And the award for Performance in a Supportive Role goes to … Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Following Tuesday morning’s announcement of nominations for the 77th Emmy Awards, Newsom’s office issued a statement boasting that California-based television productions had snagged “at least 104 nominations across all categories” for TV’s premier honors.
Some two weeks after Newsom visited a Warner Bros. satellite lot in Burbank to take a victory lap over passage of legislation that will more than double California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, the governor Tuesday took the opportunity to hitch a ride on the Emmy-nom news to trumpet that “the Golden State continues to prove that it is the premier place to work, create and tell stories that reach across the world.”
In a statement headlined “And the Emmy goes to … California!” Newsom’s office pointed to 14 California-based productions that were nominated for an Emmy in some “key” categories, including:
“The Studio,” Apple TV+ (23 nominations); “Hacks,” HBO Max (14); “The Pitt,” HBO Max/Warner Bros. (13); “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” Netflix (11); “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” MTV (8); “Shrinking,” Apple TV+ (7); “Abbott Elementary,” ABC (6); “The Oscars,” ABC (6); “Paradise,” Hulu (4); “Presumed Innocent,” Apple TV+ (4); “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC (3); “Nobody Wants This,” Netflix (3); “Matlock,” CBS (1); and “The Residence,” Netflix (1).
Newsom’s foray into boosterism followed his July 2 visit to The Ranch Lot Studios at Warner Bros. in Burbank, where he was joined by state and local officials to tout the expansion of California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program from $330 million to $750 million, as well as highlight 16 new television projects expected to generate $1.1 billion in economic activity. The expanded program will also support below-the-line jobs and increase industry investment.
The new TV projects include nine renewals, two pilots, four new shows and one relocating show, the governor said at the time.
Altogether, the projects are expected to hire 6,664 cast and crew members, as well as 59,000 background performers — measured in days worked, across 1,308 total California filming days, he said.
Since 2009, the tax credit program has generated more than $27 billion in economic activity and supported more than 209,000 jobs across nearly 850 projects. Newsom’s office said each tax credit dollar returns about $24.40 in economic output, $16.14 in gross domestic product and $8.60 in wages.
The expanded tax-credit program prioritizes workforce development, adds funding for the Career Pathways Training Program and launches what officials called the nation’s first “Safety on Production Pilot Program.”
With California productions under threat from out-of-state operations, area film and television workers, industry leaders and others have advocated for the program’s expansion — citing a need to stop runaway productions, as well as to assist an industry that has faced challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, dual writers and actors strike, and current federal immigration policies.
Newsom signed the state’s budget bill last month that included the $750 million program expansion.