‘America’s Got Talent’ weighs California exit days after ‘American Idol’ moved to the South: report

“America’s Got Talent” is the latest long-running reality series thinking about ditching California.

The NBC show may leave the Golden State for Georgia or Tennessee, according the TMZ. While no decision has been made so far, Fremantle and Simon Cowell’s Syco are reportedly looking to move ahead of Season 22.

The show is wrapping up its 21-season production run at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium this week, with part two of the finale airing Wednesday. The series is hosted by Terry Crews, alongside judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Sofía Vergara, and Simon Cowell.

“American Idol” is also relocating its production from Los Angeles to the greater Atlanta area ahead of its milestone 25th season. Fremantle, which co-produces the series alongside Sony Pictures Television’s 19 Entertainment, confirmed the major move to Deadline last week.

Georgia’s lucrative tax incentive program, which offers up to a 30% tax credit for unscripted and reality television productions that spend a minimum of $500,000 in the state, is believed to be a primary driver behind the singing show’s exit.

The moves add to the suffering unscripted TV production has seen in Los Angeles. According to FilmLA data reported by The Wrap, local unscripted production dropped sharply in the second quarter of 2026, with reality TV shoot days plunging 40% year-over-year.

While overall television filming saw a quarter-over-quarter uptick, unscripted production in Los Angeles has plummeted 62.7% against its five-year average, according to the organization.

The departures follows a similar exit earlier this year in May, when Fox Entertainment Studios announced it would no longer produce “The Masked Singer.”

California recently expanded its tax incentive program under AB 1138 to cover unscripted series for the first time, the state restricted eligibility strictly to large-scale competition shows with per-episode budgets exceeding $1 million.