TV series production is the big driver behind Ontario hitting another record year of production in 2012.

The Ontario Media Development Corp. on Friday reported TV production, both domestic and foreign, made up $968.8 million, or 76% of the $1.28 billion in total production spend in the province last year.

That was basically flat on the $1.26 billion in production activity recorded in 2011, an earlier record for the province.

And domestic TV series shooting in Toronto, from Rookie Blue and Bomb Girls to Lost Girl and Degrassi, accounted for $698.2 million of total production spend last year, compared to $626.7 million in 2011.

That local TV production activity represented 68% of total activity in the province last year, as Ontario’s 25% all-spend tax credit continues to be a magnet for Canadian producers.

And fewer Hollywood movies with lower budgets shot in Toronto in 2012, compared to the year-earlier presence of the Total Recall and Pacific Rim tent pole shoots, was offset by U.S. TV series production taking up the slack.

American TV series that shot in Toronto last year like Hannibal and Defiance left behind $270.6 million in total production expenditures, against a year-earlier $150.2 million.