In response to the increasingly mobile state of production, Central Casting is expanding its background casting business outside of traditional film and television hubs like California and New York.
The iconic Hollywood business, which has provided extras for Hollywood for more than 100 years and has its own idiom (“straight out of Central Casting”), as of Thursday is open for business in all 50 states, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Previously, the company operated solely out of the traditional production hotspots of California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Louisiana.
“Production is no longer confined to a handful of markets, and our clients are increasingly looking for casting solutions that can move with them,” Central Casting vp of casting Toni Avalos said in a statement. “With this expansion, we’re meeting the industry where it’s headed by bringing Central Casting’s century of expertise to productions wherever they’re filming while giving them greater flexibility and creative control.”
As part of the change Central Casting will offer casting, payroll and compliance services nationwide, but will still only offer its “premium” business (where casting directors employed by the company work on every step of the casting process) in the states in which it was previously operating.
States like Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and others will have access to the company’s “production-driven” casting service. Teams can hire extras based on a lookbook provided by casting directors, who are available to support the production but aren’t driving the casting process at every moment. Productions filming in multiple states including those where Central Casting has traditionally operated can use a hybrid of the two services.
The company is shifting at a moment when 39 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, offer film and television tax incentives programs and are increasingly competing to lure Hollywood investment. California remains the top site for production spend, according to a recent report from ProdPro, and New York, New Jersey and Georgia remain powerhouses. That said, Illinois and New Mexico are also seeing significant investment from productions, seeing $47 million and $91 million in production spend in the second quarter of 2026, respectively.
