State Official: Georgia Film And TV Industry Bounces Back After Pandemic Shutdown

February 2nd, 2021

Georgia saw $2.9 billion in direct spending on TV and film projects in 2019, but the pandemic reversed that growth in 2020.

Emil Moffatt / WABE

The lockdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic led to a $700 million drop-off in direct spending on film and TV projects in Georgia last year, as compared to 2019.

That’s according to Lee Thomas with Georgia’s Department of Economic Development, who says there was a record $2.9 billion in direct spending on the industry in 2019. She says they were projecting another record for 2020, before the pandemic hit.

But she says most of the projects were able to resume by October as the state left COVID-19 precautions up to the studios, unlike other states and countries.

“By allowing the industry to regulate itself, it signaled to them that we were going to be ready before everybody else, and so we started to see the lion’s share of the business,” said Thomas.

Thomas spoke in front of the Georgia House’s new Creative Arts & Entertainment Committee, which met for the first time Monday. Thomas says studios have implemented rigorous testing and have seen low rates of infection.

“And right now, I can tell you, we’re so busy that shows are going into the Georgia World Congress Center because we’re out of stage space and they have no trade shows going on right now,” said Thomas. “So it’s a good problem to have.”

The growth of the film and TV industry in Georgia has been buoyed in recent years by generous tax credits. But those incentives are coming under increased scrutiny with mandatory audits on how that money is used.

Thomas says the results of a recently completed audit of 2016 tax credits found that for every $1 the state spent in tax incentives for film and television projects, the state saw $7 in revenue.