Big changes are ahead for WNBC, Channel 4. The NY Times reports NBC wants to transform the local station into a "content center" and "will start a 24-hour local news channel along the lines of cable’s New York One." Overall, NBC will "de-emphasize" WNBC--the WNBC website will be NBC New York. No layoffs are planned, but a huge culture shift is: Employees will be retrained and have "expanded duties," such as producers who usually produce......

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......

The NYPD has plans to spend $30 million to build a "super high-tech" anti-crime center. The luxe crime fighting emporium will feature high definition tvs to keep watch over the city, with cameras pointed from subway stations to underwater. The 22,000 square foot Joint Operations Command Center is scheduled to be up and running by 2011 and will be annexed to Police HQ. The New York Post describes how the center will work. "Cops will......

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,......

There's a new game coming to town for cable subscribers who have been yoked to Time-Warner Cable or Cablevision out of necessity. New York City has finally struck a deal with Verizon to provide competing cable services throughout the five boroughs. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Lieber announced at a press conference, "This is a historic agreement that when approved for the first time will bring true cable television service competition in each in......

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.......

Artwork by Rene Smith as seen on Gossip Girl. Last night as Gossip Girl returned to the airwaves, it brought some real LIC artists with it. In the fictional Bedford Avenue Gallery, as Blair plots to ruin Jenny Humphrey, she pauses in front of some pieces -- one of which belongs to LIC artist Rene Smith, who told us about how her art landed on Rufus Humphrey's walls.I heard that Gossip Girl rented art......

Photo via kaitlinyap's flickr. When last the teens of Gossip Girl were gossiped about, it was pre-writers strike and Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf were battling through the tough adolescent years: sex, car services and cocktails at The Plaza. Tonight the drama returns, with the first of five episodes that will close out season one. Serena, known IRL as Blake Lively, said that the advertising campaign (pictured) is accurate, and that every......

This past Sunday the New York Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences had its local Emmy awards presentation and there were some surprises among the winners in the local news categories along with the amount stations took home compared to last year. WNYW (Fox 5) picked up the most with nine (up three from last year), including best morning newscast and Arnold Diaz’s “Shame, Shame, Shame” segments picked up two.Perhaps the......

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......

WNBC’s newscast rebranding (back to "News 4 New York") was not the only change this week for the station. Vickie Burn, from NBC's DC affiliate WRC, is the new Vice President of News & Content aka news director, replacing Dan Forman. (The rebranding was just coincidental, according to the station.) Rumor has it that WNYW will get a new news director as well: Dianne Doctor, former news director at WNBC and WCBS. She is......

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,......

First Madonna dissed New York City, calling it "boring," and now Miss Sex and the City herself is saying it's "not what it used to be." Sarah Jessica Parker may actually be doing us all a favor, however, by discouraging the inevitable flock or Carrie Bradshaw-wannabees from moving to the Big Apple after The Big Movie comes out later this year. SJP told the Daily News that Manhattan is "a really hard city, and it's......

Duke Castiglione became sports anchor for Fox 5 in June 2007. In addition to his sports anchor duties at 10 p.m. from Sunday-Thursday, Duke hosts “Sports Extra” on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. He sat down with Gothamist recently to share his thoughts on baseball and more. Your father does play-by-play for the Red Sox, but professes to have been a Yankees fan growing up, which baseball team did you root for growing up? Yes, my......

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......

Later today ABC will join together Barack Obama with the ladies of The View. While they tell us the main focus of their interview segment is on the "controversial remarks of Reverend Jeremiah Wright" (something that Elizabeth Hasselbeck has slammed him for in the past), one of the clips shows Barbara Walters telling Obama he is, "very sexy looking." At which point the presidential candidate needs to fan himself from the 78-year-old news legend's......

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......

A new PBS show called A Little Bit of Brooklyn, that presents the borough's cultural nuggets, premieres today on WLIW. Hosted by Cobble Hill foodie Terry Corraro, the first episode features the Gubernats, a Polish family from Greenpoint, who keep their cultural traditions alive each Easter by carving a lamb out of butter, baking a lamb-shaped cake, making intricate paintings on eggs with wax, and cooking up a fine feast of white borscht. Greenpoint is......

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......

Appearing on Letterman this week, Rainn Wilson (aka Dwight Schrute) served as a warning bell for the long-awaited, post-strike return of The Office. What did he discuss with Dave? Not Scranton, but his old stomping grounds in Williamsburg."At the time I lived with my friend out in an abandoned beer brewery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. And this wasn't the cute little Williamsburg with all the little hipsters and cafes. This was like packs of stray wild......

The British motoring series Top Gear (Monday, 8:00 p.m., BBC America) has a world wide following and happens to be one of the funniest shows on television. It's sort of a combination of Monty Python, Mythbusters, Motorweek, and a talk show all rolled into one crazy hour of British madness with three crazy British hosts. This week, they add beautifully filmed travelogue and a bit of road movie to the mix as they journey to......

A seven-part miniseries about John Adams based on the best-selling Pulitzer Prize winning book by historian David McCullough seems like something you used to find on PBS done in cooperation with the BBC, but you’ll find it on HBO, with parts 1 & 2 airing Sunday at 8:00 p.m. The miniseries tells the story of the first vice-president and later the second president of the United States. The big bankroll of HBO means this production......

Television coverage of Governor Spitzer's scandal has been relentless. From extra newscasts from most of the stations and WNET/ Thirteen's special Monday night report (the only one that seemed to gauge statewide reaction) to leading all the local newscasts, but the networks, local stations throughout the country and even the BBC World News. When the BBC leads with an American governor’s prostitution scandal on its international news channel, it shows how big the story......

Infamous prostitute of the hour Ashley Alexandra Dupre, whose other life as high class hooker "Kristen," forced Governor Eliot Spitzer to resign, is cashing in on her . . . uh, notoriety. From revenue from downloaded music tracks to book, magazine, clothing, and film deals, Dupre could stand to make millions of dollars in coming months. Silicon Alley Insider listed some potential deals that could pay off for the pro from New Jersey. $200,000+ from......