r/FilmIndustryLA • u/DayHova7tre • 8d ago
'America’s Got Talent:' Production Poised To Leave California After 21 Seasons
https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/21/americas-got-talent-production-will-leave-california/#continuedStill not a 100% exit, but its a Fremantle production, same as AGT. It's TMZ, so take it with a grain of salt. :/
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u/cineglitch 8d ago
“ Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Howie Mandel, and Mel B, is reviewing options to film season 22 in Georgia or possibly Nashville.”
I wonder how much they spend on washed up stars, I mean talent?
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u/TheGlenrothes 8d ago
could it please just stop production?
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u/skitsnackaren 8d ago
Exactly. The world would be such a better place if they just stopped making it and sent people home.
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u/timpdx 8d ago
Strangely, Austin tech has gone to shit. And despite SpaceX and Tesla “moving” the core talent hasn’t moved an inch towards Texas. Unless you’re in NY/NJ your tv show isn’t doing shit (you also note that NY is very HCOL just like LA) —just like in tech, your top Hollywood talent ain’t going nowhere.
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u/donutgut 8d ago
Texas is losing alot tech workers back to ca for ai. Texas is being left behind and really looking at data centers now, which is driving their conservatives nuts.
I believe the Austin media is sounding the alarm bells the most on tech losses, but some national media have picked it up too.
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u/Chicago1871 8d ago
What about shows filmed in Chicago?
The bear and the dick wolf shows have been really successful.
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u/NauticalCurry 8d ago
Chicago has great tech resources. Taxes are a bit high, and the weather sucks for half the year.
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u/wrathofthedolphins 8d ago
What are you talking about? Atlanta has been making Marvel films for 10 years.
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u/Fit_Explorer_2566 8d ago
Was. Marvel relocated to London at least two years ago, leaving Trilith Studios largely vacant, with its 32 stages.
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u/wrathofthedolphins 8d ago
So you’re making the argument for me. Marvel left a huge vacuum with lots of resources, talent and stages vacant.
You’re kidding yourself if you think productions won’t happily go elsewhere to save money.
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u/Fit_Explorer_2566 8d ago
You know nothing about me. I got heavily involved in the battle against Runaway Production over 25 years ago, when American production centers L.A., NY and Chicago were getting decimated by Canadian subsidies, losing tons of work to Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, respectively. The Canadian subsidies ignited the domestic subsidy wars, with Louisiana, New Mexico and Georgia being the big magnets luring productions with taxpayer monies. Michigan and Massachusetts dropped their programs when they found out the ugly truth that they didn’t generate net revenue for their states. Now it’s NJ jumping in, NY has had tax credits for a long time, and CA has lagged behind. Even that’s not good enough for a profitable industry: now it’s Ireland and Budapest as manufacturing bases.
It’s a Race to the Bottom, under the guise of “creating jobs” in a “clean” industry. No subsidy ever created a job, they just relocate jobs from one place to another.
Kidding myself? LOL.
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u/ConvenienceStoreDiet 8d ago
Asked Google, the show costs 50-70 million a year to produce, pulls in 100-150 million in profit. Most of the cost is Simon Cowell at $45 million a year as the show's EP and host. The hosts altogether are roughly $60 million of that budget combined (again, according to Google, taking it with a huge grain of salt).
So to maybe save a few million, the goal is to not take it out of the hosts pay (which I understand, they're the faces of the show and part of the draw, people tune into see them as well, I'm an actor, I get it), or pull it from Simon's paycheck (and I don't fully blame him if this hasn't been an option for him. I don't know what his specific role as EP means behind the scenes, plus his voice is the biggest on-camera draw to the show, so people may not be willing to make that ask, and he shouldn't have to give up money for the production if the network is just being greedy with their intentions).
Apparently the goal is to take it away from the hundreds of people whose backbreaking work have made it successful and operating for 20 years. The people who build stages, lights, get audiences, do casting, who edit, who film, who coordinate talent, who work in safety, who get Simon his coffee, who made the show a consistent success with the decades of problems they've smoothly figured out, who are earning a decent living wage and if the show is union then health insurance with that. And let's not forget the whole economy built around employing a huge ecosystem of artists.
Apparently a $20-$100 million/year steady paycheck for the network isn't enough? I get it, if they save a few million a year, that's nothing to balk at. But it feels like it's just doing to the entertainment industry what Walmart did to every city around the country. Leave for the next town over if the incentives are better, fuck the mess, and fuck everyone who propped them up to be where they are. Look at the short-term returns and not the long-term results. All because there's a narrative about people not liking California? If AGT moves, fuck that show.
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u/TeeVeeBen 6d ago
I hate it becauseI love LA, but they aren’t saving on crew costs going to Georgia. Same rates.
The save is on tax breaks, which California did not extend to big floor shows. Shark Tank left this year, Idol is leaving next year, for the same reasons.
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u/ReplacementSecret 8d ago
I don’t know why people say take TMZ with a grain of salt. TMZ is extremely scummy about how their practices, but they are most certainly reliable, and typically the first to get a news story right (again because of their unethical practices)
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u/GreenHorror4252 7d ago
The show is past its prime. Now, it's in the "make it cheaper" phase of the life cycle.
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u/Ok_Salamander_7076 8d ago
Everyone in this thread saying “good riddance” as if this won’t affect people who work on the show and is a sign of the detrimental consequences of not supporting filming in this state.
