Hollywood left L.A. years ago. We just didn’t notice until the lights went out.

The signs were all there: empty lots at Paramount, crews flying to Georgia, and shows set in Los Angeles but shot in Toronto. What used to be a boomtown for cameras and cables is now a ghost light waiting for a curtain call.

It wasn’t one single blow—it was a death by a thousand tax credits.

Georgia’s peach logo became more familiar than the Hollywood sign. New Mexico, Louisiana, the U.K., Canada—everyone learned our lines, stole our grips, and offered 30–40% off. We countered with bureaucratic paperwork and a smile. California created a tax incentive too little, too late. We told ourselves: the magic lives here. But turns out, magic follows money.

In 2016, over 60% of network dramas were shot in L.A. Now? Barely 25%. And many of those pretend they’re here while filming an hour outside Budapest. It’s no longer a creative exodus—it’s logistics. If you want to shoot a film in L.A., you’d better write it in Albuquerque.

The ripple effect? It’s a wave. Grip trucks sold off. Catering companies closing. Prop houses downsizing. Once, it took six months and two favors to find a stage in the 30-mile zone. Now, they’re empty, echoing. Union hours are drying up. One estimate says 18,000 industry jobs gone in just the last few years. That’s not a statistic. That’s an obituary.

Everyone points to the pandemic and the strikes of 2023 as the pivot point. But this train left the station earlier. Those were just the last passengers boarding.

The myth that Hollywood means Los Angeles is a vanity we haven’t earned in a decade. We still roll out the red carpet, but we forgot the cameras aren’t even here anymore. Even Ben Affleck—who’s made movies about Boston in L.A.—had to admit, “It’s cheaper to film in Ireland. California took the industry for granted.”

Now, we beg. The governor talks about bigger incentives, more infrastructure, expanding credits. Good. But we’re in a street fight with cities that already won. It’s not just about money. It’s about trust. Reliability. And L.A. hasn’t been that for a while.

Want to know how far we’ve fallen? They filmed Oppenheimer—a movie about a California scientist—across New Mexico and New Jersey. That’s like shooting Rocky in Miami.

The crews are still here. The sun still shines. The talent still wants to come. But the industry doesn’t care where the sign is. It cares where the savings are.

Hollywood isn’t a place anymore. It’s a brand. And Los Angeles, once its flagship store, has become just another outlet mall.

There’s always time for restructuring, for change. But that window closes quickly.

By the time California finishes fixing the script, the tax credits may have already rolled.