'America's Got Talent' May Leave California for Georgia or Tennessee

The NBC reality competition series "America's Got Talent" is reportedly considering a relocation from California to either Georgia or Tennessee. This potential move comes as the show concludes its 21st season production at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

The speculation follows a similar announcement by "American Idol," another long-running reality show, which is moving its production from Los Angeles to the greater Atlanta area for its upcoming 25th season. Fremantle, a co-producer of "American Idol," confirmed the move to Deadline last week.

Georgia's production incentives, including a tax credit of up to 30% for unscripted and reality television productions that meet a minimum spending requirement, are believed to be a significant factor in these decisions. This has been a draw for productions seeking to reduce costs.

The potential departure of "America's Got Talent" adds to a trend of declining unscripted television production in Los Angeles. Data from FilmLA indicated a sharp decrease in unscripted production in the second quarter of 2026, with reality TV shoot days falling 40% compared to the previous year. Overall television filming in the area saw an increase during the same period, but unscripted production dropped by 62.7% against its five-year average.

Another unscripted series, Fox's "The Masked Singer," also announced its departure from Los Angeles earlier this year in May. California has recently expanded its tax incentive program to include unscripted series, but previously, eligibility was limited to large-scale competition shows with per-episode budgets exceeding $1 million.