California Film and Television Tax Credit Program Unveils New Selections, Including Amazon’s Relocating Citadel

The California Film Commission has announced that seven TV projects — two relocating series and five new series — have been selected for the state’s latest round of film and television tax credits. These projects will spend an estimated $527 million in California during their first seasons and employ 1,585 crew, 629 cast, and 19,994 background actors.

Among the selected projects is the Amazon thriller Citadel, which will move production for Season 2 from the UK to California, becoming the state’s highest-spending relocating TV series to date, with an estimated $119 million in qualified expenditures. With two relocating projects — Citadel and HBO’s Wondermill from Oregon — California’s tax credit program has welcomed a total of 33 relocating TV series from other states and nations since the expanded tax credit program was launched in 2015 (see “Relocating TV Series” list below).

Among the new TV series selected for the latest round of tax credits is the BET drama True to the Game (based on the film trilogy with the same title), which will generate an estimated $11 million in qualified expenditures during its first season.

Other new TV series in the current round include Forever (Netflix), Paradise City (Disney), and untitled shows from Amazon Studios and Paramount Global.

“We’re thrilled that our tax credit program is welcoming such a diverse range of TV projects in terms of storytelling, budget and employment,” said California Film Commission Executive Director Colleen Bell. “Citadel will become our biggest relocating TV series so far in terms of qualified spending, while a project like True to the Game affirms that our tax credit program also addresses the needs of smaller-scale yet still very impactful TV projects.”

“Thanks to California’s tax credit program, I will be able to work here in my home state,” said True to the Game director Vivica A. Fox. “Executive Producer Manny Halley looks forward to producing the franchise here and creating hundreds of high-quality jobs in California.”

Together, the relocating and new TV series announced today are on track to spend a combined $527 million in California during their upcoming season of production. This figure includes $397 million in qualified spending, defined as wages paid to below-the-line crew members and payments made to in-state vendors. Only the qualified portion of each project’s budget is eligible for tax credits under California’s uniquely targeted incentive program. Therefore, the seven projects will generate an estimated $130 million in unincentivized spending across the state.

In total, the projects will employ an estimated 1,585 crew, 629 cast, and 19,994 background actors/stand-ins (the latter measured in “man-days”) for their next season of production. They will spend an estimated 646 filming days in California, including 23 shoot days planned outside the Los Angeles 30-Mile Studio Zone. They will also generate significant post-production jobs and revenue for California VFX artists, sound editors, sound mixers, musicians, and other workers/vendors.

In addition to the relocating and new TV series announced today, the tax credit program currently has 26 recurring (i.e. legacy) series accepted during previous allocation rounds and in various stages of production (see “Ongoing TV Series – Various Stages of Production” list below).

The California Film Commission’s latest tax credit application period was held March 6-20, 2023. A total of $80.4 million in tax credit allocation has been reserved for the seven projects selected. The list of conditionally approved projects is subject to change, as applicants may withdraw from the tax credit program and their reservation of credits reassigned to one or more projects on the waitlist.

The next application period for TV projects will be held June 5-12, 2023. The next application period for feature films will be held July 24-31, 2023.

In 2014, the California legislature passed a bill that more than tripled the size of the state’s film and television production incentive, from $100 million to $330 million annually. Aimed at retaining and attracting production jobs and economic activity across the state, the California Film and TV Tax Credit Program 2.0 also extended eligibility to include a range of project types (big-budget feature films, TV pilots, and one-hour TV series for any distribution outlet). The current third generation of the California Film and TV Tax Credit Program (dubbed “Program 3.0”) was launched on July 1, 2020.

Click here for more information about Program 3.0, including application procedures, eligibility, DEI initiatives, and guidelines.

Ongoing TV Series – Various Stages of Production

NOTES

1. The above list will likely be revised as applicants may withdraw from the program.
2. Credit allocation will be issued to recurring TV series if/when they provide pick-up orders for additional episodes or new seasons.
3. “Recurring Series” is defined as a TV Series or Relocating TV Series — in its second or subsequent season in California — that has received a previous allocation of tax credits.
4. “Relocating TV Series” is a TV Series that filmed its most recent principal photography outside California.
5. *TV Projects that were initially accepted as a Relocating TV Series.