SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The California Film Commission Wednesday announced two additional TV series will relocate to the state to take advantage of incentives provided by the Film and Television Tax Credit Program, including one that will shoot in the San Diego area.
The Amazon Prime war crime drama "Hunters" and the Disney+ historical drama "The Right Stuff" will move to California for their second seasons of production, commission officials said.
Starting in March 2021, all 88 planned filming days for "The Right Stuff" are set to occur in the San Diego area. Such production helps fulfill the tax credit program's goal of bringing jobs and spending to regions beyond the Los Angeles 30-mile studio zone.
"We are thrilled to welcome ‘The Right Stuff’ to the San Diego region. The California Film & TV Tax Credit Program has been a critical incentive in attracting productions to San Diego," said Brandy Shimabukuro, film liaison for the City of San Diego’s Film Office. "Productions like these help bolster our local economy and civic pride, while also creating and sustaining jobs in the film industry."
Locations for shooting have yet to be determined.
The Disney+ series follows the story of the early days of the U.S. space program as it competed to be the first to put man in space. The series is based on the bestselling book by Tom Wolfe.
California's tax credit program has enticed a total of 22 TV series to relocate from other states and nations, according to the commission.
This round of applications for tax credits for TV projects was held Sept. 29 to Oct. 7. Due to the program's success with ongoing TV projects, the allocation round was open only to newly relocating series and recurring series accepted during previous rounds, the commission stated.
For their first seasons in California, "Hunters" and "The Right Stuff" are on track to generate a combined $125 million in below-the-line wages and other qualified expenditures, film commission officials said.
Like all film and TV tax credit projects, their overall spending will be significantly greater with the inclusion of above-the-line wages and other expenditures that do not qualify for incentives under California's targeted tax credit program, commission officials said.
"It's great to emerge from the pandemic shutdown with news that two more successful TV series are relocating to California," said Colleen Bell, the commission's executive director. "Such projects are a primary target for our tax credit program because they bring high-quality jobs and significant in-state spending."
Based on information provided with their tax credit applications, the two projects will employ an estimated 440 cast members, 374 crew members and 6,056 background actors/stand-ins over a combined 195 filming days in California.
They will also generate significant post-production jobs and revenue for the state's visual effects artists, sound editors, sound mixers, musicians and other workers/vendors as part of their eight-episode seasons, the commission said.
"We're thrilled to see this round of tax credits generate so much out- of-zone filming because it brings direct economic benefit to regions across the state," Bell said. "Based on their qualified spending and out-of-zone production, the two relocating series announced today will receive reservations for an estimated $32.5 million in tax credit allocation."
The current list of projects eligible for tax credits is subject to change, as projects may withdraw and their reservation of tax credits is reassigned or rolled over into the pool of funds for the next TV allocation period.
The state's next tax credit application period for TV projects will take place March 15-22. The next application period for feature films will be Jan. 25 through Feb. 1.
