TV Dramas "Filmed in Hollywood" on the Decline

Once upon a time, the majority of TV shows had a caption in the credits that said something like, "Filmed in Hollywood." Over the years, however, that famous tagline has fizzled to some extent.

Recently, the non-profit group, FilmLA, reported that in the current 2011-2012 cycle of series and pilots filmed, 92 of 152 were shot in and around the Los Angeles area, which includes Hollywood. However, when broken down, the report shows that only 29% of these shows that filmed in the region were dramas. This is a hard hit on the community that in the past had a percentage as high as 63%.

While comedies continue to be shot predominately in Los Angeles, dramas have spread out to several other states and even to other countries, specifically Canada and Australia. Shows have filmed down in Oz for years. Of note, the continuation series, Mission Impossible with Peter Graves, shot in Australia during the 1988-1989 seasons.

Vancouver has become a huge magnet for American series. Richard Dean Anderson's MacGyver made a big move from LA to Vancouver back in 1987. Anderson stuck around to film Stargate SG-1 in Vancouver in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Along with Vancouver, Toronto has become a rival to Hollywood. In fact, Anderson's SG-1 co-star, Michael Shanks, has a new show on NBC called Saving Hope that is shot in Toronto. FilmLA reports that 19 total network and cable one-hour dramas were shot these season in Canada.

Both the original Hawaii Five-O with Jack Lord and the new re-do of the crime drama with Alex McLoughlin are shot completely in Hawaii. Magnum P.I. was also filmed there. The big teen hit Dawson's Creek with James Van Der Beek and Michelle Williams was filmed in North Carolina. Other shows continue to utilize these locations, as well as Georgia, Maryland, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Per FilmLa, this past year 16 hour programs will shot in New York with 18 in other non-LA locations.

For the record, 22 hour dramas were shot in Los Angeles. As a rule, those choosing to film outside of California are given some kind of financial incentive that assists in offsetting production costs.