Albany home to unscripted productions during SAG-AFTRA & WGA strikes

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Albany has been home to dozens of movies and television shows. Notably, HBO's "Succession", The "Gilded Age" and "White House Plumbers" took over sections of downtown Albany over the last few years.

“Last year in 2022 was our best year ever," Deb Goedeke, Albany County Film Commissioner, said. "We had White House Plumbers here twice, we had Gilded Age here for almost six weeks so the summers have been predominantly busy here in the Capital Region.” 

Goedeke said active productions give the Capital Region an economic boost from filling up local hotels and hiring local crews and extras, bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars back to the local economy.

“When a production does come into town it brings 150 crew, they hire locals, they hire extras, they hire actors, they utilize all of our business services and resources," Goedeke said.

Sets for scripted television and movies are at a standstill while members of SAG-AFTRA and the Writer's Guild of America are currently on strike, fighting for fair pay and treatment from major television studios.

“The inordinate amount of hours that a lot of folks have to work on these productions, it’s insane," Goedeke said. "No other normal person would do that. We want it to be equitable and fair for all parties.” 

Despite scripted productions hitting a roadblock, the Capital Region is still seeing progress. Goedeke said multiple unscripted productions are currently being filmed locally and location scouts are coming to the area to see its potential.