Kaufman Astoria Studios

Combos start as high as $ 17, but money isn’t an issue this is truly one of the better theaters in NYC. If you’re looking to go into the city then this is a great choice. Free refills on your popcorn and drinks too. Stop charging $ 4 for M&Ms tho, that’s wild.

Having been on a tour before and failing to review it, figured a return to the grounds out back for The Astoria Flea & Food Night Market at Kaufman Astoria Studios was a nice time to give it props.

So this review is about the best time ever which is filmed at Kaufman studios. It’s Neil Patrick’s new show and you can get tickets either thru 1iota or todaytix app. I ended up getting priority tickets from 1iota which meant we were the first group of people inside. I got there around 7pm even though check in ends at 830pm. We were wrist banded, went thru a metal detector and waited in a line. I don’t know if it was because the forecast said there would be rain but we were under blue canopies. It was super humid and hot and waiting underneath that for about 2 hours was no Bueno. Eventually they gave us tickets (they kept all the parties together) with assigned seating. You can either sit in the balcony or floor and each ticket had a different color. They escorted everyone in based on their ticket color. Good thing the ac was on blast inside because it was so gross outside. We ended up with seats next to the special guest booth who was Tyler perry!
There’s plenty of photo opportunities before the show starts. The comedian went on at 930 pm to warm up the crowd. Since this is a live show our laughter and clapping is all they’ve got. But once the show starts we were told to power down our phones. All the segments were very random and included people from other places. I’m not sure how long the show will last but it’s cool to say that I got to see NPH and was on national tv!

My sweetheart and I came here yesterday night for a live television taping of Neil Patrick Harris’ new variety show, «Best Time Ever». It was the show’s premier episode and the Audience Warmer-​Upper told us that we were the best audience he had seen all season. Har har.
The space here is really large and seems to be very well-​stocked with state-​of-​the-​art equipment. The interior studio’s walls are lined with industrial quality sound proofing material. I joked around about how if someone were to pick me up and throw me against the wall I would be okay because of said sound-​proofing material… it was soft squishy and with a little bit of bouncy-ness…it was also white to off-​white and yellowing a but… whoever installed this stuff should have gone with a darker color so that it would better stand the test of time… but I digress…
Being a native New Yorker, I’ve had the opportunity to attend several television show tapings and have even been a Production Assistant for 1 reality show (hey there Project Runway!) and for another show that was a pilot (it was so painfully bad that I’m not even sharing the name of the show. Kate Gosselin and Paula Deen were a part of it though ^___^)…and I’ve got to say, last night’s taping was easily one of the most painless and well-​organized tapings I had ever been to.
It was a significantly better experience than audience tapings I’ve attended at television studios in Chelsea, Columbus Circle and Midtown. Yep yep. If you score some tickets to a taping here, I’m pretty confident that they’ll actually stick to the set schedule (if you’re provided with one, as I was).
The only annoying part was at the end of the show when they filmed promos and brief adverts for future episodes with us there. They weren’t filming us nor did they need anyone to clap, hoot or holler so it was really lame that they wouldn’t let us go.
…It was also lame that there were no giveaways (for a show premier, c’mon now :-/​) and that there were such obvious «plants» in the the audience… but then again, the taping was live and such is the magic of live television. It also wasn’t Kaufman Astoria Studios’ fault…
Another thing that excited me about being here last night is that this is also where they film «Sesame Street» and «Orange is the New Black»…when it’s not a street or house scene.
I also love, love, love that something like this exists just up the block from my apartment. Almost reminds me of the big studios in Burbank, California… but Kaufman isn’t thereat big… yeahhh…5 Unilocaly Unilocal stars.
Thanks for the fun Tuesday night Kaufman Astoria Studios!

I always knew I’d live near Sesame Street

I like this movie theater because it is historic and it is not crowded. Each theater is big with huge seats and a lot of leg room. I like it they have dinner combo special with Uno’s across the street!

Great studio. Great amount of space. Close to the subway.

Avoid KAS Music & Sound at all costs. I’m a professional musician and audio engineer and I booked the recording studio (which is the most expensive studio I have ever paid for) because I had a very large project to record (19 musicians live & simultaneously.) While Joe C. was very charming, the charm wore off when I had to have an argument everytime I needed a new mic set-​up. Worst headphone mixes I’ve ever heard. Tracks were bussed improperly… now I have vocals in my Floor Tom mic track. Thanks for the most stressfull recording experience I’ve ever had in my 15 + years as a professional musician. Never again.
Also he booked a piano tuner in the middle of our paid session. So we paid for 3 hours of studio time to watch the piano get tuned AND had to pay the piano tuner as well.
They are overpaid and underworked.

CLASSIC FILMING STUDIO. It is not as large as Steiner Studios over in Brooklyn. It is however WONDERFUL to work in if you get the opportunity to.

helps support the local Queens economy — i say i like this place now. wait til they take up more street parking.

Good movie selection, needs more parking spaces. On of the best movie theaters in the area.

«Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?»
Yes I can.
To get to Sesame Street, you have to go to Astoria, in Queens. Sesame Street has been taped within Kaufman Astoria Studios since 1992.
The television series and most of the home video releases are taped here. KAS Music and Sound studio is also located there, recording all of the audio needs for Sesame Street.
My family and I were very fortunate to tour the studios and view a taping of a segment with Gordon and Susan at 123 Sesame Street.

I love how convenient it is to get to compared to Steiner and some of the other studios. It’s a little run down in spots, but it’s close to the train and some decent food options.

The studio is able to handle major studio feature films as well as indies, and is home to several ongoing TV series. It is a huge facility with various stages, studios, and offices, and storage rooms. The location is near the N, Q, R, and M subway lines, as well as many restaurants and other businesses. You can see all the delicious places we order lunch from in my reviews. We have had mouse problems, which counts against the studio. I don’t know why Unilocaler Andy G says there are earthquakes though. Messing around?

Beware! There’s earthquakes in this studio!

One of the better studios in town. Convenient to the subway via the Broadway stop (N) or Steinway stop ®.
This is where the magic that is Sesame Street happens. It’s also home to dozens of films and TV shows through the year, but come on. Sesame Street. Nuff said.
While it’s not the most hi-​tech studio, it is a very pleasant work environment.
And if you have a walkaway lunch, Broadway and Steinway have plenty of eating options.