From a source who was over at the Pier 41 building in Red Hook earlier today, where the latest Real World cast is rumored to be moving, word of "progress" on the cast's living space comes in: "They're building them a cabana, and a sand pit right now." They also tell us that "somebody also did a short film shoot the other day down the block from the Pier 41 building, permitted/blocked off streets, possibly......

Just when the iPod jingle got out of your head, it's back! Feist stopped by Sesame Street to sing a new version of her song "1 2 3 4" to Elmo & Co. The episode featuring the Canadian songstress will premiere on August 11th, but you can watch the video here. Other celebs who will be stopping by the Street during the 39th season include: Will Arnett, Jessica Alba, David Beckham, Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick......

All signs pointed to Ugly Betty taking over DUMBO today (remember, this 3rd season the show has moved filming to New York), and even though the show infiltrated the cobblestone streets, no one really noticed in the sweet shadow of the Van Leeuwan Ice Cream Truck. For fans of Betty, here are some scenes that confused onlookers were treated to...the cast and crew should be out there til around 9 p.m. tonight. America Fererra, Becki......

NYCTV plays host to just about any New York-centric show worth watching, and Trevor Scotland is at the helm of many of them. Scotland executive produces a handful of the programs, and will even step up as host in the near future. This summer the network celebrates their 5th year, and this week Scotland told us about his shows, his city and that time he stood next to the Mayor at the urinal. What NYCTV......

On June 15, 1948, WPIX signed on as the second independent television station in the city from studios in the Daily News Building on 42nd Street. (The first, WATV signed on a month earlier and eventually became WNET in 1961.) Like stations in many other cities, it was owned by a newspaper, in this case the Daily News and its then corporate parent the Tribune Company (the paper was sold off in 1991). The call......

Breathe a sigh of relief Carroll Gardens, The Real World's newest seven strangers won't be moving in to your neighborhood after all -- the original report of the cast heading to Downtown Brooklyn is now confirmed. Their keys will open the door to a 6,000-square-foot, two-story penthouse in the BellTel Lofts (video); and while that's a lot of square-footage for a New York abode, it's still the smallest home in Real World history. The loft......

This installment of NY1’s Today in New York City History aired ten years ago today (a Tuesday for those keeping score at home). Now thanks to someone randomly taping this back then and YouTube it is preserved in digital amber. In the twenty five second piece there was room for only two historical tidbits - the cornerstone of City Hall being laid in 1803 (it is the oldest continuously used City Hall in the country)......

One more reason not to watch television, coming soon to a TV near you! amNewYork is reporting that "two of television's most recognizable voices (to put it very, very, very mildly and kindly) are coming together: Rosie O'Donnell and Fran Drescher." The sitcom will be Manhattan-based and called The New Thirty; geared at the midlife crisis-set, the two will play old high school friends living in the same apartment building. Drescher described it as being......

Last week the Brooklyn Paper reported that MTV's Real World cast would be moving into a Downtown Brooklyn loft; this week they have much more believable news of the locale. Sorry Carroll Gardens, looks like the network has their eye on you. A property owner in the 'nabe says he's in negotiations which may land the seven strangers into his "gorgeous, six-story, five-unit, gut-renovated brick rowhouse on Third Place (once ranked #23 in ToNY's best......

A prostitution ring named Excalibur! Hookers! Puns about men with big swords! A NY Governor who uses a hooker! Federal authorities who hate the governor! And a blog that gossips about the Manhattan DA! Law & Order stacked the deck last night in its season finale, by trying to involve murder, rising gold prices, Governor Spitzer's dalliances, and back room politics in one episode. In case you missed the show, there's a 2-minute "replay"......

Tonight, in the 18th season finale of Law & Order (NBC, 10 p.m.), the detectives investigate the murder of a jeweler whose brother-in-law runs an illegal prostitution ring called The Excalibur Club. And in true ripped-from-the-headlines fashion, one of Excalibur's VIP clients is NY Governor Donald Shalvoy (guess "Schmelliot Schmitzer" didn't really sound that good). According to the AP, the fact that a governor is involved "creates a quandary for District Attorney Jack McCoy,......

What part of Brooklyn will MTV's newest seven strangers inhabit when their show "The Real World” moves in this summer? The Brooklyn Paper reports that they may move into the BellTel Lofts (pictured) located Downtown...and decidedly "unhip." Allegedly MTV has scouted the penthouse units at the Bridge Street building, which is still under construction.Executive Producer Jim Johnston confirmed that he has looked at the building, though he would not say if a lease has been......

After years of hemorrhaging film production business to cheaper locations like Canada, New York City is seeing a spike in movie shoots, back up to the pre-9/11 level. Bloomberg reports that the city saw a 36% rise in production last year, with over 245 movies and television shows shot citywide in 2007. A consulting group hired by the mayor’s office determined that the industry pumps $5 billion a year into the economy and employs some......

Residents of Washington Heights and the Lower East Side may be noticing some production crews in their 'nabe this week, as filming begins for the redux of PBS's The Electric Company, which ended its series in 1977. The NY Times reports that the the show will be "refitted for the age of hip-hop and informed by decades of further educational research on reading." In addition, it will reportedly be accompanied by interactive online elements and......

Entering its 21st season, MTV's The Real World returns to New York for a third time...but for the first time it's headed to an outer-borough. That's right, the seven generic, good-looking roommates will be heading to Brooklyn. Shooting begins this summer, and will result in 12 hour-long episodes. In the press release we received, Jon Murray, co-creator of the show, says "The Brooklyn season, like the Hollywood season, will focus on what people loved......

