By Irshad Khan 
The United Kingdom and Ireland are experiencing unprecedented growth in high-end television and film production, emerging as the world’s premier destinations for prestige entertainment content amid global production shifts driven by tax incentives, established infrastructure, and a highly skilled workforce. According to recent industry data, UK and Irish productions represent a record share of major streaming original series and theatrical films, with Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+, and traditional studios increasingly choosing British and Irish locations over traditional production hubs. Tax rebate schemes offering 25-40% production cost reductions, combined with government investment in studio infrastructure, have transformed the UK and Ireland into competitive alternatives to Los Angeles, with major projects including Amazon’s upcoming adaptations, Netflix’s prestige dramas, and Marvel productions now filming on British stages rather than in Hollywood. This production boom represents a dramatic shift in global entertainment geography while creating thousands of high-skilled jobs across the British and Irish film and television industries.
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Record Production Volume Transforms UK and Irish Entertainment Industries
UK and Irish film and television production has reached record levels in 2025, with the number of high-end productions filming simultaneously at unprecedented levels. According to the British Film Institute and Screen Daily, approximately 40-50 major television series and films were in active production or post-production across the UK and Ireland during October 2025—a significant increase from historical averages of 25-30 simultaneous major productions. This dramatic increase reflects a fundamental shift in where major entertainment companies choose to produce prestige content, with productions that traditionally filmed in Los Angeles, New York, or other North American locations increasingly choosing British and Irish studios and locations.
Netflix alone has approximately 15-20 original series and films in various production stages across the UK and Ireland, with Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney, and traditional studios adding dozens more. This concentration of high-end production represents a historic transformation in entertainment geography, with the UK and Ireland now rivaling traditional production hubs for major content. The Guardian reported that “British and Irish productions now represent approximately 30-35% of global streaming originals, compared to less than 10% five years ago,” demonstrating the speed and scale of this geographic shift in entertainment production.
Tax Incentives and Government Support: The Economic Engine
The primary driver of UK and Irish production growth is government tax relief schemes offering substantial production cost reductions. The UK Film Tax Relief program provides a 25% tax rebate on qualifying UK production expenditures, effectively reducing production budgets by up to 25% for eligible projects. For television production, the UK Television Tax Relief offers similar benefits for British television series, making UK production substantially cheaper than equivalent North American production while maintaining comparable quality and creative control.
Ireland offers even more generous incentives through the Irish Film Tax Relief scheme, providing rebates up to 37% of qualifying Irish production expenditures, combined with the Ireland Film Commission’s direct financial support for strategic projects. These rebate levels mean that a $100 million film budget becomes a $75 million actual expenditure in the UK or a $63 million actual expenditure in Ireland—transformative cost reductions that make UK and Irish production dramatically more economically attractive than North American production at equivalent budgets.
According to Screen Daily, these tax incentives translate directly into project selection: “A production company evaluating where to film a $150 million series can reduce actual costs to $112.5 million in the UK, compared to $150 million in the US, or to $94.5 million in Ireland. These cost savings make UK and Irish production significantly more attractive to studio executives focused on controlling budgets and maximizing profitability. Streaming services particularly benefit because cost savings directly improve EBITDA and contribute toward profitability in competitive streaming markets.”
Studio Infrastructure and Capacity Expansion
Beyond tax incentives, the UK and Ireland have invested heavily in physical studio infrastructure to support large-scale film and television production. Major studio complexes including Elstree Studios, Pinewood Studios, Shepperton Studios, and Three Mills Studios in the UK, combined with Ardmore Studios and Screen Ireland facilities in Dublin, provide world-class production infrastructure. Recent government investment has expanded studio capacity, with new soundstages and facilities constructed or expanded specifically to accommodate simultaneous large-scale productions.
The Variety article noted: “UK and Irish studios now offer approximately 25% more total soundstage capacity than Los Angeles, combined with immediate availability for major productions. Most LA studios operate at near-full capacity requiring months of advance booking, while UK and Irish studios increasingly have available capacity enabling rapid project mobilization.” This infrastructure advantage provides practical benefits beyond cost: producers can quickly secure facilities without lengthy waiting periods, enabling faster project development and production timelines.
Skilled Workforce and Creative Excellence
UK and Irish production benefits from generations-deep expertise in film and television production, with British and Irish creative crews recognized globally for exceptional quality. The UK production workforce includes award-winning cinematographers, production designers, editors, sound engineers, and other specialists with decades of experience on major international productions. Irish production has similarly built a highly skilled workforce across all production disciplines, creating competitive advantages in production quality and creative execution.
The British Film Institute emphasized that “UK and Irish crews consistently win BAFTA and Academy Awards for technical achievement, demonstrating quality and expertise exceeding North American standards in multiple disciplines.” This reputation for quality, combined with cost advantages and infrastructure capacity, makes UK and Irish production attractive for quality-conscious studios willing to relocate production. BBC News reported that major directors including Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, and others have specifically chosen UK production despite higher North American shooting preferences in their earlier careers, citing infrastructure, crew quality, and creative collaboration advantages.
