‘American Idol’ Is Leaving Hollywood Behind for a Georgia Production Base

After more than two decades in Tinseltown, American Idol is preparing for a major production change.

Fremantle, the production and distribution company behind the long-running series, confirmed to NBCLA that the show will relocate from Hollywood to Georgia. According to Deadline, Fremantle is in final negotiations with a studio in the Atlanta area, although no deal has been signed. A company representative did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.

Georgia offers eligible productions a transferable film tax credit of at least 20 percent, along with a possible additional 10 percent “uplift” for projects that generate promotional value for the state. Productions must spend a minimum of $500,000 to qualify, either on a single project or across multiple projects produced by the same company during one tax year.

The state has become one of the most active filming destinations in the United States outside Los Angeles and New York. Recent productions shot in Georgia include Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, James Gunn’s Superman, and the Javier Bardem- and Amy Adams-starring Cape Fear.

American Idol concluded Season 24 in May with an episode filmed in Hawaii and a tribute to Taylor Swift. The three-hour finale featured Jordan McCullough, Hannah Harper, and Keyla Richardson competing for the title, with Missouri native Harper ultimately winning the season.

Judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan also moved the competition’s famed “Hollywood Week” from Los Angeles to Nashville this year. The Ohana round in Hawaii brought 30 finalists before an industry panel that included Kelly Sutton, the first woman to serve as a full-time host of the Grand Ole Opry; vocal coach and Broadway star Cheryl Porter; and Rolling Stone‘s Co-Editor-in-Chief, Shirley Halperin.

Last season marked the singing competition’s first use of social voting, an addition that proved difficult and cumbersome to integrate into the longtime series.

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