to FilmLA, which issues film permits, production still hasn't rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic and delays triggered by the writers and actors' strikes in 2023. Studios and streamers also aren't ordering as many shows these days.
"With less work to go around, the competition for what's left is intensified," says spokesman Philip Sokoloski.
Most states have some sort of financial incentive for productions. So do nearly 100 countries, including Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Australia.
"Even Thailand [has incentives]," says Joe Chianese, senior vice president of Entertainment Partners, a global production services company. "The recent season of The White Lotus was shot entirely in Thailand. With the number of incentives here in the U.S. and around the world, producers really have a lot of choices."
He says that productions can bring a lot of money to an area at once, "which is a real stimulus to the economy, creating jobs." The trend of what's known as "runaway production" began in the late 1990s, he says, when Canada introduced tax credits for film and TV production, and "you saw that rolling out in other countries."
Ever since, there's been global competition for entertainment jobs and bragging rights.
Even within the U.S., states are competing for production
Within the U.S., states are jockeying to get those show business jobs. Last week, New York passed its budget with an $100 million increase in funds dedicated to production incentives, setting aside a total of $800 million.
This week, thanks to New Jersey's tax credits, Netflix broke ground on new soundstages, a backlot, and post-production facilities on a former U.S. Army base at Fort Monmouth.
"Small fraction of the Texas budget surplus could turn this state into the new Hollywood," actor Woody Harrelson says in a recent video, teaming up with Matthew McConaughey, Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid and Renée Zellweger.
"No shade to Texas, but I think people would rather film in California," says Steven Jaworski, vice president of production for A&E Studios.
Jaworski is in charge of budgeting for the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer, a legal drama produced at Los Angeles Center Studios, not far from City Hall and other downtown locations where the show often shoots.
"The reality is this show could be shot anywhere," he says from the set of The Lincoln Lawyer. "LA is a character to our story … but as costs increase, whether it's inflation or even the way that the economy may be going, there may be a mandate of 'you have to cut your costs,' and the only way to keep the show going would be to relocate. It would be heartbreaking if this show had to leave."
Long before Trump's announcement, Jaworski and others were sounding the alarm about productions leaving California.
"The situation's so dire," he says, "that if something is not done this summer, I truly believe California being the entertainment capital of the world and the production capital of the world — I think that will be a thing of the past."
California needs a comeback, studio executives and grassroots groups agree
It wasn't until 2009 that California began offering tax credits to film there – and by that time, production was already moving elsewhere to take advantage of lucrative credits. The California legislation was even nicknamed "The Ugly Betty Bill" – after the hit ABC series that moved its production from California to New York for the tax credits there.
But California's existing tax credit program badly needs updating, according to Casey Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content.
"The talent is here, the infrastructure is here. We have a number of shows, including Hacks, that are shooting here," he said on a panel at the Milken Institute earlier this month. "But the issue becomes, when you try to plan, you have to get into a lottery, and you're not sure your show is going to get a tax break or not."
Ravi Ahuja, President and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, speaks at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills in May.
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Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO and president Ravi Ahuja also made the case for helping out the state.
"While it's true a lot of production has left the United States, it's even worse for California," he said on a panel. He and other studio executives said they like filming in LA, but also want to be able to film and shoot on location around the world.
To solve the problem, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has already been pushing to more than double California's tax credit program, and two bills going through the state legislature would expand the types of productions that are eligible for credits.
After Trump introduced the idea of movie tariffs, he blamed Newsom for allowing the Hollywood jobs to leave. Newsom stood by the program in California and the incentive increases he's already proposed. He also volunteered to help the president craft a $7.5 billion dollar federal tax credit plan. "America continues to be a film powerhouse, and California is all in to bring more production here. Building on our successful state program, we're eager to partner with the Trump administration to further strengthen domestic production and Make America Film Again," he said in a statement.
Despite the recent attention on keeping production in the country, industry leaders in California still say the program there needs help. Boosting California's budget and revising its tax credit program would offer a reward for productions made in the state, not a punishing tariff for producing outside the U.S., says Pamala Buzick Kim, co-founder of a grassroots group called Stay in LA.
The group has been lobbying for enhanced incentives to keep production in California.
"A lot of people outside of LA think that when you say Hollywood, everyone's rich," Kim says. "I wish that that was the case. But 99% of us who are in production really are your everyday working class folks."
Kim says Trump's movie tariff idea "definitely sent a spiral of confusion through the industry and through the international market, but the fact that we are getting attention at a national level is great."
Kim says it's important to preserve LA's legacy and its biggest greatest export.
"We have generations of people who have been in this business who are in this area who are the best of the best. And we need to protect that."
Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published March 14, 2026 5:00 AM
Experts at the National Weather Service say we could be facing some triple-digit temperatures next week.
