Over the past six years, New Jersey has emerged as a top destination for film, television and, more recently, reality TV production.

The state’s Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program was launched in late 2018 under Governor Phil Murphy, after being indefinitely suspended in 2010. Initially, the annual cap for film and television productions was $75 million under Murphy’s tax credit initiative. Productions were given credits for up to 30% of eligible expenditures, and up to 35% in certain more remote areas of New Jersey. Today, the tax credit has been expanded to $430 million annually through 2039 and, in an effort to create a more inclusive workforce, offers an additional incentive (2% or 4%) to productions that meet certain diversity criteria.

Murphy said it was a no-brainer to reinstate the state's film tax break.

"It's a natural fit for New Jersey," says Murphy, who points out that the state is the birthplace of film, with Thomas Edison's West Orange lab being the site where the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope were invented. "Our talent, our location, we're a big union state — there's reason upon reason upon reason. And it has a very direct and significant economic impact, particularly on the communities where things are filmed."