Gov. Phil Murphy on New Jersey’s Courtship of Content: ‘This Has Been an Absolute, Cold-Blooded, Focused Strategy’

Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey is cruising into the last nine months of his second term as the big boss of the Garden State. By any measure, he’s had a successful tenure to date. And from Day 1, Murphy has put huge emphasis on making New Jersey a much bigger player in TV and film location shooting. In recent years, Murphy and his team have focused on bringing brick-and-mortar studios and infrastructure to the state. On the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” Murphy details the arc of this campaign and why he knew that it was crucial for New Jersey to step up its game.

“None of this is by accident,” Murphy says. “This is an absolute cold-blooded focus strategy from moment one to become a major player. In sports and entertainment, the evidence is all over the place.”

Murphy’s predecessor in Trenton, Republican Chris Christie, wiped out New Jersey’s modest incentive program entirely, reportedly out of anger at how the state was portrayed in MTV’s “Jersey Shore.” (“I’m way overdue to ask Chris if that’s true,” Murphy artfully dodges at that question.) The state now commits more than $500 million a year in tax credits to woo film, TV, audio and digital productions. Murphy maintains that the tax credits have broad bipartisan support because the impact is evident across the state.

“We’re now globally significant. I can’t tell you now how many conversations we’re in where it’s coming down to New Jersey, London or some other country somewhere in the world — Hungary and New Zealand have been on the list of late. Other countries come and go. We’re on that short list and intend to stay there,” he said.

Murphy’s a rare breed these days – a popular Democrat. He also weighs in on the struggles of late for his political party and where he thinks leaders should put their energy. He also addresses what it’s like to be a public figure these days amid rising incidents of violence such as the arson attack this month on the residence of Murphy’s fellow governor, Josh Shapiro of Pennsyvlania.

“Boy, do we need to come together” as a nation, Murphy says. “We’re Americans first and foremost, and that’s getting lost in the sauce right now by too many folks out there.”

“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. (Please click here to subscribe to our free newsletter.) New episodes debut every Wednesday and can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud and more.