American Idol to shift production from Los Angeles to Atlanta for tax incentives
The long-running singing competition is moving its filming from Los Angeles to the greater Atlanta area, drawn by Georgia’s generous tax-credit program.
American Idol is set to leave Los Angeles and begin production in the Atlanta metropolitan region as it prepares for its 25th season. Co-producers Fremantle and Sony Pictures Television’s 19 Entertainment cited Georgia’s tax incentive, which can provide up to a 30% credit for unscripted series that invest a minimum of $500,000 in the state, as the primary factor. This relocation follows a broader decline in California’s unscripted-TV output, with FilmLA data showing a 40% year-over-year drop in reality-show shoot days and a 62.7% dip against the five-year average.
The trend mirrors a May move by Fox Entertainment Studios, which transferred The Masked Singer to New Jersey to tap that state’s 30%-40% credits. Although California recently broadened its own incentive under AB 1138, it restricts eligibility to large-scale competition programs with per-episode budgets over $1 million.