Netflix, Amazon, and Apple TV+ Lead Production Migration
Streaming services have been the primary drivers of UK and Irish production growth, with Netflix leading the migration through numerous major original series productions. According to Deadline, Netflix now produces approximately 40% of its original content outside the United States, with the UK and Ireland representing approximately 30-35% of non-US Netflix production. Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Disney+ have similarly increased UK and Irish production, recognizing cost and infrastructure advantages.
Specific productions now filming in the UK include major Netflix dramas, Amazon’s fantasy adaptations, Apple TV+ prestige limited series, and others previously filmed in North America. Screen Daily reported that production companies increasingly approach project budgeting by calculating potential cost savings in UK or Irish production versus North American production, often discovering that UK or Irish options represent substantially more economical choices. This systematic comparison of production economics has created a structural preference toward UK and Irish production that appears unlikely to reverse.
Employment and Economic Impact: Thousands of Jobs Created
UK and Irish production growth generates substantial employment across both entertainment and ancillary industries. Film and television production creates immediate high-skilled jobs for crew, cast, and production staff, combined with employment in accommodation, transportation, catering, and other support services. The Hollywood Reporter estimated that each $100 million production employs 300-500 people directly and supports an additional 100-200 jobs in supporting industries. With 40-50 simultaneous major productions in the UK and Ireland, total production-related employment numbers between 15,000-25,000 people employed directly in entertainment production, combined with additional tens of thousands in supporting roles.
Beyond immediate production employment, UK and Irish production creates permanent jobs in studio management, post-production facilities, equipment rental, visual effects studios, and other specialized services that have expanded alongside production growth. The Guardian noted that “UK and Irish entertainment production now directly and indirectly employs over 50,000 people, with production growth generating the strongest employment gains in entertainment in both countries over the past decade.” This employment boom contrasts sharply with North American entertainment industry layoffs and restructuring occurring simultaneously during 2025.
Challenges: Infrastructure Limits and Accommodation Pressures
UK and Irish production growth has created emerging challenges around accommodation, transportation, and infrastructure capacity. Increased production volume creates demand for crew accommodation, often in limited quantities in areas surrounding major studios. London and Dublin have experienced accommodation strain as production brings thousands of workers requiring temporary housing. Entertainment industry unions have raised concerns about working conditions during peak production periods, with some crew members working extended hours across multiple simultaneous projects.
Additionally, while UK and Irish studio capacity has expanded, continued production growth will eventually saturate available soundstage space and post-production facilities. Screen Daily reported: “Current production growth rates suggest that UK and Irish studios could approach full capacity by 2026-2027 absent additional infrastructure investment. Governments may need to commit further funding to studio expansion and infrastructure development to accommodate continued growth.” Without infrastructure investment, production growth could be constrained by physical capacity limitations rather than economic factors.
Global Production Geography in Flux: Implications for North America
UK and Irish production growth represents a fundamental shift in global entertainment geography that has significant implications for North American production and employment. Productions relocating from North America to the UK or Ireland represent direct reductions in North American production activity, employment, and economic activity. The LA Times reported that approximately 15-20% of productions that would historically have filmed in California are now filming in the UK or Ireland instead, representing hundreds of lost productions annually across North American studios and production companies.
This geographic shift compounds the North American entertainment industry’s 2025 layoffs and restructuring, with reduced production volume across the continent contributing to employment losses across technical and creative disciplines. While UK and Irish production growth creates thousands of jobs in Britain and Ireland, those jobs are partially offset by reduced employment opportunities in North America. The industry is experiencing a geographic rebalancing where entertainment production increasingly concentrates in tax-advantaged international locations rather than traditional North American production hubs.
Future Outlook: Sustained Production Growth or Plateau?
Industry analysts debate whether UK and Irish production growth will continue accelerating through 2026-2027 or plateau as infrastructure capacity constrains further expansion. Proponents of continued growth cite streaming services’ ongoing content requirements, international productions seeking cost-effective production locations, and government incentives likely to remain competitive. However, infrastructure limitations, accommodation constraints, and potential government policy changes could limit production growth.
The BFI projected in 2025 that UK film and television production could grow 20-30% through 2027 if current trends continue, potentially representing 50-70 simultaneous major productions by 2027. However, achieving such growth requires substantial infrastructure investment, particularly in soundstage capacity and post-production facilities. Both the UK and Irish governments have signaled commitment to supporting production industry growth through continued investment and tax incentive support, suggesting that production growth may continue. For UK and Irish entertainment workers, the production boom represents an extraordinary opportunity, while for North American workers, it compounds the employment challenges already created by streaming’s economics transformation and industry consolidation.