Taylor Sheridan Could Be Driving Texas to Be the New Hollywood md20

While Hollywood has long been thought of as the center of the entertainment industry, Texas has its own thriving film community. It’s home to the Austin Film Festival and South by Southwest, and a number of acclaimed filmmakers got their start there, including Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez, and Wes Anderson. Now Taylor Sheridan, best known as the creator of hit series Yellowstone, Lioness, Mayor of Kingstown, and Tulsa King, among others, is looking to set up shop in Texas — not just for his growing television empire, but for other productions as well.

Sheridan, in partnership with development firm Hillwood and Paramount Television, built SGS Studios, a massive 450,000-square-foot facility located in Alliance, Texas. The facility is now the largest studio space in the state, and can host four large-scale productions simultaneously. A separate report from Collider said Texas invested $1.5 billion into the facility.

“SGS Studios isn’t just about soundstages or tax incentives — it’s about reclaiming the independence and grit that built this industry in the first place. Texas offers something rare: the space to dream big, the freedom to build fast, and a community that still believes storytelling matters.”

Will Texas Take Jobs Away From California?

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According to Fox 4, Texas recently passed Senate Bill 22, which provides incentive funding for film projects. The new state legislation allocates around $1.5 billion over the next ten years, making the Lone Star state a major draw for film and television productions and allowing the state to compete with Georgia, Louisiana, and New York, as well as international markets like London and Canada. Similar to Sheridan’s plans for Texas, Tyler Perry has created an entire studio in Atlanta, helping to boost their economy. This comes as bad news for California, which has been making a concerted effort to lure productions and jobs back.

For nearly 20 years, productions have moved out of California, and even out of the country. Via The Hollywood Reporter an Oct. 14 report by the non-profit LA Film, which handles film permits for the city and Los Angeles County, said production in Los Angeles was at an all-time low. Because of this, many film professionals in California, particularly in the Los Angeles area, have been struggling. The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, and the rise of AI to replace human labor have made an already bad situation worse.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, via Variety, “California lost about 40,000 jobs in motion picture and video production in 2024 compared to the peak in 2022, or about 20,000 compared to pre-pandemic levels. Some entertainment unions report that about 40%-50% of their members are out of work.”

But it isn’t all bad news: A new tax incentive, overseen by California Governor Gavin Newsom, is supposed to bring productions back to the state. The program is overseen by the California Film Commission, which reports that the recent $750 million increase in tax incentives would result in roughly 4,400 to 5,500 jobs. Yet Variety points out that both federal and industry data suggest that would be only a fraction of the job loss experienced in California over the last couple of years. Production in Los Angeles is increasing and will likely grow further in 2026, but it now has a new competitor in Texas.