With production fleeing, these TV shows are mounting an L.A. love story

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After years of collective hand-wringing over declining local film and television production, Hollywood recently experienced a morale boost: increased state subsidies, including tax incentives and reduced filming fees, seem to be working.According to FilmLA, the first quarter of 2026 saw an almost 10% increase in local shooting days.

Lowering the cost of filming in the L.A.area is key to increasing production, but another force may also be at work.

Almost as if in answer to fleeing production, an increasing number of high-profile television series have been showcasing Los Angeles on a granular level.Obviously, there have been many series set in Los Angeles, from “The Beverly Hillbillies” to “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Dragnet” to “The Shield,” “Insecure” to “Modern Family.” Too often, however, that backdrop was created by the use (and overuse) of stereotypical imagery — the palm trees, the beach, the freeways, the Hollywood sign, the view from Mulholland Drive, the “mean streets” of South-Central — that made Angelenos roll their eyes.And while New York has long been seen as more main character than setting in many movies and series, Los Angeles has, historically, leveraged its shape-shifter abilities.That, along with the temperate climate, is precisely what drew filmmakers here in the first place — with mountains, deserts and beaches a few hours drive of each other, the cinematic possibilities were endless; many more movies and, later, TV shows were shot in L.A.

than were set here.Mara Brock Akil’s adaptation of the 1975 YA novel follows a pair of Los Angeles teenagers, played by Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr., as they fall in love.Lately, however, series as diverse as “The Studio,” “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Shrinking,” “I Love L.A.” and “Nobody Wants This” are leaning into the area’s wide diversity of neighborhoo...