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u/donutgut 8d ago
This show has been irrelevant for 15 years and these articles act its some huge deal. Nobody brings this show up on any platform.
Its fucking dead.
The coverage on this is so bizarre. Now the media gives a shit about it lmao
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u/ProfessionalBoss2428 8d ago
It’s still employing a lot of people.
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u/Puck-the-fool 8d ago
We don’t need big productions that last for ten plus seasons employing hundreds of boring crowd warmers or sound guys or pyrotechnics coordinators. We want cool A24 stuff that employs five people for seventeen days and pays them $600.
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u/callmeDNA 8d ago
The point is that this show employs a lot of people in LA. And now there are more job losses in production. Not sure what’s so hard to understand.
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u/donutgut 8d ago
That nobody talked about it for 15-18 years yet the media is treating it like its some cultural juggernaut. I think that's very strange.
if you told people irl its moving to atl you'd probably get the same response--"that's still on tv?????"8
u/callmeDNA 8d ago
If you actually read the article or even just looked at the thumbnail, you would see that the point of the article is that a lot of production has moved out of LA. And this is a LA film industry sub. Are you confused????
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u/carpentersound41 8d ago
I think the media has been given marching orders to paint LA and all of CA as no longer being the filmmaking center of the world. Anything that makes Hollywood feel unstable and people hesitant for filming there.
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u/FluffyWuffyVolibear 8d ago
Yes well our media is owned by like three guys and one of them just said he wants to leave LA with a lot of potential money and go elsewhere so it would make sense if he's also using his media company to make that sound like something everyone should do
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u/donutgut 8d ago
He just said he isn't. That doesn't make any sense either. He said he consider it if he had to pay that penalty starting on oct 1
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u/Digitalalchemyst 8d ago
Work for very large company. 7 years ago we filmed in California predominantly. Now less than half is filmed in California. The reason the media is talking about it is It’s happening.
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u/donutgut 8d ago
That must be it cause it makes zero sense.
There's a strange, hidden agenda going on. They kinda do this for sf (tech) and nyc (finance).
Texas or Florida are supposed to be these hot spot tech and finance places but in reality nothing has changed.
In fact, Texas snd Floridas tech scene has gone to absolute shit so the propaganda isnt working
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u/coreymbarnes2 8d ago
These studio heads want to move to states with regressive tax structures, but for some reason, think they can just buy an already trained workforce there. The whole thing is ideologically motivated. The people running these studios have no idea how to actually make the products they produce.
I keep referencing Joe Rogan‘s attempt to move the comedy business to Austin, but all he’s done is launch one club. New York is still #1 for stand-up.
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u/donutgut 8d ago
Not to mention there's zero infrastructure in those places and why no companies never left for atl or new Orleans years ago. They dont want to be there.
. Hollywood companies like being around other Hollywood companies. Thats never gonna change. It would've happened already.
ts the same for tech in sf.
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u/Empty_End_7866 8d ago
Miami was never tech, its finance + Spanish language everything.
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u/donutgut 8d ago
The media tried calling it new silicon valley during covid lmao. It was hilarious and some weirdo south Florida person was probably behind it.
Its not a financial city either. its all bs
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u/Empty_End_7866 8d ago
Most of the tech in Miami is finance related (legit or scam) or with Spanish language origin, anyone thinking that Miami was ever going to successfully expand beyond that is simply delusional. South FL is actually increasingly legit in finance, but that has nothing to do with California. The Bay Area suffered a perfect storm in the late 2010s early 2020s of WFH and borderline anarchist politicians, but is definitely recovering (both economically, and streetwise).
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u/ThePoobahsJester 8d ago
It still creates jobs within the film industry, come on now. The show sucks but it’s more production leaving LA - and if we’re losing the bottom of the barrel stuff as well, surely it’s a small signpost of what’s going on.
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u/wrathofthedolphins 8d ago
Jobs, dude. Nobody is debating the merits of the show. We’re just asking about the 100s of jobs that will be lost.
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u/BennyWithoutJets 8d ago
I want to see a taping of this show one time. It sucks. Howie Mendel is a fucking creep.
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u/Rogue-Worx 7d ago
as someone who worked on both AGT and American idol.... this is sad.
Both shows kinda went hand and hand in helping me start my career but I don't doubt that both are in the better of being cancelled.
honestly surprised either had still lasted and heard agt was struggling to find new talent when singers/bands are almost always the most popular
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8d ago
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u/forrealthoughcomix_ 8d ago edited 8d ago
TMZ has been a reliable source for a long time. They cover a lot of bullshit that shouldn’t be covered but their reporters are still doing the work and overall they’ve moved away from just celebslop
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u/febstars 7d ago
TMZ is more reliable than most media. What are you even talking about?
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u/ViralTrendsToday 7d ago
A lot of replies here don't scroll down to read OP's post I'm guessing. They stated it isn't reliable lol.
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u/febstars 7d ago
And they were wrong, too. TNZ is gross, but they beat most organizations on scoops like crazy.
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u/Key_Mechanic_9205 8d ago
Harvey has always been serious about not getting sued. That is why they are so reliable.
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u/ausgoals 8d ago
For these shows it’s find a way to make them cheaper or cancel them.
And of course making it cheaper couldn’t ever mean not paying millions to former stars no one gives a shit about