Richard Dale
Filming for reality television in the Los Angeles area experienced another significant drop in the second quarter of 2024 after a rough start to the year, belying expectations that unscripted production would accelerate amid industry contraction and belt-tightening coming out the strikes.
That’s according to the latest production report from local film office FilmLA, which found that on-location filming of the format from April to June this year fell nearly 57 percent to 868 total shoot days compared to the same period in 2023. In the previous quarter, reality television production was also behind its 2023 levels, down roughly 18 percent to 1,317 shoot days.
There were a few bright spots during the second quarter: Selling Sunset, John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, American Idol, 90 Day Finance, The Golden Bachelorette, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Accident, Suicide or Murder all shot in the L.A. area during the quarter. Still, the drop in production days for reality TV brought down the report’s entire television category, which has long been an anchor of production in the region and saw an estimated 28 percent decline compared to the same period last year. Notably, the Writers Guild of America strike began in the same period in 2023, deflating scripted production at that time.
“Generally speaking, unscripted television is a location-heavy format that generates significant permit volume,” FilmLA’s vp integrated communications, Philip Sokoloski, said in a statement. “The employment impact of reality production is lower than it is for scripted TV, and projects are not incentive-eligible through the State of California. It remains an important part of L.A.’s production economy.”
The FilmLA production report is the latest diagnostic of an ailing reality television production landscape. Earlier in the year, reality television insiders talked to The Essence Weekly about a downturn in the space that has narrowed job availability, tightened budgets and made executives even more cautious about taking risks on new and untested project concepts. The phenomenon has been due, at least in part, to some of the same forces buffeting scripted television — consolidation in the space, the ongoing entertainment business contraction and cost-cutting initiatives at companies, sources said.
