Get FREE tickets to The Bill Cunningham Show – TV Show Taping in New York City

“The Bill Cunningham”  TV Show – Be in the Studio Audience

How to Get Tickets: This was very easy and tickets are free. I went to the show’s website and followed the directions: http://www.thebillcunninghamshow.com/about/tickets/     NOTE:  The show has finished taping for the Spring 2012 season but is being renewed for season 2 and will resume taping in July 2012.

I received an email reply within a few days or so offering tickets for a selection of a few dates for show taping.   I chose a date and then e-mailed to confirm.     They e-mailed me about eight times to remind me of the upcoming show date.

Waiting in Line – How Long?: I arrived late, around 12:20 for a 12:30 door opening, but luckily still got in. The line to get in is inside the Hotel Pennsylvania. My seat in the studio turned out to have nothing to do with when I arrived in line.   Check-in was very easy.  I checked in by name, and went right upstairs on the elevator, no one ever checked my ID or printed e-mail confirmation.

The wait outside was very short – that is a good thing.

Do they overbook the show? – Everyone in line got into the show I was at. No overbooking problem that I could see. They get good points for this.

Security Screening: You will go through a metal detector and security will look over/check your bags/purse.

What to Wear: Dress VERY nicely as they do show the audience on TV – A LOT. Expect to be on camera with possibly even a close-up shot of you. Collared shirts and bright pashmina wrapped scarves look nice on camera. Also, you WILL get a better seat if you’re better dressed.

Inside the building/after Security check: After you are checked in you have about another half an hour 40 minute wait. The inside holding/waiting area has seating.  There are bathrooms and vending machines for snacks/drinks.    Be sure to bring a snack/food for the wait and/or change for the vending machines.   

When they are ready to bring the audience inside the studio, they first selected about 15 people who were better dressed to be in the seats that will be on camera.   Those people got to go into the studio first.     The best audience seats go to the people who are better dressed – which shockingly, was not many people.    The vast majority of audience attendees totally ignored the instructions to dress nicely and were dressed in sloppy street clothes, torn jeans, shirts with logos, etc.     They also had difficulty following the directions to shut off their phones and take the gum out of their mouths and being quiet while the show guests were speaking.    I’ve been to most of the TV shows in New York and this was by FAR the worst dressed, worst behaved audience out of any of them.

Inside the Studio: The studio holds what looked like over a hundred people. They arranged us by colors/what we were wearing.      One middle-aged woman held up the line/seating, having a total tantrum because she wanted to pick her own seat and refused to sit where she was assigned.

The Show Taping: The show is very short and tapes in several segments.    The guests were all every day people, who have the unfortunate distinction of behaving badly in tabloid, trashy manner.    For example, a typical show topic may be:  two lesbians hire a man to have a baby with, then one lesbian starts cheating on the other with the man.

There was a person who came out to chat with  the audience and give directions before the show.   Photography was allowed before the show.

Second Taping:  The audience was allowed/asked to stay for the second taping.    I personally could not stand the half hour break trapped in the waiting room with other audience members and left before the second show.    For example, as soon as we got into the waiting room, a crowd of audience members attacked the trash pile of empty pizza boxes on the floor looking for scraps of 4-hr old cold pizza to eat, pushing and shoving each other like a pack of starving homeless people.

Giveaways:    Food (pizza) was provided as it was a special end of season taping.     They gave away Bill Cunningham magnets and there was a gift bag for people who stayed to the end of the second final taping of the season (which I did not).    Not sure if there are giveaways on normal show days.

Total Time to Attend, Including Wait:  2 ½ hours for one show.

Overall:   If you love ghetto, trashy, low-class tabloid TV, then you will LOVE the Bill Cunningham show.      Note: the people who handled the show were great!

