“Chief of War,” the highly anticipated historical drama starring Jason Momoa, tells an epic story of Hawaii’s four kingdoms and the battle for unification. It should have represented a watershed moment for Hawaii’s film and TV industry. But while the story is based on Hawaiian history, most of the series was filmed in New Zealand.

The decision to film elsewhere highlights a deepening crisis in Hawaii’s film industry, which has come to a sudden and screeching halt.

“Best I can tell, this is the first time there’s been no meaningful work either now or on the horizon in Hawaii’s long and storied 100-plus year film history,” Noah Evslin, a TV writer and producer who is from Kauai, told SFGATE. He worked on past shows like “Hawaii Five-0,” “NCIS: Hawaii” and “Rescue: HI-Surf,” which was canceled by the network in May. He said work on “Rescue: HI-Surf” ended a year ago.

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“There hasn’t really been a major Hollywood production since then,” Evslin said, who’s now working on projects not set in Hawaii. He explained that Hawaii’s issues are partly due to an overall nationwide slowdown but are also a result of the state’s noncompetitive film tax incentives.

When “Rescue: HI-Surf” was cancelled, it left Hawaii without any large active film productions.

Over Hawaii’s century-long film history, it has served as the backdrop for many major productions, including “Blue Hawaii,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Jurassic Park,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Magnum P.I.” and “Lost,” establishing the Islands as a go-to Hollywood location known for their beautiful scenery.  

But despite that legacy, Hawaii is fighting with other states and countries to attract film and television productions, which look at film tax credits to reduce costs. While Hawaii was one of the first states to introduce a film tax credit in 1997, Evslin said Hawaii is no longer keeping pace with........

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