TV Show Filmed at County Legislature

The Nassau County Legislature stood in for the St. Louis city hall Wednesday as crews from Comedy Central's new sports spoof show "The Onion Sports Network" descended on the County seat.

The show is a spin-off from IFC's "The Onion News Network" and offers a humorous take on ESPN's Sportscenter, with various "stories" in the form of short skits.  "It's all fake news," one crew member said, "not like 'Daily Show'." The crew also shot several scenes inside the building and has been filming in Hempstead, in County parks and at Chaminade high school.  The crew will be filming around the area and Long Island for one more month.  Four episodes of the show were scheduled to be filmed Wednesday alone.

The show utilizes a series of lesser-known actors in various roles in the skits. "Even if we could afford it, we wouldn't want big actors," the crew member said, "because it would take away the glory of the written script." There are no "starring" roles, meaning that no actors will be featured regularly.

This is not the only production to film in Mineola as the independent feature "Detachment" starring Adrien Brody shot several scenes at the Mineola high school in mid-August.

The sequence being filmed Wednesday involved a mayoral press conference in the aftermath of baseball MVP Albert Pujols declaring free agency and the city of St. Louis doing whatever was necessary to ensure he remained a Cardinal.

"Our homes, our jobs, and whatever's in our fridge, even our internet connections, all of it is yours Albert," the actor portraying St. Louis' mayor said to a small crowd of extras during one of the takes.

The show is set to premiere in January 2011.