Free tickets to TV Show tapings in New York City – Ticket Bonanza Day

I am so excited!   Today was a ticket bonanza!   I FINALLY got tickets to Dr. Oz after 6 weeks of trying.   ALSO, I got tickets to Center Stage, 106 and Park, Jerry Springer, and The Chew all in one day!    My efforts are paying off.      Tickets to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon are FINALLY available also and I would have gotten them but my call to NBC ticket line got dropped and then the next four times I tried the line was busy or I got a recording saying to call back later.   Will try that again tomorrow.

Rachel Ray’s booking staff has not responded yet from five or so weeks ago and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s VIP ticket booking staff is apparently STILL on vacation (as you recall I waited several hours there with a reservation, did not get in, got told to email for tickets and the email said they are on vacation for nearly 2 weeks.)

Going to the Bill Cunningham Show’s end of season last day of taping tomorrow!   Super excited!    They said there will be a giveaway and snacks!

Get tickets to The Revolution – ABC TV Show taping in New York City

“The Revolution” TV Talk Show  – Be in the Studio Audience

How to Get Tickets: This was very easy and tickets are free. I went to the show’s website and followed the directions:  http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-revolution/Get-Tickets – I received an email reply within a week or so offering tickets for a show on the date I selected – there is a morning and an afternoon taping most weekdays.

Waiting in Line – How Long?:    I arrived around 1:15pm for a 1:45 door opening.   The line to get in is on the ramp of a former underground parking garage.   My seat in the studio turned out to have nothing to do with when I arrived in line.   They started letting people inside at 1:45 but it was after 2:00pm before I got through security.     They came through the line and checked us in by name and gave us a paper ticket.   No one ever checked my ID or printed e-mail confirmation.

They also went through the line and wrote an asterisk on some people’s tickets.   The people with the asterisk wound up being loaded into the TV taping studio first.

The wait outside was relatively short – that is a good thing.

 Do they overbook the show? –  Everyone in line got into the show.    No overbooking problem.   They get good points for this.

Security Screening:   You will go through a metal detector and security will look over/check your bags/purse.

What to Wear: Dress VERY nicely as they do show the audience on TV – A LOT. Expect to be on camera with possibly even a close-up shot of you. Collared shirts and bright pashmina wrapped scarves look nice on camera.     Also, you are likely to get a better seat if you’re better dressed.   TIP:  Don’t wear heels as you have to walk down a LOT of stairs when the show is over.

Inside the building/after Security check: After you are checked in you have about another half an hour to hour wait.    The inside holding/waiting area is  an underground parking garage with chairs in it.    There are bathrooms but no food.    Be sure to eat beforehand and/or bring a snack for the wait.

When they are ready to bring the audience up to the studio, they first called people with asterisks written on their tickets.     They pack you into a huge, pickup truck sized freight elevator.     The best audience seats go to the people on the first elevator load who are in front by where the elevator door opens.    If you are claustrophobic, you can walk upstairs but it’s a long climb.

Inside the Studio:   The studio holds what looked like over a hundred people.    They arranged us by colors/what we were wearing.   A man named Mike gave the audience instructions and chatted/entertained us.    We liked him.   He was friendly, entertaining, and apparently single as he focused A LOT on one woman in the front row – sitting in her lap multiple times, grabbing her hands and dancing around her multiple more times.      So if you go to the Revolution, you too might get a lap dance.

The Show Taping: The show tapes in several segments.   The topics were interesting and the show was entertaining.   This is a startup TV show, so in general don’t expect A-list celebrity guests.   For the most part the cast members didn’t acknowledge the audience or interact, except one of them did come up into the audience between segments to ask for a general opinion/brief chat, and another one filmed a brief commercial intro in the crowd.    None of the four show stars stopped to before or after the show to formally address the audience or say hello, or goodbye, or thank you for coming.

To exit the show, they do not take you back in the freight elevator.    You will descend 8-10 flights of stairs and wind through a dank, dark, dirty underground area stuffed with storage boxes and junk.

