LA Filming Hits Historic Lows Amid WGA Strike

On-location filming in Los Angeles has spiraled to unprecedented low levels reminiscent of the Covid pandemic era, as reported by FilmLA, the city and county film permit office. The ongoing Writers Guild strike has brutally affected the figures with locally produced TV comedies witnessing a 72.8% decline in on-location shooting days in the second quarter of 2023 from last year's same period. This figures are even grimmer than the five-year average for second quarters and for comedies they show a catastrophic fall of 77.1%. TV drama filming plummeted by 63.8% while feature film shoots slipped by 18.9%.

“As comparable to the milieu of a global pandemic, the present scenario has pushed the production levels in Los Angeles to an all-time low. The families and businesses are feeling the heat again," said FilmLA President, Paul Audley. Two months of the second quarter, that is from April 1 through June 30, were marred by the WGA strike and the agency secretary warns that if the strikes drag on, the third quarter will fare far worse.

According to the recently released FilmLA report, the filed-on spot TV comedies comprised merely 84 shoot days in the second quarter, a drastic dip from 324 days the previous year. Productions that had the privilege of filming in the second quarter include prominent names such as Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), S.W.A.T. (CBS), Interior Chinatown (Hulu), and How to be a Bookie (HBO Max). Along with TV comedies and dramas, reality shows and commercial production have also witnessed a fall in their on-location shoot days, despite being unaffected by the strikes.

Now, it's hard to feign surprise at this turn of events, particularly for those who've been keeping an eye on this simmering strike situation. After all, how do you make a film, particularly one to make you laugh, when the writers down tools and leave you hanging over narrative cliffhangers? It seems like Hollywood has indeed become a breeding ground for dramas, rather than a hub for creating them.

But a nearly 63.8% plunge for TV dramas with a tantalizingly ominous decline in the days to come, now that's a twist. And let's not even get started on the reality show front. One could argue that reality doesn't really need a script, but, my dear readers, this isn't about reality, it's about filming reality - with or without a script. The plot inevitably thickens as this takes a toll on a much-loved family reality spin-off, anything Beverly Hills is sorely missed.

The WGA strike undeniably poses an adversity of cinema-sized proportions, rocking the Hollywood ship and leaving an eerie hush across the filming location map. It has us all shifting uncomfortably in our plush cinema lounge chairs wondering, what's the third act going to look like? That, my friends, is a narrative awaiting its climax with bated breath.

In the meanwhile, Los Angeles locals and tourists alike are left to rue the conspicuous absence of familiar faces from The Old Man, Good Trouble, and Grey's Anatomy. Who ever thought an idyllic day in Los Angeles might become synonymous with fewer screen celebrities sightings and more real-life dramas?

The omnipresent threat of ongoing strikes lingers like a bad punchline in an otherwise vibrant city, leaving Los Angeles in desperate need of a good rewrite. To all the writers out there on strike, congrats, you just made Los Angeles the 'New York City of the West'. To paraphrase a memorable line from Grey's Anatomy, 'It's a beautiful day to save (or restart) filming….' Let’s hope it comes sooner rather than later. After all, the show must go on!