“Fallout,” the post-apocalyptic series debuting this week on Amazon Prime, is expected to relocate to California for its second season, thanks to $25 million in California tax credits.
The California Film Commission announced Monday that it has awarded $152 million in tax incentives to a dozen TV shows.
The list also includes two shows from Ryan Murphy, “Dr. Odyssey” on ABC and “Grotesquerie” on FX, as well as “NCIS: Origins,” a prequel show due out next season on CBS.
“Fallout” has the largest budget of any of the shows, at $153 million in qualified expenditures for the season. The first season was produced mostly in New York, with some filming in Utah.
Amazon was also awarded another $14.6 million for an untitled “Task Force” show, while Warner Bros. Discovery was awarded $20.2 million for a show called “Latitude” and $12.2 million for “The Pitt,” a hospital show starring Noah Wyle and set in Pittsburgh.
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California’s tax incentive is largely geared toward luring away TV shows that have already started production in another state or overseas. Such shows get a credit worth 25% of their qualified expenditures, and also get 20% in every subsequent season.
Overall, the state awards about $330 million annually, with 57% going to TV shows and 43% to films. The credit is intended to combat “runaway production” — the tendency of productions to chase tax incentives in other states and in countries like Canada and the U.K.
Studios apply for California credits during multiple funding rounds each year, and credits are awarded based on their potential job creation.
“Fallout” comes from Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the creators of “Westworld,” and is based on a popular video game franchise.
Even when a show has been allocated tax credits to move to California, that does not guarantee that it will actually do so.
A year ago, Amazon was awarded $25 million to relocate the second season of “Citadel” to California. However, the show was later withdrawn from the program, and the money has been put back in the general pool for other shows.
It’s been reported that the show will begin filming its second season in September, in Toronto.
