“American Idol” is ditching Hollywood for Georgia amid renewed concerns about California’s competitiveness.
On Wednesday, Fremantle, the production company behind ABC’s long-running singing competition, confirmed the relocation to Fox News Digital. The company is reportedly in final discussions with an Atlanta-area studio complex, according to Deadline.
Longtime fans and viewers of the show were quick to react on social media.
“‘You’re going to…Atlanta!’ Just doesn’t have that same ring to it,” one user wrote on X.
“Another one bites the dust LA. Sad!” another added.
“So much for those ‘hollyweird’ tax breaks eh?” one person quipped.
“LOL !!! Another production Hollywood GETTING THE HELL OUT OF CALIFORNIA ! AFTER 25 YEARS BYEEEEE GAVIN NEWSOM American Idol is OUT OF CALI,” another wrote.
While the move marks a significant change for a series long associated with Hollywood, Lisa Cusack, president of the Don’t L.A. My Burbank PAC, said the relocation should be a warning to California officials.
“The issue is that Georgia offers generous incentives for reality TV shows, while California often leaves them behind,” Cusack told Fox News Digital. “For example, Nick Schultz’s entertainment tax credit bill, AB 2319, specifically excludes unscripted programming.”
“Now Georgia has a lot of the same infrastructure as Hollywood, and offers a less expensive, more family-friendly quality of life,” she continued. “There’s very little keeping even Hollywood business in California anymore. This should serve as a five-shot-espresso wake-up call to Rob Bonta to settle with Paramount and not make things worse.”
Last month, Paramount CEO David Ellison threatened to relocate the company’s headquarters to a more business-friendly state such as Georgia, Tennessee or Texas if California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading 11 other states in an effort to block Paramount’s $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), did not negotiate a settlement by Oct. 1.
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Puck News first reported Ellison’s potential exit plans.
As Puck News reported, Ellison could move Paramount — and potentially Warner Bros. Discovery if he ultimately merges the companies — out of California “regardless of the eventual outcome of the case.” Ellison has even developed a five-year plan that would relocate the vast majority of jobs out of the state while still maintaining a footprint in Hollywood.
On Wednesday, TMZ reported that the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and the California Attorney General’s Office were told Paramount would announce Tuesday that it was leaving California. No such announcement had been made as of Wednesday.
“I tried to warn you,” Spencer Pratt wrote on X following the TMZ news. “LA is getting absolutely decimated by the insane communist wackos running California. Bob Bonta’s jihad against Paramount is a death blow. What a corrupt piece of s—.”
According to Deadline, Georgia has become one of the country’s most competitive production hubs by offering a 20% base film and television tax credit, with a potential 10% promotional uplift for qualifying projects. The state’s official guidelines list television series among eligible productions and require at least $500,000 in qualified Georgia spending.
Stephen Weizenecker, a partner at Barnes & Thornburg in Georgia, said there are three pillars to analyze when deciding whether to film in California or Georgia.
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“Physical infrastructure is equally critical. A show like ‘American Idol’ requires massive sound stages, specialized equipment for elaborate performance sets, live-audience capacity, and proximity to rehearsal spaces, wardrobe, and production offices,” said Weizenecker, who has had a direct role in developing Georgia’s entertainment tax incentive framework and spent over two decades advising productions on filming all across the world.
“Georgia now offers purpose-built studio campuses — including Tyler Perry Studios, Trilith Studios and Assembly Studios — that rival Los Angeles market in scale and amenities. I have worked closely with many of these facilities as they grew from concept to world-class campuses, and I can attest to their capacity to support the most demanding productions.”
Weizenecker said production tax incentives often serve as the “decisive tipping point” once the infrastructure boxes are checked.
“As someone instrumental in crafting the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act, I have seen firsthand how Georgia’s program offers structural advantages over California’s that make it exceptionally attractive for a recurring, high-budget unscripted series.”
Additionally, Georgia has invested strategically in workforce development since the enactment of the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act, according to Weizenecker.
“The Georgia Film Academy, a collaboration among the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Economic Development, has trained thousands of professionals across disciplines from grip and electric to visual effects. That pipeline, reinforced by the sheer volume of annual production activity, has created a self-sustaining ecosystem of IATSE-qualified crew members who live and work in the state full-time.”
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“Virtually every major production services vendor — equipment rental, transportation, catering, construction and specialty providers — now maintains a permanent Georgia presence,” he continued. “Post-production facilities offering editorial, color grading, sound mixing and VFX have expanded significantly, with several national and international post houses establishing Atlanta-area operations.”
“The same infrastructure supporting Marvel, Lucasfilm, Netflix and major network television productions is available to a show of ‘American Idol’s’ caliber,” he added. “Having advised many of the productions and facilities that anchor this ecosystem, I can confirm Georgia’s vendor community is fully capable of supporting this show.”
The show’s relocation also underscores how its talent is already less tied to Los Angeles.
Carrie Underwood, who won “American Idol” in 2005 and now serves as one of the show’s judges, has lived with her family on a 400-acre farm in Franklin, Tennessee, since leaving Hollywood in 2019.
Underwood has described her Tennessee home as the place where she and her husband, former NHL player Mike Fisher, raise their two sons, care for livestock and grow vegetables.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Underwood said farm life is the opposite of her on-camera career and that she takes pride in being a hands-on mother when she is home.
While Underwood’s move was not attributed to the “American Idol” production decision, her established life in Tennessee highlights how the show’s stars — and now its production — are increasingly less dependent on Hollywood.
Fox News Digital’s CJ Womack and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this post.
