One of television’s most famous trips to Hollywood will no longer end in Hollywood.
American Idol is moving production from Los Angeles to Georgia for its upcoming 25th season, dealing another blow to California’s struggling entertainment industry.
Fremantle, which produces the ABC competition alongside 19 Entertainment, confirmed the planned move to Deadline, noting that negotiations are underway with an Atlanta-area facility.
The relocation marks the end of an era: after filming its past four seasons at Red Studios Hollywood, the series will stage its 25th run more than 2,000 miles away.
Georgia Offers a Financial Advantage
Although no official explanation for the move has been provided, the decision may have come down to basic economics.
Georgia offers qualifying film and television productions a transferable tax credit equal to 20% of eligible in-state spending. Projects can potentially receive an additional 10% credit by meeting the state’s promotional requirements. Productions generally must spend at least $500,000 in Georgia to qualify.
California attempted to stem the loss of reality television by introducing tax credits specifically for high-budget competition series through Assembly Bill 1138. Under the measure, productions must spend at least $1 million per episode while meeting strict formatting criteria that exclude standard reality formats and game shows.
Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan – American Idol, YouTube
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However, American Idol was unable to secure an allocation under the state’s revised guidelines, cutting off a key avenue of local financial relief and making Georgia’s uncapped tax program far more attractive to the show’s producers.
It is not the first major competition show to leave California. Earlier this year, Fox’s The Masked Singer relocated production to New Jersey, another state offering attractive incentives.
The departures reflect a much larger decline. According to FilmLA data cited by Deadline, unscripted shoot days in Los Angeles have fallen 62.7% over the past five years.
Hollywood Week Leaves Hollywood Behind
Although American Idol premiered on Fox in 2002, the series remained closely associated with Hollywood after moving to ABC in 2018.
Contestants who survived the auditions traditionally advanced to “Hollywood Week,” with the judges delivering the familiar declaration, “You’re going to Hollywood.” That tradition had already begun changing before the Georgia relocation.
Marybeth Byrd on American Idol season 21 – American Idol, YouTube
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Season 24 moved Hollywood Week to the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University in Nashville. The show rebranded that stage of the competition as “Hollywood Week in Music City.”
The revised name made sense for the Nashville setting, but it may have unintentionally reflected a larger reality facing California’s entertainment industry: Hollywood is increasingly becoming a brand rather than the place where Hollywood productions are actually made.
Paramount Could Deliver a Much Larger Blow
The American Idol announcement arrived just one day before reports that Paramount Skydance was preparing to leave California.
Paramount’s potential departure is tied to its ongoing battle with California Attorney General Rob Bonta over the company’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. CEO David Ellison reportedly threatened to move the company if the dispute could not be resolved, with Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas identified as possible destinations.
David Ellison talks to Bloomberg – YouTube, Bloomberg Podcasts
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The economic consequences would extend far beyond a single television production. A leaked analysis from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation estimated that Paramount’s departure could cost California nearly 58,000 jobs, $21 billion in annual economic activity, and $1.17 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Paramount has not officially announced a move, making its situation far less certain than American Idol’s relocation. Taken together, however, the developments underscore the same problem: California is struggling to keep the entertainment companies and productions that made the state synonymous with Hollywood.
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