The story of Hollywood these days reads like a tearjerker movie script. Production has been fleeing for years, the once-humming studios are unnaturally quiet, and it’s rare lately to come across a movie crew on the streets filming the next blockbuster.
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I spoke recently with a guy who worked on a mid-budget film, and instead of hiring an orchestra locally for the soundtrack, they hit up one in Eastern Europe and oversaw the entire operation via the internet.
They didn’t even have to buy plane tickets.
The latest blow: American Idol is singing a melancholy tune and taking their talents elsewhere. They’re moving the whole production from the deep blue state of California to Georgia, which is not a solid red state, but currently has a Republican governor and GOP control of both chambers of the legislature.
Why move? Tax credits. Next question: Why didn’t the Golden State match them?
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline understands that ‘American Idol’ is moving production from Los Angeles to the Atlanta area in Georgia.
The ABC show is moving production for its upcoming Season 25, which premieres in the new year, Fremantle, which produces the show with Sony Pictures… pic.twitter.com/w7XxHFNylS
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 15, 2026
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline understands that ‘American Idol’ is moving production from Los Angeles to the Atlanta area in Georgia.
The ABC show is moving production for its upcoming Season 25, which premieres in the new year, Fremantle, which produces the show with Sony Pictures Television-backed 19 Entertainment, confirmed to Deadline.
We hear that Fremantle is in final talks with a studio complex in the area but that it has not signed the deal
I haven’t watched American Idol in recent years, but I admit to enjoying it back in the day and watching breakout stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert and Jennifer Hudson. Since I’m a rock man, I was also pleased to see Chris Daughtry hit the big time.
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Unless something changes, the next star to be crowned will be in Atlanta, not Hollywood.
The industry trade outlet Deadline reports that it’s another big win for the Peach State:
Georgia is one of the main shooting locations outside of L.A. and New York in the U.S. and has been the home for various Marvel movies and shows such as Captain America: Brave New World and Wandavision as well as unscripted series such as Fox’s The 1% Club and ABC game show Press Your Luck, hosted by Elizabeth Banks.
What would entice them to leave what was once known as the entertainment capital of the world? A 30 percent tax credit certainly helped. The credit is available to reality and unscripted productions that spend over $500,000 in the state.
Meanwhile, California finally tried to stop the bleeding in 2025 by expanding their tax credit program for reality productions, but it was available only to “large-scale competition shows” that blow through a million dollars per episode. You would have thought a juggernaut like Idol would have easily met that criteria, but apparently not:
On paper, it seems Idol would have met these requirements, but Deadline understands that the show did not qualify for the California tax credit. We’ve heard that a number of other shows have also not qualified, a move that has frustrated producers, who are also unhappy that the bill disallows “traditional reality, game shows, talk shows, or docufollow television programming”.
Idol’s rejection of its longtime home is yet another blow to the reeling production industry in what was a company town not that long ago. Unscripted filming in L.A. has just plain collapsed: FilmLA found that reality TV on-location shoot days in the second quarter of 2026 were 62.7 percent below the five-year average.
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Must be Trump’s fault:
Just another Hollywood production fleeing Gavin Newsom’s California
Why would President Trump do this? https://t.co/cODhOPyFn5
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) September 15, 2026
Guys. Guys, meaning Gov. Gavin Newsom, LA Mayor Karen Bass, and all your leftist cronies: what you’re doing isn’t working, and it hasn’t been for a long time. The only conclusion one can reasonably come to is that you want it that way.
We’ll still have the memories:
Thank you for giving us the best performance in all the American Idol seasons 🙂↕️🤍
pic.twitter.com/bSqQ9Qo2Bf https://t.co/bSqQ9Qo2Bf https://t.co/yjceEGRlCs— Elizabeth (@LizzieBennet22) September 4, 2026
Editor’s Note: California is the poster child for everything that is wrong with the Democrat Party and the “progressive” movement.
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