It’s a cheat, but one of my biggest applause lines these days while moderating an industry panel is when I point out that a show shoots in Los Angeles. It’s an easy way to get a cheer from a Hollywood crowd looking for any good news.
So here’s some positive spin. Despite the very real concerns about runaway production and the scarcity of Hollywood shoots, there actually have been quite a few right now on the comedy side: “Hacks,” “Shrinking,” “The Studio,” “Nobody Wants This,” “Platonic,” “I Love L.A.,” “Running Point” and others.
Not only have those series chosen to film in Los Angeles, but they’ve done an amazing job showcasing cool pockets in and around the city. L.A. used to almost always play itself, but lately it feels like Vancouver or Atlanta is scrubbing in as the City of Angels. Los Angeles is having a rough go of it, but at least on TV, it’s still looking shiny and vibrant.
But is that too much of a disconnect from the malaise we’re actually feeling here? I knew the right person to ask: TV writer-producer Hayes Davenport, who is also an activist, has worked in L.A. city government and recently co-founded the local news site L.A. Material.
“I think the tension in some of these shows is that, by definition, a TV show is about people doing things,” he tells me. “And one of the biggest concerns that people have in L.A. right now is a reduction in the amount of activity in the city. Vacant businesses, population decline, affordability issues sending people out of the city and state, the loss of entire neighborhoods from the fires — all of it has led to, I think, a sense in the last few years of just a less vibrant city.”
