A significant blow has been dealt to British Columbia's film and television industry as the hit CBS series Tracker, starring Justin Hartley, is relocating production from Vancouver to Los Angeles for its fourth season. The move comes after the California government offered a lucrative US$48 million tax credit that the production could not refuse.
Tax Credit Lures Production South
The series, which filmed its first three seasons in the Vancouver area and other locations across the province, finished shooting Season 3 at the end of April. Season 4 is expected to begin filming in late June, but now in Los Angeles instead of British Columbia. The California tax credit is a substantial incentive that has intensified the competition between jurisdictions vying for major television productions.
Gemma Martini, chair of Screen B.C. and CEO of Martini Studios in Langley, where Tracker shot all three seasons, expressed concern over the loss. "Tracker's departure from B.C. is a material loss for both our crews and the broader production economy. It's a high-profile series that employs hundreds, is shot across multiple regions, and drives spending into communities throughout the province," she said. "It is also one of the few remaining 22-episode network shows based here. The show's departure, combined with a reduced episode order for Fire Country's next season, adds up to a meaningful gap in stage, infrastructure, and employment."
Impact on B.C.'s Film Industry
Fire Country, another CBS series filmed in B.C., had its Season 5 order reduced to 13 episodes. Martini noted that before the streaming era, B.C. hosted more network television with 20-22 episodes being common, citing Riverdale and Supergirl as examples. Last year, B.C. had only three series with high episode counts: Watson (recently cancelled), Fire Country, and Tracker.
Kendrie Upton, executive director of the Directors Guild of Canada B.C., lamented the news. "The news that the massively popular series Tracker, which has been made in B.C. since 2022, is leaving for Los Angeles is a significant blow to B.C.'s film and television sector," Upton said. "Our local crews have endured such a huge loss of work due to the U.S. strikes followed by the global production contraction. This is yet another serious loss to our industry in B.C. that emphasizes just how competitive the film and television industry has become with so many jurisdictions around the world vying to land shows such as this one."
About the Series
Tracker is based on Jeffrey Deaver's novel The Never Game and centers on a lone wolf survivalist and expert tracker, played by Justin Hartley, who travels around helping people and law enforcement agencies find missing persons in exchange for reward money. Hartley, who also serves as an executive producer, expressed mixed feelings about the move. "I'm proud of what we built in Vancouver. I'm also very excited we're bringing Tracker to L.A.," he said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to continuing to tell these stories alongside the new, fresh places we'll be heading to next. Most importantly, I want to thank the fans for showing up for us every step of the way. We couldn't do this without you."
The loss of Tracker underscores the challenges facing B.C.'s film industry as it competes with generous tax incentives from other regions, particularly California. The departure of such a high-profile series is expected to have ripple effects on local crews, infrastructure, and the broader production economy.
