Why Film and TV Production Is Shrinking—and Why Los Angeles Is Feeling It Most

I entered the entertainment industry at a time when the film and television production slowdown we’re seeing today would have been hard to imagine. Over the years, I’ve worked on network dramas like Lost and Desperate Housewives, moved through reality and game television, contributed to animated projects, and more recently worked on shows such as Yellowstone and Landman. That firsthand experience gives me a clear view of how—and why—the industry has reached its current moment of transition.

Because of that perspective, the current moment feels less like an ending and more like a transition.

Film and television production is changing in visible, measurable ways, and nowhere is that shift more apparent than in Los Angeles. After years of rapid expansion, the industry entered a slowdown in 2024 and 2025—one many insiders describe as historic. However, this shift does not signal collapse. Instead, it marks a period of rebuilding and redirection as the business prepares for its next phase.

A Different Industry Than the One I Entered

When I started working in the industry in the early 2000s, the landscape looked very different. Network television, cable television, and syndication drove most original programming. If a show moved forward, it almost always had a clear destination—either a broadcast network, a cable channel, or the syndication market.

Syndication, in particular, played a critical role. It extended the life of successful shows, generated long-term revenue, and supported steady employment. A series did not air once and disappear. Instead, it lived on through reruns, local markets, and international sales. As a result, careers felt more predictable and production pipelines felt stable.

At the time, the ecosystem felt centralized and navigable. Development models were familiar. Revenue streams were understood. While competition existed, the business itself felt anchored.

As the 2000s progressed, that structure largely held. Network television, cable, and syndication continued to anchor production, even as new platforms quietly developed in the background. Although early digital experiments appeared, they had not yet reshaped the business at scale.

The Shift Accelerates Around 2020

The more meaningful shift arrived closer to 2020, around the time the pandemic began. Television had already been competing with platforms like YouTube, online gaming, social media, and other on-demand digital content. However, the pandemic accelerated those habits dramatically. As daily schedules changed, audiences gravitated toward platforms that fit their lives rather than fixed programming blocks.

That acceleration showed up clearly in ratings. Viewership data began to reflect not only where people were watching, but how they were choosing to spend their time across a growing number of entertainment options. In response, networks, studios, and streaming platforms adjusted how they evaluated risk, budgets, and programming strategies.

The industry did not collapse. Instead, it reoriented.

For a broader look at how audience behavior has changed, see our earlier article on streaming and media consumption trends.

The Film and Television Production Slowdown Hits Los Angeles

For decades, Los Angeles functioned as a primary hub for film and television production. Today, that dominance has weakened significantly. In 2024, LA experienced its second-lowest annual production levels on record, with early data from 2025 pointing to even deeper declines.

This film and television production slowdown has hit Los Angeles especially hard, exposing how dependent the city has been on a volume-driven production model.

As a result, the slowdown has become impossible to ignore. Soundstages sit empty more often. Freelancers wait longer between jobs. Even experienced professionals now face extended gaps between projects.

A Sharp Drop in U.S. Series Production

Across the country, production has pulled back sharply. In early 2025, U.S.-produced scripted series premieres declined significantly compared to the previous year. This drop marked a clear break from the Peak TV era, when studios and streamers flooded the market to capture subscribers at almost any cost.

Reality television has also felt the impact. Budget tightening and corporate consolidation reduced unscripted production, shrinking opportunities across the board.

The Workforce Feels the Impact First

The slowdown shows up most clearly in employment. Over the past few years, Los Angeles-area production jobs have fallen dramatically. While content continues to reach audiences, the industry no longer supports the workforce size built during the streaming boom.

As a result, many professionals now compete for fewer projects, even as viewers continue consuming large amounts of video across platforms.

How Network Television Changed—and Why Audiences Scattered

Importantly, this contraction does not mean people stopped watching. Instead, it reflects a shift in how audiences engage with content.

Traditional network television once served as a central gathering point. Over time, that model weakened. Cable expanded choices. Streaming platforms accelerated personalization. On-demand viewing replaced fixed schedules.

Audiences no longer needed to show up at the same time to watch the same programs. As options multiplied, viewers scattered. Today, no single platform commands attention the way networks and syndication once did. Viewers now move fluidly between broadcast, cable, streaming services, social platforms, gaming, and short-form video.

The audience still exists—but it is no longer concentrated in one place.

A Bigger Ecosystem Without a Single Center

Despite lower production levels in certain regions, the broader video ecosystem has expanded. Subscription services, niche platforms, and global distributors now coexist alongside traditional broadcasters. Revenue flows through advertising, subscriptions, licensing, and international sales.

However, fragmentation comes with trade-offs. With attention spread thin, fewer projects receive the large budgets once reserved for mass-audience programming. As a result, companies now favor tighter slates, targeted content, and reduced financial risk.

Production Goes Global

At the same time, production itself has shifted geographically. Projects increasingly film outside California, drawn by stronger tax incentives and lower costs. International markets now play a major role in supplying content, especially for streaming platforms with global reach.

California has begun expanding its tax credit programs in response. Still, rebuilding production volume will take time in an industry shaped by global competition.

Industry data from organizations like the Motion Picture Association highlights how global production patterns have shifted in recent years.

Why This Moment Is About Rebuilding, Not Retreat

Several forces converged at once. The end of Peak TV reduced excess. The aftermath of labor strikes introduced caution. Corporate mergers narrowed the number of buyers. Together, these forces slowed the industry and forced a reassessment.

For those who entered the business when network television, cable, and syndication worked together, the contrast is clear. What once felt centralized now feels distributed. Yet that redistribution also creates space for new models, new voices, and new forms of storytelling.

What Comes Next

This period represents rebuilding and redirection, not decline. The industry is recalibrating after years of rapid growth. While fewer projects are being made in certain regions, audiences continue consuming enormous amounts of video across an increasingly complex media landscape.

For creators and workers, the challenge now lies in adaptation—learning how to operate in a business that offers more outlets than ever before, but demands greater flexibility, specialization, and intent. The important question is no longer whether the industry is changing, but where the momentum is moving next.

While the film and television production slowdown feels disruptive, it also marks a necessary recalibration toward sustainability and long-term growth.

That question leads directly to what comes next.

Continue Reading: Where the Industry Is Rebuilding

In Part 2, I shift the focus from contraction to opportunity.

Rather than looking at where production has slowed, the next article explores where the work is actually growing—and why. That includes animation, international production, digital-first content, unscripted formats, and hybrid careers that didn’t exist when I first entered the industry.

If Part 1 explains why the industry looks the way it does right now, Part 2 focuses on how creators, workers, and studios can adapt—and where the next wave of opportunity is forming.

Part 2: Where Film and Television Are Rebuilding—and What Comes After the Slowdown
(Link coming soon)