Seven awards were doled out for the program at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's last board meeting of 2021. The initiative has picked up some of the tab for 30 productions in the state since its reintroduction in 2018.

Legislation to bolster the program cleared an Assembly committee on Dec. 6. The effort comes as productions pick up in the Garden State, following the standstill imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation comes as productions stream into New Jersey following the COVID-19 pandemic, and as players such as Netflix eye the former Fort Monmouth Army base, and NBC Universal uses the former Meadowlands Arena, for its productions.

The legislation was approved in a party vote during the June 22 Assembly Budget Committee hearing, even though a copy of the 197-page measure was not available to the public. It was later approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

When NJBIZ last checked in on the state of showbiz in the Garden State in October few producers were willing to talk about what they were up to. Film and television production all but shut down during the pandemic, with few exceptions for projects that imposed strict standards for social distancing, mask usage and sanitization. But now, with New Jersey reopening, industry insiders are more forthcoming.