Casting calls in South Carolina are at a turning point. Charleston carried the state for six years on the back of two series, and both have now ended: The Righteous Gemstones finished in October 2024 and Outer Banks wrapped its fifth and final season in Charleston in December 2025. Union background work pays $231 per 8 hours in 2026, while South Carolina has no state minimum wage law at all.
What replaces them is still forming. The film commission is building the Upstate, the state is weighing a rebate increase, and a new pilot rebate for small productions opened in July 2025.
This guide covers Charleston and Columbia auditions, what is coming next, what the work pays, the unusually permissive rules for child performers, and how to spot a fake South Carolina casting call.
Charleston after Outer Banks
Outer Banks shot in Charleston from May 2019 and wrapped its final season there on 19 December 2025, with additional scenes in Myrtle Beach. Over five seasons it used Lowndes Grove, Shem Creek, the Old Village, Morris Island Lighthouse and downtown locations, brought tens of millions of dollars into the state each season, and hired hundreds of local workers.
That era has closed, and the honest picture is that as of early 2026 the film commissioner described nothing as booked in Charleston, which he called odd. The most cited reason is permitting friction: downtown Charleston requires 15 days' notice for a film permit, with a proposal to extend it to 21, a rule tightened after resident complaints during Outer Banks.
What this means for performers: do not build your plan around Charleston alone. Register for Charleston and Columbia, watch the Upstate, and treat the Lowcountry as a location market that books in bursts when a production commits.
Where the work is going: the Upstate and Columbia
The 2026 pipeline is spread across the state rather than concentrated on the coast. Reported projects include Memento Mori, a television series in preproduction for Myrtle Beach; an unnamed feature starting in Greenville; a documentary in Greenville; An Ode to Mary Jo, an independent feature in Spartanburg; and Straight Shot, an action film shooting in Columbia.
The film commission is deliberately building crew capacity in the Upstate through training partnerships with Clemson University and USC Upstate, plus the University of South Carolina's summer film programme. Production has historically concentrated in Charleston, which is why Upstate crew and cast have not yet had year-round careers — and why registering there now puts you ahead of the curve.
Rebates, and why local hire matters here
The South Carolina Film Commission, run through the state's Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, pays cash rebates rather than tax credits.
- 25% on the wages of South Carolina residents, against 20% for non-resident performing artists, stunt performers and crew. Wages must be under $1 million per person per project.
- Up to 30% on goods and services bought, rented or leased from a South Carolina supplier.
- Minimum spend $1 million for the rebates; $250,000 for the sales and use tax exemption and no-fee state property locations.
- Generally a minimum of $15.5 million available per fiscal year, resetting each 1 July. There is no sunset clause.
The five-point gap between resident and non-resident wage rebates is the single most useful fact on this page for a performer. A production doing its sums has a direct financial reason to cast South Carolinians, and one local producer reported a crew of around 50 that was 80 to 90% local.
South Carolina is also underfunded against its neighbour: roughly $15.5 million a year here against North Carolina's $31 million, which local operators name as the reason projects leave. A bill to raise the annual limit to $30 million was returned to House Ways and Means in January.
What does casting work in South Carolina pay?
Union scale, effective 1 July 2026
On a SAG-AFTRA production, background work pays $231 for an 8-hour day, with additional payments for overtime, meal penalties and wardrobe. Principal performers are paid under separate schedules.
South Carolina is a right-to-work state under Title 41, Chapter 7 of the state code, and the film commission states plainly that it welcomes both union and non-union productions. SAG-AFTRA's Atlanta Local services members working in Georgia and South Carolina; there is no South Carolina local. IATSE Local 491 covers the Carolinas and Savannah.
Non-union rates
South Carolina has no state minimum wage law. Employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, and state code section 6-1-130(B) prohibits any city or county from setting a rate above the federal minimum. Charleston and Columbia are therefore both at $7.25.
Film and commercial day rates sit well above that floor in practice, but with no state wage law to fall back on, getting your rate, your hours and your payment terms in writing before the shoot matters more here than in most states.
