Hollywood Was Cooked Before AI, and Now It's Only Getting Worse
Live at the Vermont Theater in Hollywood, hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway interview TV writer and podcast host Hayes Davenport about the structural collapse of entertainment production in Los Angeles. Davenport explains how shoot days have fallen by more than half since 2016, why tax incentives and mini rooms dismantled traditional writers' rooms, and how the threat of generative AI intersects with a broader contraction in the creative economy.
- Production shoot days in Los Angeles dropped by more than half between 2016 and 2024, squeezed by out-of-state tax credits and streaming mini rooms. Read →
- On-location shoot days in Los Angeles dropped by more than 50% between 2016 and 2024, accelerated by out-of-state tax incentives, mini rooms, and streaming cutbacks. Read →
- Production days in Los Angeles collapsed by more than half since 2016 as networks chased state and international subsidies. Read →
- Los Angeles entertainment shoot days peaked at roughly 40,000 in 2016 and collapsed to under 20,000, slashing local production activity by more than half across commercials, reality television, and scripted features. Read →
- Broadcast television comedies once ran rooms with up to 30 writers to build dense joke structures, but that staffing model has disappeared permanently. Read →