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- North Carolina
- television
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- Josh Stein
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- Netflix
Popular Netflix reality series “The Hunting Wives” won’t return to North Carolina to film its third season after the state changed how the Department of Commerce awards film and entertainment grants, state officials said.
The newly approved state budget, signed last month by Gov. Josh Stein, stipulates that the department can only hand out incentives based on a year-to-year basis.
Before the change, the department was allowed to offer incentives based on a production company’s multi-year spending plans.
A spokesperson for Lionsgate, which produces the show, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Commerce officials told WRAL News on Friday that the change played a role in the Netflix show’s decision to relocate production to another state.
“We are disappointed that “The Hunting Wives” is reconsidering its production location,” the commerce department said in a statement to WRAL. “Our film industry is a positive economic driver for North Carolina, and we will continue working with the General Assembly to keep cameras rolling across the state.”
“The Hunting Wives” is the first to ditch North Carolina because of the change, according to the department. The department hopes to work with lawmakers to provide some flexibility to production companies, it said in a statement.
North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, says the show’s departure is a result of the commerce department’s mismanagement — not the new state budget.
“Simply put, the only legislative changes to the film grant program this year were to expand the amount of funding a project can ask for and provide the film grant program with $15 million in additional funding ($5 million more than Josh Stein’s budget request.)” a Hall spokesperson said in a statement to WRAL on Friday. “Any slowdown in film projects is solely the consequence of the Stein administration’s complete and total mismanagement of the program.”
WRAL asked Hall’s office about the changes to the incentive structure. Hall’s office didn’t immediately provide answers to those questions.
In a statement, Stein’s office, which oversees the Commerce Department, said: “North Carolina’s film industry is an important part of our economy, supporting thousands of jobs and bringing millions in investment to our state.We must protect that success and give productions the certainty they need to invest here for the long term.”
Film and TV have become a lucrative industry in North Carolina. The Commerce Department reported $185 million in economic impact in 2025 to go along with thousands of jobs created.
WRAL News Producer Ashley Foster contributed to this report.
