Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass He broadcast a new executive directive on Monday to support local film and television works.
Bass, who spoke at a press conference in Hollywood, acknowledged how the film industry in Los Angeles has been impacted over the years by the Covid-19 pandemic and, more recently, the Forestry firms of January.
Then, the mayor announced the new order, which said “will facilitate filming in Los Angeles.”
According to a press release, the Bass directive highlights several guidelines to make film and television production in Los Angeles more accessible and to help reduce costs.
The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, has a signed executive directive that announces support for filming and production work, at the headquarters of the SAG-AFTRA Union in Los Angeles, on May 20, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP through Getty Images
First, it requires that the city departments “make the city’s iconic locations more accessible and affordable for the filming” by “create guidelines for filming on the site, reduce the review deadlines and ask for the decrease in certain city rates.”
Next, the directive requires reducing the “costs and coordination time by reducing the number of departmental personnel of the city that are assigned to monitor the filming in the set to a total member of the city staff, as allowed by the law of the city.”
During the press conference, Bass pointed out how current practices “often require numerous employees”, which “increases the cost and adds layers of bureaucracy.”
The final detail that the directive’s orders is “to institute a proactive and friendly approach to the film between the city’s departments and production, including communication of the next infrastructure projects that could affect filming schedules.”
Bass received support from the councilor of Los Angeles, Adrin Nazarian, who has associated with the mayor to help rationalize the filming process.
At the press conference, Nazarian thanked Bass for “listening to the cry of the noisy and clear television industry and taking the necessary steps so that we can stop the tide and turn it around.”
Nazarian continued: “Given the terrible circumstance in which we are, we cannot allow the hearts of Los Angeles to abandon Los Angeles.”
The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, celebrates a press conference before signing an executive directive that announces support for filming and production jobs, at the SAG-AFTRA UNION headquarters in Los Angeles, on May 20, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP through Getty Images
The new Bass executive directive occurs more than a month after a report De Filmla, an associated film office for the city and the Los Angeles County and other local jurisdictions, issued an update on filming in the region.
The report found that location production in the area “decreased to -22.4 percent from January to March 2025.”
According to the report, the production of television drama decreased in the first quarter to -38.9 percent, while the production of television comedy decreased -29.9 percent.
After forest fires, the report said that “approximately 545 unique filming places fell into fire burning zones.”
These areas still remain outside the limits, according to the report.
