California’s expanded Film and Television Tax Credit Program 2.0 will begin its third year by scoring its 12th relocating TV series.
The NBC drama Timeless is shifting production for its second season from Vancouver to the Golden State, where it plans to employ approximately 250 cast, 220 crew and 3,000 extras. Approved conditionally for $9.9 million in tax credits, the series is on track to spend nearly $40 million dollars in qualified expenditures (i.e., wages to below-the-line workers and payments to in-state vendors). Timeless joins three other TV series (Lucifer, Legion and Mistresses) to relocate from Canada to California under Program 2.0.
“We’re pleased to welcome Timeless to the growing list of TV series that have relocated from other locales, including Canada, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Louisiana, Florida and Texas,” said Amy Lemisch, executive director of the California Film Commission (CFC). “Program 2.0 is creating long-term jobs while enabling such projects to take advantage of California’s unmatched production resources.”
“Thanks to the tax credit program, we are able to capitalize on California’s vast talent pool of experienced crew and below-the-line support and infrastructure,” said Ed Lammi, executive VP of production for Sony Pictures Television. “We know these assets will be a huge benefit for producing the second season of Timeless.”
Due to Program 2.0’s ongoing success drawing long-term TV projects, the most recent TV tax credit application period (held May 22 – 29) was open only to relocating series and recurring series already accepted into the Program. In addition to Timeless, 27 recurring series in various stages of production are currently in the Program and eligible for tax credits. To date, a total of 50 television projects, including pilots, MOWs, miniseries and TV series have been accepted into Program 2.0.
“Each successful TV series has the potential to create steady jobs over multiple seasons,” Lemisch added. “Bringing such high-quality, high-wage jobs back to California is precisely what Program 2.0 was designed to do.”
Year-three of Program 2.0 begins officially on July 1 (the start of California’s fiscal year). The next application period for TV projects will be held November 6–13, when the CFC plans to accept applications for new TV projects, as well as relocating series and season pickups or back-orders for recurring series. The most recent application period for film projects was held June 19–26, with selected films scheduled to be announced in late July. The CFC also announced recently that an additional feature film allocation period will be held in October.
Besides Timeless, 27 series (in various stages of production) are currently in the Program and eligible for tax credits. This lineup is subject to change, as series that do not receive pick up orders are withdrawn and their reservation of tax credits rolled over into the pool of funds for the next TV allocation period.
The Program 2.0 lineup consists of relocating series Timeless (Universal Television, LLC) and the following recurring TV shows in California: 13 Reasons Why (Paramount Television), The Affair (Showtime), American Horror Story (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.), Animal Kingdom (Horizon Scripted Television), Ballers (HBO), Code Black (ABC Studios), Crazy Ex Girlfriend (CBS Studios Inc.), Famous in Love (Horizon Scripted Television), Heathers (Viacom International Inc.), Here, Now (Weirdo Productions, LLC), I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime), Law & Order True Crime (Universal Television, LLC), Legion (Minim Productions, LLC), Lucifer (WB Studio Enterprises), Mayans MC (Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc.), Messiah (Old Story Productions, LLC), The OA (Lunar Mining, LLC), Rosewood (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp), Sharp Objects (Walk Don’t Run Productions, LLC), Shooter (Paramount Television), Snowfall (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp), S.W.A.T. (CBS Television Studios), Sweet/Vicious (Viacom International), This is Us (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.), Untitled Seth MacFarlane 1 (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.), Veep (Second in Command Productions, LLC) and Westworld (HBO).
