Filming in Los Angeles finally went back to business as usual in the second quarter of 2021.
Production in the city, unincorporated L.A. County and 14 other local cities rebounded to pre-pandemic levels with 9,791 shoot days recorded in the quarter, FilmLA — the film office serving the area — announced in a new report on Thursday. This figure represents a 40 percent increase in shooting days compared with March, while all categories FilmLA tracks (including features, television, commercials and “other”) saw an uptick of over 30 percent in shooting days compared with the first quarter of 2021.
In fact, this figure represents a 7.2 percent increase to the average shoot days recorded in a quarter pre-pandemic, which was 9,135. According to FilmLA, the second quarter of 2021 was the busiest for local production since late 2019.
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“By almost any available measure, the second quarter was good for filming in Los Angeles,” FilmLA president Paul Audley said in a statement. “With local COVID-19 cases rising it’s not clear whether that will be sustainable, but the industry’s commitment to community, cast and crew safety remains firmly in place.”
Commercials saw the biggest boost in production in the second quarter, as their shoot days increased 55.5 percent compared with the previous quarter. FilmLA added that television remains a significant production engine in the region, with reality television and dramas leading the charge in the second quarter. Shoot days for television dramas increased over 120 percent compared to their five-year quarterly average while those for reality shows bumped up over 189 percent.
Series shot locally in the second quarter included Hulu’s The Dropout, FX’s American Crime Story: Impeachment, TNT’s Animal Kingdom, CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Picard, CBS’ Ghosts, Starz’s Gaslit and Netflix’s Lincoln Lawyer and Monster. 19.3 percent of TV dramas shoot days in the quarter benefited from the California Film & Television Tax Credit program.
On the film side, Netflix’s Day Shift, Disney+’s Hollywood Stargirl, HBO Max’s Kimi and Amblin and Universal’s The Fabelmans, directed by Steven Spielberg, were all shot in the area. 9.3 percent of feature shoot days in this period were California Tax Credit projects.
FilmLA declined to comment on whether the current surge in COVID-19 cases would change the trajectory of production in the region going forward. “Appendix J protocols specific to filming were removed by Los Angeles County in June,” Audley said. “Nonetheless, the industry’s robust safety guidelines remain firmly in place and these have so far proven effective for keeping business moving safely.”
