CBS Television City

Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and Charles Luckman, Television City opened in 1952 as the second CBS television studio complex in Southern California, following CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of the San Fernando Valley, which continues to house additional production facilities and the network's Los Angeles local television operations (KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV). Since 1961, Television City has served as the master control facility for CBS's west coast television network operations which were previously based at CBS Columbia Square. In 2018, CBS sold Television City to the real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners while continuing to exclusively lease its space.

Since its opening, numerous TV shows have been broadcast live or recorded at Television City, including many shows not aired on CBS. It has also been the production site of several films such as the 1996 feature ''That Thing You Do!'', starring Tom Hanks and Liv Tyler. During the opening credits of many of the shows recorded here, a voice-over announced the phrase "from Television City in Hollywood". The complex currently houses a total of eight separate studios. The facility infrequently conducts backstage tours led by a CBS page.

History

CBS planned to move most of its entertainment operations to the Los Angeles area in 1950. As they needed additional space beyond its Columbia Square complex on Sunset Boulevard, CBS purchased the property at Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard that year. Hiring architect William Pereira, the company reportedly spent $7 million on the studio. Television City opened on November 16, 1952. It was built on the site of a former football field and race track, Gilmore Stadium. Before the stadium, it was an oil field.

Initially, the four original studios were equipped with RCA TK-10 monochrome cameras. Studio 43 was equipped with RCA TK-40/41 color cameras in 1954, with cables allowing any of the original four studios to use those cameras. In 1956, Studio 41 was equipped with RCA TK-41s. However, CBS color broadcasts decreased in frequency until the following decade, when the 1964 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Cinderella'' was recorded—the last known use of the RCA color cameras. CBS programs were, in general, in black-and-white until Norelco PC-60 color cameras were installed starting in late 1964.

Studio 33 is the current home of the long-running CBS game show ''The Price Is Right'' and the HBO late night talk show '' Real Time with Bill Maher''. This soundstage was also the home of ''The Carol Burnett Show'' for its entire 1967–1978 run, and ''The Red Skelton Show'' prior to that (1953–1970), as well as the notable game shows ''Match Game'' (the 1973–82 Gene Rayburn-hosted version, and the 1998 version), ''The $25,000/$100,000 Pyramid'' (the 1980s run), ''Hollywood Squares'' (hosted by Tom Bergeron), ''Wheel of Fortune'' from 1989 to 1995, the 1986–1989 revival of ''Card Sharks'', the 1983–86 version of '' Press Your Luck'', and the 1988–1995 run of ''Family Feud''. On April 9, 1998, on the 5,000th episode of ''The Price Is Right'' (actually number ''5,132''), CBS named Studio 33 the Bob Barker Studio in honor of the show's longtime host and executive producer.

When it became standard for sitcoms to tape in front of a studio audience in the 1970s, many shows were recorded on soundstages at Television City, such as ''All in the Family'', '' Maude'', and ''Good Times''. The ABC sitcoms ''Three's Company'' and ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' were also taped at Television City.

CBS Television City is also home to CBS's visual effects studio, CBS Digital, and the CBS Records music label. "Television City" is a registered trademark of CBS for its TV production facilities.

In September 2017, CBS investigated selling the property due to a development boom in the Fairfax District. As a result of this possibility, the city of Los Angeles is taking steps (as of May 2018) to officially declare the facility a historic and cultural monument. CBS Corp. sold Television City to Los Angeles real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners for $750 million in a deal finalized in mid-December 2018. The deal gives the buyer the right to use the Television City name. CBS programs produced at Television City, including ''The Price Is Right'', ''The Young and the Restless'', ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', and ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'', will continue to be based at Television City, as will the headquarters of the CBS international unit.

Architecture

The stark modern architecture at Television City consists of black and white planes meeting at razor-sharp corners, with accents of dazzling red, the work of Pereira & Luckman of Los Angeles. The studio facility was built to handle the larger production needs for the network, most of which took place at the rather cramped CBS Columbia Square. The building's black and white color scheme was also used to identify areas where it was designed to be expanded. Black walls and glass walls indicated "temporary" structure that could be removed during expansion, while white areas were "permanent".

The building initially held four soundstages (Studios 31, 33, 41, and 43), but a renovation in the late 1980s added two new soundstages to the east of the original building (Studios 36 and 46), plus additional office/storage space and technical facilities. Later, another renovation further added two more studios (Studios 56 and 58) in what had been rehearsal halls in the original building. The original plans for Television City called for 24 soundstages, before CBS executives decided to settle with just the initial four.

Shows produced at Television City

Below is a partial list of programs that have recorded episodes or broadcast live at Television City Studios.

