The city that works is now into overtime. During the first quarter of 2026, Chicago saw seven series lensing in town. Production expenditures in Illinois hit a record $703 million in 2025, per stats released by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office. Those numbers were bolstered by the state’s film production tax credit, now extended until 2039. “We’re at a 35% base, but it’s stackable,” explains Natasha Olguin, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Film Office, of the production spending tax credit. Added to the competitive tax credit this year: a 5% uplift for sustainability when a production lessens its environmental impact per state standards. Another 5% can be applied if a series relocates to Illinois, which adds up to a possible 45% tax incentive for qualifying costs.
Chicago serves as backdrop for several major series. NBC’s top-rated One Chicago universe, “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Med” (produced by Universal Television in association with Wolf Entertainment) will all resume production this summer. Other high-profile projects lensing in 2026: the recently wrapped fifth season of FX’s “The Bear” (with a rumored feature to come) and “The Chi” (wrapping its eighth and reported final season). Summer 2025 saw Apple TV’s “Dark Matter” Season 2 and A24’s “Enemies,” the Austin Butler and Jeremy Allen White starrer, which shot on location in the South Loop and other urban locales.
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Production infrastructure and skilled crew have kept up the pace too, Olguin says. Cinespace Studios (home to the One Chicago franchise) features 36 soundstages on two campuses. The Fields Studios (“Dark Matter” Season 2), opened in 2024, has nine purpose-built stages on a 23-acre campus.
Unlike traditional Hollywood lots, the Fields Studios groups space for key departments around each soundstage. “All departments can get their own customized spaces,” explains the Fields Studios’ president and CEO Shawn Papazian. Logistics and interconnectivity are thoughtfully built in. Designed by Gensler, the facility’s state-of-the-art infrastructure includes two 18,000- sq.-ft. soundstages that can be linked via an interior opening door to form one 36,000-sq.-ft. stage, the largest in the Midwest, per Papazian.
The Fields pairs highly adaptable facilities with expert, hands-on production support — a combination that general manager RoseMary Prodonovich says is designed to fuel creative endeavors. Amenities like a full-sized grocery store and the option of temporary housing are available on the live/work mixed-use complex.
Olguin is a former location manager; she emphasizes that the hands-on efforts by the Chicago Film Office are grounded in real-world production experience, such as making the city’s permitting process is streamlined. “We are the liaison among the majority of city services. I’m able to talk about various areas within the city to make sure that you can build a world,” she explains. Filming in Chicago also benefits from the diversity of neighborhoods, architecture and layers of history, with an ability to satisfy most genres.
“Our skyline is one of a kind, obviously,” Olguin notes. The 110-story Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) is the oft-photographed centerpiece. The Chicago (elevated) “L” train is another iconic visual, often seen crossing in the background (look for it throughout “Chicago Fire”).
Chicago is adept at playing itself, but the city’s architectural complexity means that “we are able to double for so many other cities, so you can keep your tax incentive in one state,” Olguin promises. In the past, Chicago has portrayed multiple East Coast cities — even Santa Monica and European locales. “You can block shoot here too,” she adds. Production vehicles can park once while utilizing dissimilar looks; locations can jump from a Victorian home to a ranch house to a gritty industrial setting without a company move.
Ultimately the city boasts all those things that producers and A-list talent gravitate toward: elevated hospitality from premier hotels like the Peninsula (a favorite for press junkets) and the Park Hyatt, to a world-class dining scene boasting showbiz favorites like Nobu and old school hangouts (Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse stands out for its clientele of bold-faced names). Mr. Beef (the Bear’s oft-used location in River North) draws a crowd for its signature sandwiches and association with the hit show. For the deputy film commish, Chicago “is kind of unbeatable.”