Giveaways: Do not expect any giveaways, food or otherwise. However, sometimes they do give a few things out. For example, they gave out a book for the morning show, but there were no giveaways for the afternoon show.

Total Time to Attend, Including Wait: 3-4 hours, not bad at all!

TIP:  Martha Stewart Show tapes next door to the Revolution (until 4/30/2012) on 26th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues in Manhattan.   You could easily go to Martha in the morning and The Revolution in the afternoon.

Overall Rating:  The show was good!  Definitely recommended!

1iota.com – tickets to TV Shows in New York City, Los Angeles – The Voice, Craig Ferguson

Check out the website www.1iota.com for tickets to special events and TV Show tapings in California (Los Angeles, Burbank, etc) and New York City.     They often have special events such as something with the Walking Dead, extra concerts, tickets to the Comedy Awards, etc.    Keep checking it back as they add new things all the time.    And best of all, tickets are normally free!

Get tickets to 106 and Park on BET channel – TV Show taping in New York City

106 and Park TV Show Tickets – Be in the Studio Audience

How to Get Tickets:   Tickets are available for free by filling out the form on their website:   http://www.106andpark.com/ShowTickets   – the only confusing thing is that this form does not give you any idea of when tickets are available, so you have no idea what date to ask for or whether there’s any availability on that date.

I had tickets to a taping of 106 and Park, but came down with a bad case of the flu overnight the night before.    I have emailed them repeatedly asking for a rescheduled date and they have totally ignored me.     I put in a new ticket request for a new date on the website/link above, so far totally ignored.

I am not impressed with the booking staff at 106 and Park at this point.     I will update this blog if they ever respond/help me reschedule.

Get tickets to The Jeremy Kyle Show – TV Show Taping in New York City

The Jeremy Kyle Show – Be in the studio audience

There are currently tickets available to Jeremy Kyle, however not until July 2012.    Personally I do not know where I will be that far in advance, but if you do you can go to http://www.jeremykyleusa.com/tickets/get-tickets/  and select a date.      It’s nice that they let you pick a date and whether you want to go to the morning or afternoon show.

Has anyone been to this show?   How was it?   Do they overbook?

How to Get tickets to Anderson – The Anderson Cooper Show – TV Show taping in New York City

The Anderson Cooper Show – “Anderson” – Be in the Studio Audience

How to Get Tickets: This was very easy and tickets are free. I went to the show’s website http://www.andersoncooper.com/tickets/ and followed the directions, selecting an available date and filling out some basic info like my name and e-mail address.    There have always been dates available every time I’ve checked.

I received an email reply within a day or so offering tickets for a show on the date I selected – there is a morning and an afternoon taping most weekdays.     Be sure to bring your e-mail confirmation and the confirmation number.

It is very nice that you get to select the date of the show you want to attend.     The staff who handles audience booking is EXCELLENT in terms of communication – they let you know who the guests are going to be in advance (and their guests are REALLY GOOD – A-list celebrities, people involved in current events, or people with something interesting or tragic happening in their lives).     They are great about rescheduling if you fall sick or have some other issue with your ticket date, and they send an e-mail thank you after the show.

Waiting in Line – How Long?:     I arrived about half an hour before the doors opened for security check, which was plenty of time.   You don’t want to get there late or last minute though.    The initial line is inside the beautiful Columbus Circle shopping center – NO OUTDOOR WAIT WOO HOO!!!    You will be taken upstairs to the Allen Room by elevator, where you line up in two lines to be checked in then go through a security scan.     Note:  There is no seating until you get inside the studio, so expect 1-1.5 hours of standing up.

Do they overbook the show?: Everyone in line got into the show.     If they think the show will be overbooked/too many people will be coming, they will warn you by e-mail the day before and ask if you want to reschedule.   This is immensely considerate of them and unheard of when most tv show audience bookers don’t bother to respond to you most of the time at all.

