New York : A dream set for TV shows

It is true that New York has played many roles on television recently.

For the needs of the show "Damages" starring the famous Glenn Close, the city was completely transformed into a marketplace supposed to be in Kandahar, in Afghanistan.

For the needs of the Golden Globe winner show Mildred Pierce starring the Oscar winner Kate Winslet, New York became Los Angeles in the 1930s.  

On Blue Bloods, this show about generations of a crime fighting family, the city's landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge,  were showcased.

In the 20011/2012 TV seasons, 23 shows are being filmed in New York. This is huge when we compare this number with the only 9 shows shot in New York in 2006. The televisions series filmed in New York are often about young adults drama, or police dramas. We can name shows like "I Just Want My Pants Back", about a 22 year old man, "Unforgetable" , about a female police detective, "White Collar" a show about an ex con man who helps the FBI solve crimes, or the very popular "Gossip Girl", about scheming and very rich Upper East Siders.

"There is just no better or more versatile character for television than New York City" said the president of Kaufman Studios.

"There is just no substitute for the energy of New York, the ethmic diversity, the architectural mix, the subways, the hordes of Times Square. LA is boring in comparision" said Merril Karpf  co executive producer on the show "Unforgetable".

Many producers agree on the fact that New York is soon going to be a major television production center. And this because the NY City Hall is willing to help the shows as much as they can, and to attract directors or producers.

Sex and The City was one of the first show to make New York City famous and interesting for New York City. Sex and the City is an american television comedy drama series directed by Darren Starr, and shot in New York. It attracted many tv shows producers, and it attracted tourists from all around the world. The show which was a commercial success has many fans from Africa to Asia. New York uses theses kind of shows to attract as many people as they can. Indeed, Sex and The City Hotspots Tour are organised by tourism agency. During this "Tour" you can visit for example the site of Carry Bradshaw, the main character played by Sarah Jessica Parker, and Big's wedding reharsal dinner, or remember Miranda (played by Cinthya Nixon) embarassing underwear moment in the Village, or pass the Cafe where Samantha (played by Kim Cattral) invites the girls to Abu Dhabi.

On the same basis, Friends, the famous TV show, considered as the greatest comedy show of all time attracts many tourists from all over the world. Friends is an Amerrican sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. From Europe to India, they all want to visit the building where the six friends live, the cafe (Central Perk) where they meet each other every day. But the thing is that most of people believes that Friends was shot in New York, but actually, not even a scene of the show was shot there. Most of the scenes wer shot in a studio situated in Burbank, California. This need to set the storyline in New York shows that it is a very well known city and that people from all over the world identifies with it. When viewers belive that series were shot in NYC thay are more attracted. This city attracts more viewers and made the show successfull. The city is so important that directors want to associate their shows with the City.