Los Angeles production may finally be showing signs of life. According to a new report from FilmLA, on-location filming in Greater Los Angeles rose 10.7% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter, fueled by a sharp increase in feature film production and modest gains in scripted television.
While overall production remains below 2025 levels, FilmLA says California’s expanded Film & Television Tax Credit Program is beginning to have a measurable impact on local production activity and job creation.
Feature Films Lead the Comeback
The biggest headline from the report was feature film production, which jumped 52.3% year over year.
Los Angeles logged 687 feature-film shoot days in Q1 2026, compared to 451 in the same period in 2025. FilmLA noted that 21.8% of those shoot days came from California tax credit projects, including Behemoth! from Searchlight Pictures, One Attempt Remaining from Netflix, and Nightwatching from Amazon MGM Studios.
That represents an increase of 236 feature film shoot days year over year. FilmLA also reported that independent films accounted for the majority of feature production activity during the quarter.
Television Remains Mixed
Scripted television categories posted encouraging gains, even as overall TV production remained down sharply from 2025 levels. TV drama production rose 7.3% year over year to 472 shoot days, with titles including the Baywatch reboot, The Rookie, Matlock, 9-1-1, and The Morning Show.
TV comedy also improved slightly, increasing 9.1% to 120 shoot days. Productions included It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Studio, Nobody Wants This, and the final season of Hacks.
However, the broader television category declined 28.4% year over year, dropping from 1,670 shoot days in Q1 2025 to 1,196 in Q1 2026.
Reality television was hit hardest.
FilmLA reported that reality production plunged 52.2% year over year and is now down 71.1% compared to its five-year average. Shows filming locally included The Real Housewives of Orange County, Let’s Make a Deal, The Flipp Off, and Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out.
Commercial Production Stabilizes
Commercial filming also showed improvement during the quarter. Los Angeles recorded 794 commercial shoot days in Q1 2026, a 35.5% increase over the previous quarter and nearly flat year over year.
Commercials filmed locally included campaigns for AT&T, Walmart, Chase, Geico, BMW, Toyota, Cadillac and Volkswagen.
Still, FilmLA noted the category remains down nearly 15% compared to its five-year average, prompting support for Assembly Bill AB2403, which proposes a dedicated $15 million incentive for commercial production in California.
Optimism With Caution
FilmLA CEO Denise Gutches called the latest numbers “encouraging” but cautioned that the industry still faces major challenges ahead. “While some of the latest numbers are encouraging, we know that there is still significant work to be done to bring filming and jobs back to the region,” Gutches said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass echoed that sentiment, saying Hollywood is “finally turning a corner” after years of decline.
Overall, Los Angeles production totaled 5,121 shoot days during Q1 2026, down 3.3% from the same period last year but up from the previous quarter.
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