* ''The $10,000/25,000/100,000 Pyramid''
* ''Alice'' (pilot episode only)
* ''All in the Family''
* ''Amateur's Guide to Love''
* ''American Idol'' (2002–2016, 2018–present)
* ''America's Got Talent'' (2009–2011)
* ''Archie Bunker's Place''
* '' Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?'' (2008–2009, 2015)
* ''Art Linkletter's House Party''
* ''Beat Shazam''
* ''Beat the Clock''
* '' Blackout''
* ''The Bold and the Beautiful''
* ''Body Language''
* '' Bullseye''
* ''The Burns and Allen Show''
* '' Can You Top This?''
* ''Capitol''
* ''Card Sharks'' (1986–1989, 2019)
* ''The Carol Burnett Show''
* ''Cher''
* ''Cherries Wild''
* '' Child's Play''
* ''Climax!''
* '' Contraption''
* ''Crosswits''
* ''Dancing with the Stars''
* ''The Danny Kaye Show''
* ''Deal or No Deal'' (2005)
* ''Dennis Miller Live''
* ''Dinah!''
* ''Dirty Rotten Cheater''
* '' Don Adams' Screen Test''
* ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' (2007–2009)
* '' Double Dare'' (1976–77)
* ''The Edsel Show''
* ''Family Feud'' (1988–95, 1999–2000)
** ''Celebrity Family Feud'' (2015–present)
* ''Follow the Leader'' (TV series)
* '' The Game Game''
* '' Game Show in My Head''
* ''Game Show Moments Gone Bananas''
* ''Gambit''
* '' Gameshow Marathon''
* ''Give-n-Take''
* ''The Gong Show''
* ''Good Times''
* '' High Rollers''
* '' The Hollywood Game''
* ''Hollywood Squares'' (1998–2004)
* ''Hollywood's Talking''
* ''I've Got a Secret''
* ''Insight''
* ''The Jack Benny Program''
* ''The Jeffersons''
* '' The Joker's Wild''
* ''The Judy Garland Show''
* '' Kids Say the Darndest Things''
* '' The Larry Elder Show''
* '' The Late Late Show'' (1995–present)
** '' ... with Tom Snyder'' (1995–1999)
** '' ... with Craig Kilborn'' (1999–2004)
** '' ... with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014)
** '' ... with James Corden'' (2015–present)
* ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' (1977–79)
* '' The Masked Singer'' (2019-2020)
* ''Live to Dance'' (2011)
* ''Love Connection'' (2017–2018)
* '' Mama's Family''
* ''Match Game''
* '' Matchmaker''
* '' Maude''
* '' Me and the Boys''
* '' Meet Millie''
* ''The Merv Griffin Show''
* ''The Mike Douglas Show''
* '' The Montel Williams Show''
* '' Morris Cerullo Help Line''
* ''My Friend Irma''
* '' Now You See It''
* '' One Day at a Time'' (1975–1984)
* '' Osbournes Reloaded'' (2008–2009)
* ''Password''
* ''The Pat Sajak Show''
* ''Pet Star''
* ''Pictionary''
* ''Playboy After Dark''
* ''Playhouse 90''
* ''Politically Incorrect''
* '' Press Your Luck'' (1983–1986, 2019–2020, 2022)
* ''The Price Is Right'' (1972–present)
* '' Real Time with Bill Maher''
* ''The Red Skelton Show''
* '' Rock Star: INXS''/''Supernova''
* ''Rodeo Drive''
* ''The Ropers''
* ''The Roseanne Show''
* ''Rove LA''
* '' Show Me the Money'' (2006)
* ''Skating with the Stars'' (2010)
* ''Slide Show''
* ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour''
* ''So You Think You Can Dance'' (2005–present)
* ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour''
* ''Spin-Off''
* ''The Steve Harvey Show''
* '' Stockard Channing in Just Friends''
* ''Stump the Stars''
* '' Survivor'' (finales and reunions)
* '' Talking Bad''
* '' Talking Dead''
* '' Talking Preacher''
* '' Talking Saul''
* ''Tattletales''
* '' That's My Line''
* '' That's My Mama''
* ''There's One in Every Family''
* ''Three's Company''
* ''Tic-Tac-Dough''
* ''Tony Orlando and Dawn (TV series), Tony Orlando and Dawn''
* ''To Tell the Truth''
* ''The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Twilight Zone''
* ''3rd Degree (game show), 3rd Degree''
* ''The Tyra Banks Show'' (2005–2007)
* ''Vibe (magazine)#Expanding the brand, Vibe''
* ''Video Village''
* ''Welcome Back, Kotter''
* ''Wheel of Fortune'' (1989–1995)
* ''Whew!''
* ''Wild 'n Out''
* ''Win, Lose or Draw''
* ''The World's Best''
* ''The X Factor (American TV series), The X Factor''
* ''Xuxa (American TV program), Xuxa''
* ''The Young and the Restless''
* ''You Don't Know Jack (game show), You Don't Know Jack''

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Television City
Buildings and structures in Los Angeles
CBS television studios, Television City
Landmarks in Los Angeles
Modernist architecture in California
Television studios in the United States
William Pereira buildings
Fairfax, Los Angeles
The Late Late Show (American talk show)
Buildings and structures completed in 1952
1952 establishments in California