Showtime TV series latest in string of big productions in Albany

Hollywood returns to the Capital Region as another popular show comes to Albany.

The Showtime series "Billions" stars Paul Giamatti and Damien Lewis.

Season 6 finds them filming in Albany.

It’s the third big production to come through in recent months, and likely not the last.

In June, HBO’s "The Gilded Age" turned Troy neighborhoods into 1800s New York City.

Crews were in Albany through August filming a new series, "White House Plumbers," with Woody Harrelson.
September ends with Showtime’s "Billions."

"Initially, we used to get maybe 500 or 600 hits on our website, and then once the pandemic started, those hits almost tripled, so we knew that we were on everyone’s radar," said Deb Goedeke, the Albany County Film Commissioner.

So how did the pandemic thrust the Capital Region into the spotlight? Suddenly, bigger wasn’t better.

Even the TV show "Manifest" eyed Albany at one point.

"We could keep everybody contained. The Times Union Center is connected to the Capital Center. They’re both qualified production facilities. They’re connected via a walkway," said Goedeke.

New York also has a significant film tax credit, and filming upstate just costs less.

Learn what else makes Albany so attractive to film crews by watching the video of Jerry Gretzinger’s story.