Hollywood production still clusters in Los Angeles on paper. Yet the shows that define the city keep packing for cheaper stages abroad. The Fox Baywatch reboot returned to Venice Beach this spring. Even that hometown win nearly collapsed under beach permits and overnight truck bans.
According to Variety, America has lost about 73,000 production jobs since the streaming bubble peaked in 2022. Roughly two-thirds of those losses hit Los Angeles. Meanwhile, ProdPro counted 81 film and TV projects in California in the first quarter of 2026. That total still leads the U.S. It also feels thin to crews who watch reboots leave town.
How Hollywood production lost its home-court edge
Labor costs more in L.A. Union rules are denser. Other states and countries built crew bases and stacked incentives. The U.K. alone spent $2.2 billion on film and TV subsidies in 2024. California doubled its program to $750 million in 2025. Producers still call the rebate capped and weak on above-the-line pay.
The pattern shows up in remakes. The Rockford Files reboot stays set in L.A. yet films near Atlanta. Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie remake shot in Winnipeg. Scrubs once lived in the San Fernando Valley. Its revival shoots in British Columbia. Beetlejuice’s sequel went to the U.K. Spaceballs 2 went to Australia.
Baywatch as a stress test for L.A.
Co-creator Greg Bonann told Variety the county and Coastal Commission blocked overnight parking, beach fires, and sand driving. Leaders then scrambled. The show kept its L.A. footprint after meetings on the Fox lot. It even won a 20% city parking discount. The episode proves a point. Hollywood production can stay when stars and politics demand it. The default now favors the lowest invoice.
Federal help is the next fight. Sen. Adam Schiff has floated a labor credit near Canada’s rate. The Motion Picture Association wants more. No bill has landed yet. Republicans are waiting on White House signals. For Entertainment readers, the stakes are soft power and local jobs, not just tax math.
What to watch next
Watch whether a federal credit stacks on California’s rebate. Also watch which A-list series keep demanding L.A. stages. Shows like Apple’s The Studio and Shrinking still argue for hometown craft. Most mid-budget work will keep shopping the globe until the cost gap narrows.