At the Texas Capitol, actor and Texas natives Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson made their pitch to state Senators of both parties. "If we pass this bill in Texas, we are immediately at the bargaining table for showing more films, and television and commercials in our state immediately." 

Even Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, R-Texas, was in the audience right behind them. McConaughey pushed for Senators to pass SB 22, which would create a dedicated $500 million incentive program for each two-year budget through 2035 to attract producers to make movies, television shows, and commercials in Texas.

Currently, the state provides $200 million, and McConaughey said New Mexico and Georgia currently provide better incentives to producers — which means to shoot their new comedy here in Texas, he and Harrelson had to make concessions. 

McConaughey said, "It's a series we both gave back 15% of our personal salaries to shoot here in Texas to keep us from having to go to Georgia." 

The Chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, Republican Joan Huffman of Houston, raved about the taxpayer-backed program's impact.

"Over the life of the program, we've seen a significant economic impact on the state, over $2.5 billion in in-state spending and 189,000 Texas jobs created.," said Huffman. "For every dollar paid in a grant, $4.69 is spent in-state according to the office of Governor."

McConaughey told lawmakers, "We've already spent over $12 million on Texas goods and labor. We are averaging over $2 million a week spend to date with 12 weeks still scheduled to shoot." 

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker also made an appearance at the hearing to add her support. "We have seen first-hand the huge return on investment in Fort Worth alone," said Parker. "Since 2015, that includes $700 million in economic impact, 30,000 local jobs, and while that's not all at one time, to put that in perspective, that's the equivalent of having one American Airlines headquarters in our city." The "Yellowstone" Prequel and Paramount Plus series, "1883" was filmed in Fort Worth in 2021.

Under the program, the Governor's office decides which producers and projects receive grants. Projects won't qualify if they bash Texas or include pornography. 

Some Senators, including Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels said, "I don't find profanity is limited in any way. Are there ratings? You'll find God's name in vain on PG 13 movies. Is there anything like that in here and it's really more the F-bomb."

One resident who spoke, Paul Hale, who's part of the State Republican Executive Committee criticized the use of taxpayer money on this program. "I'm against this bill. I'm a lifelong Republican raised on a farm, and I was raised under capitalism, not socialism. This is a handout." 

Despite some concerns, the measure passed the Texas Senate Finance committee unanimously and now heads to the full Senate, where it will be considered and likely passed this week.

This week's full episode can be found below: