Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Night Agent will relocate to California after being tapped to receive subsidies to shoot in the state amid a global tit-for-tat race to host Hollywood.
In total, 17 TV shows will get roughly $313 million in tax credits, the California Film Commission, announced on Thursday. They’re projected to generate $1.2 billion in economic activity across businesses with ties to the entertainment industry and employ 5,165 cast and crew across 1,000 filming days across the state.
Amazon is the biggest beneficiary in this allotment of incentives, nabbing $74 million for filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Fallout in California, followed by 20th Century Studios, which will get roughly $43 million. Season one of Mr. and Mrs. Smith was filmed in New York, among other locations.
The announcement comes as the impact of California’s expansion to the tax credit program appears to be coming into focus. The state saw a 10 percent increase in shoots during the three month period from July to September compared to the same period last year, per a report from industry tracker ProdPro.
“California’s creative economy isn’t just part of who we are — it helps power this state forward,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “From the folks on the soundstage to the people designing the sets, these are jobs that anchor communities. And when we make smart investments like our film tax credit, we’re keeping talent here at home, supporting good-paying union jobs, and strengthening an industry that defines the California brand.”
Still, there are major caveats: most of California’s biggest competitors, including New York, New Mexico and New Jersey, saw larger upticks and the state’s production spend fell year-over-year to $1.5 billion, per the ProdPro report. The decline was attributed to more indie films shooting in the state, which are increasingly nabbing tax credits, opposed to big-budget titles.
Headlining this round of tax incentives: Baywatch ($21 million), which will return for a 12th season in 2026, and Fallout ($42 million), which moved to California for its second season last year. Other titles that will receive subsidies include Blood Ties ($3 million), Lot Patrol ($2.4 million), Forever ($22 million), Dig ($14.5 million) and The Paper ($13.3 million).
In a statement, Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade stressed that the credits created an “economically sustainable path” to shoot Baywatch in Los Angeles.
Fallout director Jonathan Nolan echoed the sentiment. “California has always dreamed in cinema. But for far too long we have been letting that dream slip away,” he said in a statement.
Added film commission director Colleen Bell, “California continues to prove that when we invest in our creative workforce, the industry invests right back in us. These series aren’t just coming home, they’re bringing thousands of jobs, hundreds of millions in wages, and long-term economic value to our state. The momentum we’re seeing is exactly what this program was designed to deliver.”
