Which New York studio hosted filming of the Mad Men pilot?

The New York studio that hosted filming of the Mad Men pilot was Silvercup Studios.

The pilot, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” began filming on April 20, 2006. Production took place in New York City and included Silvercup Studios, where principal photography lasted two days. The crew also filmed at several locations around the city, including an art studio at 130 West 57th Street.

Silvercup’s New York setting helped the pilot establish the period atmosphere of early-1960s Manhattan. The production later moved to Los Angeles, where subsequent episodes were filmed at Los Angeles Center Studios. That change in production base is the source of a frequent quiz confusion: Los Angeles Center Studios is strongly associated with the series overall, but it was not the New York studio that hosted the pilot’s initial filming.

The pilot was unusually expensive for the show, with a budget of about $3 million, compared with roughly $2–2.5 million for typical episodes. Alan Taylor directed it, while Matthew Weiner created the series and wrote the pilot. Mad Men premiered on AMC in July 2007.