“Timeless” is not only headed back to TV, now it’s coming to California.
The NBC series has been approved conditionally for $9.9 million in tax credits to move production from Vancouver, Canada, to the Golden State. There (or here, depending on where readers reside), Season 2 of “Timeless” plans to employ approximately 250 cast, 220 crew and 3,000 extras.
The series is on track to spend nearly $40 million dollars in qualified expenditures, the California Film Commission said on Thursday, which includes wages to below-the-line workers and payments to in-state vendors.
“Timeless,” which was initially canceled by NBC before a fan revolt revived the time-travel show, joins three other TV series — “Lucifer,” “Legion” and “Mistresses” — to relocate from Canada to California under Program 2.0. Now in its third year, Program 2.0 has relocated total 12 series to Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.
In addition to “Timeless,” 27 recurring series in various stages of production are currently in the Program and eligible for tax credits. To-date, a total of 50 television projects, including pilots, movies of the week, miniseries and TV series have been accepted into Program 2.0.
Also getting tax credits simply by virtue of being picked up are “Veep” ($7.3 million), “This Is Us” ($9.9 million), “Code Black” ($6 million) and “SWAT” ($8.2 million). Their inclusion in the program was previously known.
“We’re pleased to welcome ‘Timeless’ to the growing list of TV series that have relocated from other locales, including Canada, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Louisiana, Florida and Texas,” California Film Commission Executive Director Amy Lemisch said. “Program 2.0 is creating long-term jobs while enabling such projects to take advantage of California’s unmatched production resources.”
“Each successful TV series has the potential to create steady jobs over multiple seasons,” Lemisch added. “Bringing such high-quality, high-wage jobs back to California is precisely what Program 2.0 was designed to do.”
“Thanks to the tax credit program, we are able to capitalize on California’s vast talent pool of experienced crew and below-the-line support and infrastructure,” added Ed Lammi, executive vice president of production for Sony Pictures Television. “We know these assets will be a huge benefit for producing the second season of ‘Timeless.’”