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Topline:
Spring is less than a week away, but Southern California has already seen some summer-like temperatures. Forecasters say we could expect higher temps next week, even though it’s still technically winter.
The details: Experts at the National Weather Service say we could be facing some triple-digit temperatures next week, with coastal areas bearing the brunt in the beginning of the week.
Record breaking?: It’s possible. “It is looking likely we’ll see at least a few monthly records fall with this next heat wave this upcoming week,” Dr. Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.
Lingering impacts: Munroe told LAist that if we don’t see any widespread rain after this heat wave, “it could fast track us toward the fire season,” bumping it up to late spring or early summer.
A warning sign keeps swimmers away at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades on Feb. 21, 2025.
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Topline:
If you’re looking to escape the summer-like weather, the beach might be a spot to cool off, but it's a good idea to stay out of some waters.
Why now? The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is advising people to avoid contact with ocean water at certain L.A. County beaches because of bacteria levels that exceed state health standards.
Read on... to find out which beach areas health officials are advising people to avoid, and which beaches have recently been declared to be in the clear.
More resources: You can find the latest information and a map on beach conditions online here. You can also find information on the last 30 days of beach water quality across L.A. County at Heal The Bay's Beach Report Card.
The heat isn’t the only thing to worry about this weekend.
If you’re looking to escape the summer-like weather, the beach might be a spot to cool off, but it's a good idea to stay out of some waters.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is advising people to avoid contact with ocean water at certain L.A. County beaches because of bacteria levels that exceed state health standards.
After recent samples showed unsafe bacterial levels, which may increase the risk of illness, health officials recommend beachgoers to:
avoid contact 100 yards up and down the coast from the public restrooms of the Malibu Lagoon at Surfrider Beach.
avoid contact 100 yards up and down the coast at Santa Monica Canyon Creek at Will Rogers State Beach. It's located near Will Rogers Tower 18.
avoid contact 100 yards up and down the coast from the Castlerock Storm Drain at Topanga County Beach too.
avoid contact 100 yards up and down the coast from the Escondido Creek at Escondido State Beach.
avoid contact 100 yards up and down the coast from the Marie Canyon Storm Drain at Puerco Beach.
Good news, some beach areas have been cleared of previous warnings because of recent water samples that identified quality levels back within California standards. Those include:
Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu.
Mother’s Beach in Marina Del Rey.
The Pulga storm drain at Will Rogers State Beach.
And last but not least, the world-famous Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica.
You can find the latest information and a map on beach conditions online here. You can also find information on the last 30 days of beach water quality across L.A. County at Heal The Bay's Beach Report Card.
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Fees paid by airline passengers keep piling up, even as airport security officers work without pay.
Where things stand: TSA officers have been working without pay since funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed on February 14th. They've already missed part of one paycheck, and many security officers received no money at all in their paychecks on Friday as the partial shutdown approached the one-month mark.
What travelers are seeing: Passengers have encountered hours-long security lines at major airports in Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, and elsewhere, as many TSA officers have called out sick. Some officers have taken on second jobs in order to make ends meet, Jones said.
What about those fees? Airline passengers are still paying the security fees that help to fund the TSA's budget, even as the partial shutdown drags on.
Millions of spring break travelers are heading to the airport this month, and Johnny Jones was hoping to be one of them. But the ongoing shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security forced his family to cancel its vacation plans.
"I won't be traveling anywhere, but I'll be helping out getting people to where they're going," said Jones, a TSA security officer at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. He also serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 100, which represents about 45,000 TSA officers nationwide.
Those TSA officers have been working without pay since funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed on February 14th. They've already missed part of one paycheck, and many security officers received no money at all in their paychecks on Friday as the partial shutdown approached the one-month mark.
"They're panicking, they're scared, they're afraid. And they don't know what they're going to do," Jones said in an interview. The majority of TSA employees work paycheck to paycheck, Jones said, and don't have enough savings to cover their expenses. "They're just flat-out not paying their bills because they don't have any money," he said.
Passengers have encountered hours-long security lines at major airports in Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, and elsewhere, as many TSA officers have called out sick. Some officers have taken on second jobs in order to make ends meet, Jones said.
"The officers can't afford to come to work. The gas is expensive right now," said Suzette, a security officer at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport who's worked for TSA for more than two decades. She requested we only use her middle name because she is not authorized to speak to the media.
TSA staff members at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas unload donated lunches from MGM Resorts on Wednesday as a partial government shutdown continues, and workers stopped receiving paychecks.
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"People have childcare. You have a mortgage that you have to pay," Suzette told NPR's Morning Edition. "Where are you getting the money from to pay?"
DHS has blamed the long lines on Democrats in a series of social media statements over the weekend, though Democrats say Republicans are also to blame.
