Sitcom shooting in L.A. up sharply; dramas down sharply

These location numbers tend to be highly seasonal - and volatile- but for what it's worth overall on-location production for the July-September quarter was down 3.9 percent compared with a year earlier. TV sitcoms shot up 47.6.percent, but those productions have fewer crew members than the hour dramas, a category that fell 18.5 percent during the three-month period. Also declining was the reality category. Film features were down 21.1 percent for the quarter, but just 3.4 percent year to date. Numbers come from FilmLA, the organization that tracks location shoots. From press release:

"The Television landscape is changing in Los Angeles, and economically, the sector has taken a turn for the worse," said FilmL.A. President Paul Audley. "Many of the new TV projects we're coordinating permits for have low spending and employment impacts. More needs to be done, policy-wise, to help return sought-after TV Drama projects to Los Angeles."

Just as a reminder, entertainment industry employment in L.A. County was up 4.2 percent in August compared with a year earlier.