CBS’ ‘Tracker’ is moving from Canada to L.A., thanks to beefed-up state tax incentive
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- CBS’s hit drama “Tracker” is relocating its production from Canada to Los Angeles, receiving California’s largest television tax credit at $48 million.
- The relocation brings an estimated 250 crew members and 275 actors to the state for 176 filming days, with total production spending exceeding $129 million.
- The move reflects California’s strategy to woo productions home through its expanded $750-million tax incentive program, which has now supported more than 100 productions.
“Tracker,” one of TV’s most-watched shows, is uprooting its Canadian production and moving to Los Angeles.
The action drama, produced by Disney’s 20th Television, is among a slate of new and recurring series benefiting from California’s improved $750-million tax incentive program. The show’s fourth season, set to begin shooting in the summer, will receive the state’s largest tax credit, $48 million, according to the California Film Commission.
The production will film for 176 days in California, with 250 crew members and 275 actors on board. The tax credit is based on the show’s projected spending of more than $129 million. Deadline first reported the news of the show’s relocation.
Actor Justin Hartley stars in the show, which follows his character as he tracks down people for reward money. Since its 2024 premiere, the show has resonated with audiences. Its current third season was the fourth most-watched program on linear TV as of late April, according to Nielsen.
As other countries have built up their incentive programs, production infrastructure and crew expertise, filming has increasingly moved overseas.
“Tracker” is primarily set in the wilderness, making the move to California a fresh opportunity for the production to explore diverse landscapes for its backdrop. Due to the rural setting, the show is also eligible to earn an extra 5% tax credit bonus, in addition to the 35% base credit, on qualified expenditures incurred outside the designated 30-mile zone of the Greater Los Angeles area.
“Location is a huge part of the storytelling on Tracker,” Elwood Reid, the showrunner and executive producer, said in a statement. “We’re so grateful to the crew and people of Vancouver who made the first three seasons of this hit drama possible, and are simultaneously thrilled to be able to kick off the fourth season of Tracker by filming in Los Angeles, thanks to the tax incentive program that supports bringing production back to California.”
Before “Tracker” secured the highest TV show tax credit, Season 3 of Amazon’s “Fallout,” which relocated from New York to Los Angeles, received a $42-million incentive. Dan Fogelman’s new NFL drama “The Land” received $42.8 million. Other productions that have benefited from the tax program include medical drama “The Pitt,” Disney’s new animated movie “Phineas and Ferb” and Netflix’s upcoming reboot of “13 Going on 30.”
More than 100 productions have received tax credits since the program was expanded last year in response to the continued migration of productions to other countries such as Ireland, the U.K. and Canada.
“The Simpsons Movie 2,” “Phineas and Ferb” and an untitled DreamWorks Animation movie are among the films that received state tax incentives.
But film industry advocates say these efforts aren’t enough to fully revitalize U.S.-based productions and local film economies.
To that end, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced in March that he is working on a bipartisan federal film incentive proposal that would be globally competitive.
“State programs cannot simply substitute for the kind of global, federal and competitive tax incentives that are needed to bring production back to American soil and stop its offshoring,” Schiff said.