Democrats have refused to approve DHS's budget unless GOP lawmakers and the White House agree on changes to how immigration officers operate after the fatal shooting of two American citizens in Minneapolis. Senate Democrats introduced bills to fund TSA and other components of DHS instead, but Republicans blocked them.
More than 100,000 DHS workers will miss their first full paycheck Friday, according to the White House, including employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the TSA.
Meanwhile, airline passengers are still paying the security fees that help to fund the TSA's budget, even as the partial shutdown drags on. The passenger fee, also known as the aviation security fee or the September 11 security fee, was enacted when the TSA was created after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
"That fee has underwritten part of the TSA budget for all those years," explains former TSA administrator John Pistole. Airlines collect $5.60 for each one-way segment on a domestic flight, Pistole says. And that money has continued to accrue, even though none of it is finding its way into the bank accounts of TSA workers.
Security officers also went more than 40 days without a paycheck last year during the partial government shutdown last year. The back-to-back shutdowns have only made it harder for the agency to attract and retain workers, Pistole said, as more than 1,000 security officers resigned from TSA during October and November of last year.
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, TSA workers are still on the job Friday despite not receiving a full paycheck due to the partial government shutdown.
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"The longer it went, the more officers who resigned," Pistole said. "Not knowing how long the shutdown will continue, [they] will basically look for other work, because surprise, they have bills to pay."
An additional 300 TSA officers have quit during the current shutdown, according to the White House.
Travel and aviation industry leaders say all of this is creating unnecessary stress and confusion for passengers.
"Travelers should be concerned that Congress has created unpredictability in the system. They've created a system where we don't know whether we should show up at the airport one hour ahead, four or 5 hours ahead," said Geoff Freeman, the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
Freeman had urged the Trump administration to restart Global Entry, a program that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to get expedited processing when they enter the U.S. from abroad. DHS moved to reopen the program this week.
Now Freeman is hopeful that a change in leadership at DHS will help to break the stalemate over funding for the department. Last week, President Trump announced that he is removing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and wants Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R.-Okla., to take over.
"The politics of the shutdown are complicated," Freeman said in an interview. "Changes at the Department of Homeland Security create additional opportunities for compromise," he said, though he expects the shutdown to continue into next week at a minimum.
President Donald Trump announced this afternoon on his Truth Social platform that Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany, is leaving his position at the head of the Kennedy Center before it closes for scheduled renovations in July.
About the timing: Grenell's departure comes about three months before the Kennedy Center is set to close for renovations, which Trump has said would take two years.
What's next: Trump, who has been chairman of the Kennedy Center since Feb. 2025, said that he is promoting Matt Floca, the center's current vice president of operations, to chief operating officer and executive director.
President Donald Trump announced Friday afternoon on his Truth Social platform that Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany, is leaving his position at the head of the Kennedy Center before it closes for scheduled renovations in July.
Trump, who has been chairman of the Kennedy Center since Feb. 2025, said that he is promoting Matt Floca, the center's current vice president of operations, to chief operating officer and executive director. Grenell's departure comes about three months before the Kennedy Center is set to close for renovations, which President Trump has said would take two years.
As NPR reported last month, the renovations as detailed in an internal memo include some facility repairs and cosmetic changes, including to public spaces that were just renovated two years ago. In his Truth Social posting Friday, the president repeated his claim that the renovations will be a "complete reconstruction" of the complex.
Grenell, who served as the center's president, has a reputation as a Trump loyalist and has frequently deplored what he has called "leftist activists" in the arts. During Grenell's tenure, which began as interim executive director in Feb. 2025, the Kennedy Center has experienced intense tumult. Numerous prominent artists have canceled their performances and presentations. One of the center's core tenants, the Washington National Opera, severed its relationship with the Kennedy Center last month. Many longtime staff members have departed. Ticket sales have plummeted.
Grenell, who had no prior arts administration experience prior to his Kennedy Center appointment, told PBS NewsHour in January, "We cannot have arts institutions that lose money." He insisted that productions at the Kennedy Center needed to be revenue generators or at least revenue-neutral — a non-starter in the performing arts, in which large legacy institutions generally depend on a balance of earned revenue, philanthropic giving and some amount of government grants.
Last November, Senate Democrats opened an investigation against Grenell, accusing him and the current Kennedy Center leadership of cronyism and corruption, citing "millions in lost revenue, luxury spending and preferential treatment for Trump allies." Grenell denied the allegations in an open letter posted to social media on the official Kennedy Center accounts, which has since been removed.
In his Truth Social post, President Trump praised Grenell, writing: "Ric Grenell has done an excellent job in helping to coordinate various elements of the Center during the transition period, and I want to thank him for the outstanding work he has done."
News of his departure was first reported Friday by Axios.
