Mr Smith went to Washington a long time ago, but Mr. & Mrs. Smith is finally coming to California now.
Along with the third season of blockbuster Fallout and a second season of Netflix’s Forever, the postponed second season of the Amazon spy couple series is among the 17 shows that Thursday were awarded tax credits by the Golden State.
Estimating a return of $1.2 billion into the state economy from wages, taxes and other expenditures, California handed out more than $313 million in incentives in this round to pump up production in the home of Hollywood. This is the second batch of small-screen awards since Gavin Newsom made official the Film and TV program’s mega-expansion to $750 million annually earlier this year. Out of this latest round, which saw emails sent from the California Film Commission to most producers and studios on November 10, the Walton Goggins-led Fallout topped the list this round with a whooping $42 million allocation.
(L-R) Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins in ‘Fallout’
Prime Video
“We are so grateful to the film crews, the state legislators, and everyone who took a stand to protect the creative economy and future of California,” Fallout chief Jonathan Nolan said today of the big incentive and the push to get production back in the state.
Last year, the Lisa Joy-EP’d Fallout pulled in $25 million in CA tax credits for its second season as the L.A.-set post-apocalyptic drama relocated from its first season filming in New York, New Jersey and Utah to the actual City of Angels. “We are incredibly proud to be shooting here and investing that money back into the place that gave so many of us our start, and that so many of us call home,” Nolan said of Fallout, which is now a recurring show in California with this Season 3 allocation.
Speaking of home, classified as a much sought-after relocating series, Mr. & Mrs. Smith picked up $31.9 million from the state. The Donald Glover- and Francesca Sloane-created Smith joins the now revealed fourth season of The Night Agent ($31.5 million) and a sly 12th-season resurrection of Baywatch ($21.05 million) on California’s trophy wall, as you can see in the chart here:
Anticipated to bring in almost $80 million in qualified expenditures to California over its 78 filming days, the second season of Mr. & Mrs. Smith will have 20 primary cast members, 220 base crew members and over 2100 “total background performers in days worked,” as it is termed by the CFC. Having said that, the nearly $32 million Mr. & Mrs. Smith S2 received today is a bump up from the $22.4 million the series was given in tax credits on this spring.
How did that happen?
In the time since Smith got that $22.4 million, which was revealed by Gavin Newsom in July, the increase in the tax credits program from the $330 million it has been at since 2014 was passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor. It wasn’t just more money that changed in the program, the base credit went up to 35% from the previous 25%. Add that, the additional 5% uplift that relocating shows get and the increase in the cap each project has on qualified expenses now, and the math adds up for the almost $10 million rise.
Added all together, future immediate seasons of Mr. & Mrs Smith, Fallout, Forever, Baywatch, The Night Agent, and The Paper, the still untitled shows, the Snowfall spin-off and the mysterious “Recurring TV 1 Conditionally Approved” and “Recurring TV 2 Conditionally Approved” will employ around 5,165 cast and crew, along with 35,946 background performers over 1,000 filming days statewide. As for the “Recurring TV 1 Conditionally Approved” and “Recurring TV 2 Conditionally Approved” shows, they’re still waiting on pick-up letters from their respective studio(s), I hear. We’ll get their names and more once they’re greenlit.
Still, with some TBD in the mix, this latest round is setting out to check all the boxes and hit all the high notes Sacramento, the C-suites and most importantly the below-the-line crews seek.
(L-R) Baz Luhrmann, Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, CFC Director Colleen Bell & First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom attend Vogue World: Hollywood 2025 at Paramount Studios on October 26, 2025 in LA
Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Vogue
“When we make smart investments like our film tax credit, we’re keeping talent here at home, supporting good-paying union jobs, and strengthening an industry that defines the California brand,” Gov. Newsom noted Wednesday of the newest allotment in the jobs centric program.
“I’m proud to see the return of Baywatch where it belongs — on sunny California shores, creating jobs and fueling the very entertainment economy that sets this state apart,” the potential 2028 POTUS candidate noted of the red swimsuit show that received a 12-episode straight-to-series order from Fox in late September.
For those of you who were busy at the beach, the Pamela Anderson, David Hasselhoff, and Brooke Burns- starring Baywatch started out in SoCal, but spent its last two seasons of 1999 – 2001 filming in Hawaii.
The return to home base, so to speak, for the now Matt Nix EP’d Baywatch is emblematic of the state and industry’s larger goals, insists California Film Commission director Colleen Bell. “These new projects, represent more than creativity on a screen,” she told Deadline. “They represent jobs, opportunity and stability for people who make our industry work. With this past round California’s sending a clear signal. We’re investing in our workforce and reaffirming our commitment to keep production here where it belongs.”
“In January, we will be opening up our program to new expanded categories, which include large scale competition shows and animation projects,” Obama-era U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Bell added. “That really shows a nimbleness on the part of California leadership to recognize and understand that there are shifts and changes taking place.
“We don’t want to leave money on the table. We want to capture as much production as we possibly can here in California.”
Application periods and deadlines for online applications for the next big screen and small screen allocations are expected to be announced by the CFC early in 2026.