Security Screening:    After you are screened, they have a mysterious sorting process.   Some people are directed to the right, others go straight to the end of the hall to line up.      This means that the order in which you arrive at the studio does not correlate to the seat you get.    IE, getting there first does not necessarily get you a front row seat.     The seating seems to have something to do with how many people are in your party, as well as how nicely you are dressed/how your clothes will look on camera.

What to Wear: Dress VERY nicely as they do show the audience on TV – A LOT.    Expect to get A LOT of camera time and possibly even a close-up shot of you.   Collared shirts and bright pashmina wrapped scarves look nice on camera.   Do not for goodness sakes wear a sleeveless exercise top or ratty sweatshirts.

Inside the building/after Security check:    After you are checked in and line up inside the hallway outside Allen Room, you have about another half an hour wait.   You have to fill out a disclaimer and have your ID checked against it.

Inside the Studio:  The Allen Room where Anderson is filmed is just BEAUTIFUL.    It has a huge 50 foot glass wall overlooking Central Park South and the Columbus Circle statue/fountain.     No photography is allowed; do not even take your phone out while in the Allen room.

After you are seated, a friendly comedian will come out to entertain you.   One of them tells you to say hello to everyone around you as you will be in “teams”.    There is no actual team or game, I am not sure why she does says that.      Once in a while, rarely, they will do trivia and if you get the answer right will give you a t-shirt or something.     For example, the one thing Anderson does not like to wear?  Sunglasses.     His favorite reality show?  Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The Show Taping:  The show tapes in several segments.   Usually Anderson will come out and say a general hello to the audience if he can before the show starts.       For part of the show, Anderson sits on the couch with the guests, and for about half the show he will come up and stand in the audience and interview the guests from a distance.     They also plant a few of the guests in aisle seats in the audience for him to interview from there.

After the show is over, and also if he can inbetween segments, Anderson will answer all the questions he can from the audience.    He comes across as a very sweet, genuine, interested person.    He is immensely polite and really doesn’t want to disappoint anyone by saying no – however, you are not supposed to give him things, ask him for things, ask for autographs/photos.

If you are going to ask him a question, ask him something intelligent.    He is a serious news correspondent.    He seems to like questions about his opinion of world events.     For God’s sake, do not ask Anderson if you can come visit him at his house (yes, one woman did that), do not accuse him of not picking you for a question because of your race (yes, someone did that also – that is just ridiculous and offensive).   While you’re at it, don’t ask him anything else rude or offensive, don’t ask him for a job, etc etc.    Use some common sense.

Also, please do not ask Anderson Cooper for restaurant recommendations.   Go google Zagat’s, or if you’re a tourist ask your hotel concierge.    People ask him this question just about every show and he always says he does not really go out to eat.

Giveaways:   Do not expect any giveaways, food or otherwise.    However, sometimes they do give a few things out.   For example, one time I got a music CD of the musical guest on the show.    Another time they did not have enough people for the afternoon taping and gave us gift cards for coming back in the afternoon ($5 to Starbuck’s plus $10 to Subway sandwiches).    Eat before you go and otherwise just enjoy the show.

Total Time to Attend, Including Wait:  3-4 hours, not bad at all!

Overall Rating:   Excellent!   Anderson is my favorite, the studio is beautiful, the booking staff is really great, getting a ticket on a date you can go is very simple, the wait isn’t bad, and the show is so interesting!      Highly recommended!!!

Getting tickets to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – TV Show Taping in New York City

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Be in the Studio Audience

How to Get Tickets:  To get free tickets to see a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, go the show website http://www.thedailyshow.com/tickets  and keep checking back.    You will pick an available date and then you will within a few days get an e-mail confirmation.

Do not fool yourself.   An e-mail confirmation is not a ticket to the show.   It is only a ticket to wait in line at the studio for a ticket to the show.     And don’t think because you wait in line for several hours that you will actually get into the show, either.

