What to expect for Calgary's film and TV industry in 2024
There’s a heightened sense of optimism for Calgary’s film and TV industry in 2024 and beyond.
Hot off a trip to Los Angeles where Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Luke Azevedo, the City’s film commissioner, were promoting and pitching the industry in Calgary, news came out that there may be productions announced in the very near future.
“We’re probably looking at, just as winter starting to exit, we’ll start to hear some new productions coming into the region,” Azevedo said.
“Strategically, we’re not going to be talking about these productions in specifics until they’ve actually signed opened an office, and are ready to go.”
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During the trip, Gondek and Azevedo met with a number of big-name producers and streaming services including MGM, Disney, Fox, Apple, Netflix Animation, and Lionsgate, among others.
Since September 2022, productions from LA alone created 2,190 jobs in that industry in Calgary, and around $235 million of investment to the city and the region.
In 2023, the City approved more than 750 permits related to 140 productions ranging from student independent films to national commercials as well as major motion pictures and television.
With 24 Emmy nominations for HBO’s The Last of Us and six for Disney’s Prey, Calgary is gearing up as a destination for big-name projects and productions.
“My role on this trip was to outline the strengths of our city in terms of physical assets, our policies and practices as well as our population,” Gondek said in reference to the recent trade mission.
“We demonstrated that many of our standing sets are run by individuals and families that work very closely together to ensure that the variety of visitors and buildings that are being sought by studios and streamers are built.”
Recently, we’ve seen popular shows like Fargo leave Calgary only to come back a season later, and many shows as well as A-list actors are going to be filming here in the coming months and years.
It all leaves Calgary in a position where it’s becoming a city that the movie industry is starting to take a lot more seriously.
“We want to identify that we can do the large shows, we can do the Canadian shows, and we can do small shows which we grew up on,” Azevedo said.
“We’re looking to take advantage of any opportunities that fit this particular region.”
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