Six relocating TV series apply for California tax credits

A half-dozen TV series filming outside of California are among the applicants for the state’s newly expanded film tax credit program.

The California Film Commission said six relocating TV series applied for $27.6 million in filming incentives during the first application period, May 11-17.

Another 31 projects applied for $55.2 million in film and TV tax credits available for new series, miniseries, movies of the week and TV pilots.

The commission did not disclose the names of the projects, saying they were still being reviewed.

The FX television series “American Horror Story” is among the TV series that have moved back to Los Angeles. Ryan Murphy’s hit horror anthology series, which has been filming in Louisiana, is expected to begin shooting its fifth season, “Hotel,” in early July.

The new state program, approved by state lawmakers last year, triples annual funding for tax credits to $330 million and eliminates an unpopular lottery that had been used to divvy up the subsidies.

Instead of a lottery, applicants will be selected in the coming weeks based on various criteria, including how many jobs each project creates relative to its size.

“Our first application period for the new program was smooth and very well received by the industry,” California Film Commission Executive Director Amy Lemisch said in a statement. “Applicants responded positively to the new online application system, and our outreach to communicate how the application process works appears to have paid off.”

The first applications period was open only to television projects.

The next application period under the new program is scheduled for July 13-25, and targets feature films and independent projects. The funding bucket for that allocation is set at $48.3 million for feature films and $6.9 million for independent projects.

Twitter: @rverrier