The Idea That New York City Only Got A Measly 7.7 Percent Increase In Anti-Terror Money From Homeland Is Absurd When You Think About All The Filming That Is Done Here
But at least now we know why New York has to have such a large police force:
Posted: July 19th, 2007 | Filed under: I Don't Care If You're Filming, You're In My Goddamn WayNew York is preparing to star as never before on prime-time TV this fall, thanks to a record number of new and returning shows being filmed on the city’s soundstages and streets.
Producers and city officials agree that 2007 is the most robust year ever for TV production in New York.
Six new network TV series have either started filming, or are preparing to start within the next two weeks.
“It’s really been incredible,” said Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. “We had a record number of pilots shooting in New York last winter and six of the pilots were picked up [for fall].”
Seven other series, on both broadcast and cable TV, are also in production here, creating a high demand for studio space at facilities in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.
“There’s an energy with shooting in New York,” said David Manson, executive producer of one of the shows, “New Amsterdam” on Fox.
“It’s not only the city itself, but it’s the people you hire. There’s this terrific talent pool — actors, technicians, craftsmen, designers — and to have access to those people on a daily basis is a boon.”
Also being produced here: CW’s “Gossip Girl,” a drama about a group of filthy-rich teens; NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle,” based on the best seller by Candace Bushnell (“Sex and the City”) and starring Brooke Shields and Kim Raver (“24”); and ABC’s “Cashmere Mafia,” with Lucy Liu and Bonnie Somerville (“NYPD Blue”) as part of a group of ambitious New York women.
Shows already in production here include the FDNY drama “Rescue Me” and the new Glenn Close legal drama “Damage$” — both on FX; HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords NBC’s “30 Rock “Law & Order “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” now moving to cable on NBC-owned USA Network.
What’s driving the boom in New York TV production? Industry insiders credit the city’s “Made in NY” tax-incentive program, plus other city-provided perks such as free permits for on-location shooting and free police assistance.