Popular casting categories in South Carolina
Child performers in South Carolina
South Carolina is one of the most permissive states in the country for child performers, and parents should understand what that actually means.
The film commission states that no work permits are required for minors working in television or film in South Carolina and that there is no paperwork to file. State law at section 71-3105-d exempts any employee engaged as an actor or performer in motion pictures, radio, television or theatrical productions from the child labour article entirely, so there are no statutory work hour restrictions. Minors under 14 may work in film and television acting. Day players and extras arrange schoolwork with their parents and school principal, and a set tutor may also cover stand-ins and extras.
Read that as a responsibility rather than a convenience. Because state law imposes almost nothing, the only reliable protection is the contract. On a SAG-AFTRA production the union's young performer rules apply in full. On a non-union job, get hours, breaks, schooling, supervision and payment terms agreed in writing before your child works. There is no trust account requirement in South Carolina.
How to spot a fake Charleston casting call
Outer Banks ran for five seasons and remains the name most often borrowed by fake casting notices in this state. The show has finished shooting; treat any call claiming to cast it as fraudulent.
- You are asked to pay to audition, to be submitted, or to be registered for a named production.
- A paid role is offered before any audition, from a photograph and a message.
- Money arrives first and you are told to deposit it and forward part onward. This is fraud without exception.
- The audition is at a private address or hotel room rather than an office, studio or secure self-tape platform.
- A named photographer is required before you can be considered.
Official sources: South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation · South Carolina Film Commission · SAG-AFTRA Atlanta Local
Casting calls in nearby states: Georgia · North Carolina · Tennessee
Find Charleston casting calls on allcasting
allcasting is a casting marketplace: verified casting professionals post roles and talent applies directly. Applying is free, and nobody on the platform can promise you a role.
- Browse Charleston casting calls, updated daily
- Go straight to acting roles or extras work in Charleston
- Check Columbia, where several 2026 projects are based
- Atlanta casts across the region — see streaming shows casting in Atlanta and Tyler Perry auditions
10/15/20269/20/20269/16/20269/14/20269/4/2026How To
Register as a South Carolina Local Hire
South Carolina rebates 25% of a resident's wages against 20% for a non-resident, so casting a local is directly cheaper for a production. With Charleston's anchor series finished and the 2026 slate spread across Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach, the performers who book here are the ones registered statewide and visible as local hires.
- 1Make your South Carolina residency obviousThe state rebates 25% of a South Carolina resident's wages against 20% for a non-resident, so local status is money to a production. Put your South Carolina base at the top of your profile, say explicitly that you work as a local hire with no travel or accommodation required, and list the cities you can reach for an early call time.Pro Tip: Write 'South Carolina resident, local hire, no travel or accommodation required' in your profile. That sentence is worth five percentage points to a production's rebate.
- 2Cover the whole state, not just the coastCharleston's two anchor series have both ended, and the 2026 pipeline is spread across Myrtle Beach, Greenville, Spartanburg and Columbia. Set your profile to appear for Charleston and Columbia, state your real driving radius, and watch the Upstate, where the film commission is actively building crew and cast capacity through Clemson and USC Upstate.Pro Tip: Do not limit yourself to Charleston. The 2026 projects are in Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach, and the Upstate has far less competition.
- 3Get the terms in writing before you workSouth Carolina has no state minimum wage law and exempts performers from child labour rules entirely, so almost nothing is guaranteed by statute. Before any non-union booking, confirm the day rate, call time, expected wrap, meal breaks and payment terms in writing, and for a child performer add schooling and on-set supervision. A professional production will provide all of it without objection.Pro Tip: Get the day rate, call time, wrap and payment terms in writing before every non-union job. South Carolina has no state wage law to fall back on if something goes wrong.
Q&A
Is Outer Banks still casting in Charleston?
Is there still work in Charleston?
Where is production growing in South Carolina?
Does being a South Carolina resident help me get cast?
What does background work pay in South Carolina?
Does my child need a work permit to act in South Carolina?
Do I need to join SAG-AFTRA to work in South Carolina?
Why do South Carolina projects end up filming elsewhere?
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