Nick Kroll has emerged as an unlikely advocate for revitalizing Los Angeles's film and television production ecosystem, using his new Netflix comedy series as a platform to urge the entertainment industry to keep shooting in the city.
Speaking at a Variety event, Kroll positioned his upcoming Netflix series "A Hundred Percent," which he co-created and stars in, as a "love letter" to Los Angeles. The framing reveals a broader concern within Hollywood about production flight from California. Major studios and streamers have increasingly shifted work to tax-friendly states like Georgia and New Mexico, draining the region of jobs and industry vitality.
Kroll's intervention carries weight because his career trajectory mirrors entertainment's shifting landscape. He built his name through "The Kroll Show" and "Boggie Nights," projects rooted in Los Angeles culture. His voice in this debate matters because he has leverage. Unlike lower-profile actors or struggling writers, Kroll can actually influence where projects shoot. As a co-creator and star, he has negotiating power that many industry figures lack.
The "A Hundred Percent" announcement suggests Kroll chose to shoot in Los Angeles despite financial incentives that might exist elsewhere. This decision reflects a growing if still minority position among A-list talent: some creators believe staying in California serves long-term industry health better than chasing tax credits.
The appeal also signals broader anxiety within Los Angeles's entertainment infrastructure. When productions leave, they take with them not just celebrities and directors but entire ecosystems of crew members, below-the-line workers, equipment rental companies, craft services operations, and hospitality jobs. A single large production generates weeks or months of local economic activity that ripples through the region.
Kroll's language of "thriving" production community and "vitality" frames the issue not as nostalgia but as economic necessity. The implication: without active production, Los Angeles loses something essential to its identity and economy.
The timing matters. Los Angeles navigated recent labor strikes, which disrupted production schedules and tested relationships between studios and unions. Some productions that paused work simply never returned to California when they resumed. Each departure makes the next departure easier, as crews disperse and local infrastructure atrophies.
Whether individual voices like Kroll's can reverse industry trends remains uncertain. Tax incentive programs in other states remain powerful financial tools. Streaming platforms continue prioritizing bottom-line production costs over geographic loyalty. Yet Kroll's public commitment to shooting "A Hundred Percent" in Los Angeles, combined with his rhetorical appeal to other producers, represents a notable counterweight to that momentum.
The Netflix series itself becomes more than entertainment. It becomes a statement about whether prestige creators believe Los Angeles remains a viable production hub. If the show succeeds critically and commercially, it validates Kroll's gamble. That success could influence other hyphenated creative figures, those with sufficient power to determine where their projects film, to make similar choices.
The entertainment industry operates partly on economics and partly on cultural mythology. Kroll tapped into that mythology while also making an economic argument. Los Angeles without film and television production becomes just another city. With active production communities, it remains Hollywood.