The time of year for the PaleyFest Fall Tv Previews is here. The previews are held at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills. Every fall the Paley Center will host screenings of tv series, most of which are brand new. This is a way to provide early exposure to the show but also give fans an up-close and personal experience with the cast. While meeting the celebrity guests is not guaranteed I have always had fabulous luck at these events.
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I met Matt LeBlanc from Friends at one of these events a few years ago. This year I got to meet Kat Dennings
A way to save on tickets is to purchase them from Goldstar where they will appear a few weeks after going on sale for a discounted price. In addition to being able to score discounted tickets from Goldstar, occasionally the Paley Center website will give out a few free tickets as well. Without any discounts, tickets start at $20. Currently, on Goldstar, you can get complimentary tickets with a $6 service fee. It is really a great deal.
The 2019 Paley Fest Fall Tv Preview Line Up
9/5 NBC Presents Previews of Sunnyside, Perfect Harmony and Bluff City Law
9/6 Amazon Presents a Preview of Undone
9/7 Spectrum Presents a Preview of Mad About You at 1pm
CW Presents Previews of Batwoman, Nancy Drew and Katy Keene
9/9 Fox Presents Previews of Almost Family, Prodigal Son and Bless the Harts
9/10 Hulu Presents a Preview of Wu-Tang: An American Saga & Dollface
9/12 CBS Presents Previews of Bob ♥ Abishola and All Rise
9/13 TBS Presents The Misery Index
9/14 ABC Presents Mixed-ish, Stumptown, and Emergence at 1:00pm
9/15 Nickelodeon Presents The Casagrandes at 1:00pm
Netflix Presents Disenchantment at 6:00pm
PaleyFest in the spring takes place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood but the fall preview is always at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills. You can park across the street from the Paley Center behind Chipotle in a parking structure. The price is $2 an hour and free after 6pm so you won’t need to worry about adding time to keep from getting a ticket.
It mentioned on their website that from 6pm-7pm there would be a reception but I wasn’t really sure if that would include food and beverages so my friend and I ate at Fatburger across the street beforehand. I can now tell you that there are servers walking around with appetizers, you can get free soda, and bags of chips and fig bars.
If you’d like to have a really good snack before in the area I highly recommend Edelweiss chocolates. It’s the same shop that is featured in the conveyor belt scene from I Love Lucy. And you can never go wrong with a cupcake from Sprinkles.
My 2015 Experience
After my friend and I ate we went to get in line around 5:30 pm. There was a general admission line and a member’s line. The FOX preview was the only one that sold out so I knew it would be a bit crowded so I wanted to show up before 6:00 pm to try and get a good seat. I did read on their website that seating was not guaranteed in the main theatre. I thought that meant that you are not guaranteed a seat but that you could stand in the back if seats are no longer available. What it actually means is that if you do not get a seat in the main theatre you have to watch the event from another room on a tv.
All of the q&a’s are live-streamed on the internet and if you miss the live stream you can still watch it later so if you do not get a seat in the main theatre you will be getting the same experience at the Paley Center that you could be having in your own home.
Interested in attending Celebrity Events like this in the future? Find out how here.
When I went to a preview a few years ago we were handed our tickets with no directions or information and were left to figure it out for ourselves. I was trying to look for an entrance but just saw people enjoying the reception so I headed over to get a soft drink and then found out that the ladies that had been in line behind me were the last ones admitted into the theatre.
For future reference, the main theatre is located upstairs and you will want to go there and leave a jacket claiming a seat. They will put a sticker on your ticket so they know you came from the main theatre and then you are free to spend the hour enjoying the reception. My friend and I were redirected to a small room with three rows of chairs and were very disappointed that we would not get to be in the theatre with John and Rob.
Neither of us had realized that limited seating meant that if you didn’t get a seat in the main theatre you wouldn’t get to go inside. We would have skipped Fatburger and gotten in line way earlier than we did had we known. A different friend of mine had gone to their event on Saturday and showed up after the reception but was still able to get to the theatre so I never imagined that I wouldn’t get in. I hope in the future they will change their minds about overbooking the events because people do not drive from Orange County to Beverly Hills to watch a live event on a tv screen when they can do that for free at home. My friend and I decided to see if we could get our money back since we were not getting the experience that we paid for.
Eat a little before you leave because some events are long and the snacks are not too filling. You can park for a very reasonable fee and will not need to worry about adding time to a meter. And lastly please be aware that even if no one gives you directions after you check in head up the stairs and get a seat before they fill up.
My 2019 Experience with Doll Face
This time I knew to arrive early. I got there about an hour before it started. Once I got inside the Paley Center I immediately went to leave my jacket in the chair before coming down to enjoy the appetizers and drinks. We watched the first episode of the Wu Tange series for Hulu which was followed by a q&a. Then we watched the first episode of Doll Face followed by another q&a. I was able to meet Kat Dennings after the q&a which was wonderful!