At a press conference set to take place today, it's expected that Jimmy Fallon will be announced as Conan O'Brien's successor on the "Late Night" show. WNBC reports that the early chatter came in from an anonymous source. The announcement doesn't come as a surprise, since reports of the late night changes began to leak last year; last month Fallon's new position was all but confirmed. The NY Times reports that Fallon will be formally......

Though the show takes place here, Ugly Betty isn't actually filmed in New York; the first two seasons were filmed in Los Angeles. However, with Gov. Paterson's new tax credit program, the show may uproot and make a move east. Variety reports that the city may be cast in its own role as early as next season. But just as New York was unhappy about losing movie money to Connecticut, LA doesn't want to bid......

Is Park Slope ready for its close up? The Post is reporting that the 'nabe may be getting the Star treatment, that is...the Darren Star treatment. He's "teamed with Sony and NBC for a proposed series about a group of affluent characters who live in the upscale Brooklyn neighborhood." The same execs of the yet-to-be-titled show also brought Sex and the City to the small screen, a series that Brooklyn-bashed throughout its lifespan. Post-Carrie Bradshaw,......

It may be hard to believe, but tonight’s episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (10:00 p.m., WNBC 4) is the 200th episode for the first of the Law & Order spin-offs. One big difference between SVU and the mother ship is how the show over nine seasons has gone though only minimal cast changes, with the four regulars - Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler, Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson, Richard Belzer as John......

In the past year there have been murmurings of Jimmy Fallon taking over Conan's "Late Night" seat, when the latter moves over to the Tonight Show. Variety reports that NBC will officially announce the former SNL star's new position within the next few weeks, reuniting the actor/comedian with the Peacock network as well as Lorne Michaels (who executive produces the show). The announcement was to be timed around an NBC presentation at 30 Rock "that's......

In the Law and Order universe there are two separate yet equally important constants: the format of the show and the revolving door of the actors who star in it. So it is not a surprise that Jessie L. Martin who plays Detective Green is leaving the show in the latest cast change. Series guru Dick Wolf says the parting is amicable, with Martin being burned out after playing the same character for nine years.......

Finally, our wait is over! A new 30 Rock airs tonight at 8:30 p.m. followed by a new installment of The Office. Since creator and star Tina Fey was a fixture on writers strike picket lines, there may be strike-inspired lines or scenes on the show in the coming weeks, in addition to the normal skewering of NBC’s less than stellar programming. In tonight's episode, Jack (Alec Baldwin) is reveling over the success of NBC’s......

April 30th marks the date when cable viewers in Queens and Brooklyn can see NY1 in glorious high definition joining those in Staten Island who got it first. Fans of Pat Kiernan who live in Manhattan (along with New Jersey and the Hudson Valley) will have to wait a bit longer, with Time Warner promising to roll it out for them by the end of the year. Since cable TV is not like broadcast TV,......

Don’t adjust your television sets, because since Monday WNBC has been using "News 4 New York" in on-air mentions and on-screen graphics, switching gears from "Newschannel 4" (and "Newschannel 4 HD"). If you are from the Tri-State Area, you may remember the station used "News 4 New York" from 1980 until 1995. The old CGI opening included a bolt of lightning and a giant 4 heading towards the viewer (out of the Statue of Liberty's......

Television is coming back to life, with several shows (mainly on CBS) returning to the air this week with post-writers strike episodes. Amongst them, the comically inaccurate CSI: NY returns (Wednesday, 10:00 p.m., WCBS 2), with an investigation of a dead assassin found in a warehouse, no doubt filmed in someplace like Culver City. While it does shoot some scenes here, CSI:NY mostly films on a studio back lot or in downtown LA. Since......

WNBC’s Sue Simmons is known as a big Mets fan, so it's no surprise she was tapped to host a look back at Shea Stadium in its final year. So expect Sue being Sue along with some amazing Mets moments, concerts and some Jets (and we aren’t just talking about those coming into LaGuardia). The Amazin' Shea (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., WNBC 4) also will feature some interviews with some of the Mets greats. It is......

NYC TV's New York Noise just returned with a slew of new episodes for their 8th season. The show has been on the air for 4 years, having quickly become an institution for music fans and a place for bands (local and otherwise) to showcase their videos. This season promises a mix of new and old, with everyone from Yeasayer to Les Savy Fav popping up throughout in unique sonic-driven segments. We recently got some......

Like it or not The Real Housewives of New York are getting air time every Tuesday, and each week they invite the rest of New York (and the world) into a little bubble they call home. Touring private schools for their French-speaking children, toting their kids off to auditions, getting away to the Hamptons and presumbably being "fabulous" at whatever else fills their social schedule. Last night one of the "housewives," The Countess LuAnn, broke......

After spending a few weeks this month as Mr. Hyde groveling for money with unwatchable schmaltz, PBS is back to its normal self doing the kind of meaningful important programming it does well like long form current affairs documentaries. True, the interchangeable Celtic singers and self help yackers may keep the stations on air, but having in depth looks at the issues of the day is more important, especially with an ongoing war and presidential......

WNET is launching a new weekly local arts series called SundayArts this Sunday (12 noon). The debut episode’s main focus is the New York City Opera from its current production of Madama Butterfly to its incoming director. There will also be some arts news and highlights of current shows and events as part of the show which is structured around a rebroadcast of the Great Performances presentation of Madama Butterfly. This isn’t the first time......