Hollywood production down as reality TV slows down

LOS ANGELES — Reality TV production in Los Angeles saw a sharp drop as Hollywood continues to recover from twin labor strikes last year, according to data released Wednesday.

Actors, writers and crew members are hoping for a pick-up in filming across all genres after a strike last year halted most productions starting in July.

But the number of on-location filming days in the Los Angeles area from April to June this year fell 12.4% from a year-ago low, a report from permitting organization FilmLA found. The organization issued permits for 5,749 shooting days during the year-ago quarter.

During this same period in 2023, production had already begun to slow down before the Writers Guild of America strike in May. Filming slowed further when actors walked off the job in July.

FilmLA reports that this year’s decline was due to a 56.9% drop in reality TV production.

FilmLA spokesman Philip Sokolowski said the main reason for this is likely the widespread cutbacks in production from the highs of recent years, as investors seek to profit from the media industry’s shift toward streaming.

In addition, some studios are waiting to begin new projects in case another strike occurs. The Teamsters union is trying to negotiate a new labor agreement before its contract with the Hollywood studios expires on July 31.

Filming of scripted shows increased during the April-June quarter. Drama production increased by 98.3% and comedy production more than doubled.

FilmLA said feature film production fell 3.3% in the quarter and commercial production declined 5.1%.

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