The Daily Show audience ticketing is a total mess, and a huge waste of time to the extent that I would not recommend bothering to go, and to the extent that I was so offended I would not only not watch the show ever again but will tell everyone I meet to not watch the show or bother going to it.

Overbooking:   I waited two months for a ticket date.    The studio holds approx 150 people and they sent ticket confirmations for at least 200.    I think overbooking by 50 people is careless, appalling, and excessive.    If they had told me the show was full or closed the ticket requests for the date, I would have booked another date and not wasted my time and train fare coming into the city.    Note:  the tickets do say they overbook, but ALL tv show tickets have a disclaimer and the other TV shows I’ve been to do NOT overbook the audience by 35%.   Or how about if they had bothered to send me an email in advance saying “we have 200 confirmations for 150 seats do you want another date?”

Excessive wait time:   The Daily Show does not even tape until 6 or 7pm.    Instead of having those with ticket confirmations come 1.5 hrs early for security screening and check in, (ie come by 4:30pm) as it is with literally EVERY other TV show taping in New York City – you have to get to the Daily Show studio by about 1:30pm – FOUR HOURS early.    Are you *&$ing kidding me?   They give out paper tickets from about 2:30 to 3:00pm, depending on how long it takes to process the line.      Since their overbooking is so irresponsible and excessife, if you get there at 2pm, you could stand in line for hours and still not get into the show.

Instead of just telling people they have reached the limit and giving you a VIP pass for a later date at 3pm, they tell you that in order to get the pass for the later date you have to come back at 4:30pm and wait in line.     They do tell you that you may not get in, repeatedly, but lead you on into staying in line by promising a VIP ticket and not giving you the info unless you stand around for hours.     Since the original wait was 2 mos, and you’ve already invested an hour or more, you’re likely to try for the VIP tickets.

Then, if you come back at 4:30 pm, they will let you wait at least another hour before they tell you that they are definitely not letting you in.    They give you the impression that they will hand you a VIP pass for another show and wait until 5:30 or so to tell you that to get the VIP ticket for the later date you haave e-mail tickets@thedailyshow.com.

First of all, there is no reason to have people waste 2-3 hours of their afternoon waiting around.    Second of all, there is no reason to not give us the VIP information and reschedule us the first time we wait in line.

THEN I e-mailed tickets@thedailyshow.com for the replacement VIP ticket since we did not get into the show – and I get an e-mail back saying they are on vacation for 2 weeks and don’t expect a reply any time soon.    Why would I bother to go back there?

 Overall Rating:   Huge waste of time, worst tv show audience handling in New York City – don’t bother.   Go see The Colbert Report instead – they treat their audience a lot better.       #TeamColbert.

Getting tickets to The Nate Berkus Show = TV Show Taping in New York City

Tickets to The Nate Berkus Show:

I overheard some people say they had a good time at a taping of the Nate Berkus Show and they thought that show has the best giveways.  I went to the website to look for tickets:   http://www.thenateshow.com/tickets

Nothing has been available for the last 3 weeks any time I have checked.   Not sure why or if they are still taping for this season.

Getting Tickets to The Dr Oz Show and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon – TV Show taping in New York City

Tickets to The Dr. Oz Show and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon TV show taping in New York City

Unlike many other New York City Shows, the NBC ticketing office does not have an online form or e-mail that you can use to ask for tickets.    You have to call the ticket line Mon-Fri from 9am-5pm.    The # is 212 664 3056.

I have been calling that number 2-3 times a week for six weeks.     They have never had tickets available during this time for either Dr. Oz or Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.    I am not impressed with their ticketing process.    They should have a web form to let you know when tickets are available and what the dates are, and an e-mail address to send ticket requests to.

What a waste of time trying to get tickets to these shows has been.

Yeah and forget trying to get tickets to Saturday Night Live – they allegedly only give those out by lottery for the entire year in August only.