Even though Hollywood’s labor strikes have been resolved for more than a year, film and television production in the Los Angeles area is still lagging significantly from its pre-strike pace. A report from FilmLA shows the total number of shooting days in the third quarter has fallen 5% compared with the same period last year. While this drop may not seem enormous, it’s worth remembering that the actors’ strike remained unresolved for most of Q3 2023.
The consensus at the time was that production would surge after the strikes had ended because of pent-up demand for new content. The strike had shut down filming on scripted TV and films but had little impact on reality TV sets since unionized writers and actors were less involved in these productions.
This year, shooting days for reality TV programs are off 56% from last year, which offsets the increase in work on scripted TV and film projects. Even there, production work across all categories is down significantly from the peak levels of five years ago, before the pandemic. Many are viewing this Fall season as a “make or break” period for the LA’s film and television industry.
Some are pointing to the labor strikes as a significant contributing factor in the long-term decline in production activity. Jason Blum, founder of horror-specialty studio Blumhouse, stated in a recent interview that the strikes “did a lot of damage” to the entertainment business. “Even if some people got paid more, fewer people are working now,” said Blum.
At first, when the strikes were resolved, the outcome was seen as a “win” for production workers, with new contracts that guaranteed wage increases and improved working conditions. However, studios and streamers have been busy cutting costs and reducing the number of new projects across the industry. The FilmLA report advocates for an expansion of LA’s local film and television tax credit program, but it is unclear if this would reverse the long-term trends that have taken hold.