Rockland County, NY Town Heavily Featured on Primetime CBS Show Last Night
For Hudson Valley fans of the CBS show FBI had a lot to be excited about last night. First of all, it included a guest appearance by Tate Donavon, known for roles in Argo, and The OC. When I saw him; though, the inner 90s Disney kid in me yelled out, "That's Hercules!"
Besides featuring the voice actor of one of my favorite Disney animated classics, the FBI episode played into the Hudson Valley a lot!
FBI Episode Filmed in Rockland County
Last night's episode of FBI was the first of the new year, and it was called "Second Life." Season 5 Episode 10's description on Rotten Tomatoes says,
The abduction of a young woman leads the team back to a cold case from 18 years ago, which pushes Isobel to reconnect with her old partner Jake and take another shot at solving one of her first cases at the bureau.
An episode with a lot of weight, for sure. Now, I will admit, I missed the first half of the episode because I was cleaning up from dinner, but my dad said that someone on the show had a "house in Fairview, right outside of Poughkeepsie." Dad believes they said Fairview is like 15 minutes outside of Poughkeepsie, and we know that's not true.
What really got my Hudson Valley radar going off was when Special Agents Bell and OA were hunting down their suspect a little more than halfway through the episode. They tracked their perpetrator to Nelsonville, NY.
Nelsonville is a village located in the town of Philipstown in Putnam County. It lies in the Hudson Highlands directly east of Cold Spring. But wait, didn't I say they filmed in Rockland County? Nelsonville is in Putnam County. Well, they weren't really in Nelsonville.
Which Rockland County Town Filled in for Nelsonville?
Residents of Nelsonville can be happy that they got a shout-out, but they won't see anything familiar if they watch the episode. My dad and I were watching closely for any landmarks that could help us out. I didn't trust any of the store signs because many shows and movies will put up their own signs over preexisting ones.
At one point, when the suspect drives away in his truck, you can see a street corner. According to the street signs, it was the corner of Suffern Place and Lafayette Avenue.
Immediately, I went to Google Maps. As long as the show didn't change any of the street signs, I knew I would be able to find this place. Wouldn't you know, it was as easy as can be. Below, you can see the exact corner where the scene was filmed at.
So where was this then? FBI filmed their Nelsonville scenes in the town of Suffern, New York. If you continue to peruse the street view, you'll be able to scroll up and down Lafayette Avenue where most of the action took place, seeing landmarks like the Lafayette Theater.. Also, I don't believe they even changed any of the store signs for the show because they all looked familiar.
FBI and Spin-Offs Film in the Hudson Valley
This isn't the only time as of late that FBI and other CBS shows have utilized the Hudson Valley. Lohud reported back in October that FBI was filming for Season 5 (the current season) at Bailey's Smokehouse in Blauvelt. Other episodes such as "Prodigal Son" was shot in Yonkers and Tarrytown.
The spin-off to FBI, FBI: Most Wanted filmed in Yorktown back in February in the area of Pines Bridge Road.
With all of the filming in the Hudson Valley, it is no wonder that there have been FBI actor sightings in the Hudson Valley, including John Boyd (Special Agent Stuart Scola) and Shantel VanSanten (Special Agent Nina Chase) visiting Smoky Rock BBQ in Rhinebeck.