(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Singing competition American Idol is bidding farewell to California and making a shocking move to Georgia, reportedly in response to the Peach State’s generous tax incentives for unscripted and reality television productions.
The show’s production company, Fremantle, confirmed the planned move in a Tuesday statement to news outlet Deadline. Idol airs on ABC and is co-produced with Sony Pictures Television and 19 Entertainment, the outlet reported.
Fremantle’s decision to move Idol‘s production to Georgia appears to stem from California’s $1 million-per-episode minimum for its tax credit, which Deadline noted Idol does not meet.
By contrast, Georgia reportedly offers up to a 30% tax credit for what Deadline described as “unscripted and reality television productions” that spend $500,000 or less in the state.
‘American Idol’ Moving Production To Georgia As ABC Series Becomes Latest To Leave California https://t.co/IRDxbFcX29
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 15, 2026
The Idol departure marks a major blow to Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who boasted of a new law, AB 1138, to “further strengthen” the Golden State’s “commitment to film and television production.”
The bill passed overwhelmingly in the California Senate, 32 to 2, and in the Assembly, 69 to 1, with Republicans casting the only votes against it.
Idol is not the first production to ditch California for another state with generous tax incentives. Fox reportedly moved The Masked Singer to New Jersey for its 15th season because of the Garden State’s 30% tax credit on qualified expenses. New Jersey, Deadline reported, allows all unscripted shows to qualify.
“Idol’s departure from California will be a blow for reality production in the state. FilmLA recently released data for production in the second quarter of the year and while television rose overall from last year, unscripted productions in LA had 40% fewer shoot days than in the second quarter of 2025,” Deadline reported. “Over the last five years, it has seen a 62.7% drop, per the organization.”
Idol is expected to return in January 2027, hosted by Ryan Seacrest and featuring judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood.
🚨 NEW: Fox’s Trace Gallagher reports ‘American Idol’ just became the latest major TV show to QUIT California due to high taxes and costs.
TRACE: “The volume of reality TV production in Los Angeles has been falling over the last five years, and the situation is set to worsen as… pic.twitter.com/ng6EZYkf9b
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) September 16, 2026
