I pull into a parking lot off Hollywood Boulevard and check the time — relieved to see it’s only 10:20 AM. Check-in for the Fran Drescher Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony starts promptly at 10:45, which means I’m early, even after navigating the 405 during rush hour. I pay the parking attendant ($20 for the whole day, a pretty good deal in L.A.) and hustle over to the check-in area.
“Press, public, or guest?” an attendant behind a red velvet rope asks.
“Press?” I reply — more like a question than I’d intended — but he smiles and waves me through. Behind him, a press pit hums with camera crews from every major outlet. I’ve arrived before Jonny, my teammate. Sony Pictures Television kindly arranged for two of us to attend both the ceremony and the after-party at The Hollywood Museum, where a six-month exhibit celebrating Fran’s iconic career will debut later that day.
Working with some of TV’s most quoted and adored sitcoms is always a blast (check out our recent ViewPoint article for more on that). But since The Nanny finale aired in 1999, we rarely get the chance to attend events firsthand and capture new footage for the show’s channels. So when our clients told us Fran Drescher was getting her long-overdue star — and that we’d have two spots to attend — our first thought was, “About time!” Our second? “How lucky are we to witness this moment up close?”
I spot Jonny in the crowd just as the Chamber of Commerce begins calling names to enter. We’ll be tag-teaming the capturing of footage today, and I’m relieved to have a familiar face by my side. The energy in the press pit is electric as everyone jostles for position to get the shot.
One near-relocation-from-the-fire-marshal later, we manage to snag seats right up front as the ceremony begins.
Peter Marc Jacobson, co-creator and executive producer of The Nanny, is as charming as ever as emcee. Lisa Ann Walter delivers fabulous life advice: “A girl, as they say, can never have too much leopard print, hairspray, or fake Chanel bags that look just like the real thing!” Madeline Zima and Nicholle Tom, who played Grace and Maggie Sheffield, respectively, each share heartfelt speeches about how Fran has been both mentor and inspiration through the years. Steve Nissen, President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, presents Fran with a plaque. Fran gives a moving speech, and as we wait for the star to be unveiled, the energy is electric. When the ribbon is cut and the star comes into view, Fran’s smile lights up the whole street.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fan girl a little.
As we capture footage, we send it straight to our colleagues on the TVGla social team, who are on standby for real-time edits. Although we work remotely, we’ve set up a virtual war room so that our team can be in constant communication. Together, we coordinate approvals with Sony Pictures Television, posting live Instagram Stories as events unfold.
After the ceremony, we head to The Hollywood Museum, where Fran kicks off the six-month run of the exhibit celebrating her legendary career. Donelle Dadigan, the museum’s founder, introduces her as “the Fran-tastic Fran Drescher,” and Brenda Cooper, costume designer for The Nanny, credits Fran with giving her her first TV job: “Fran let me do my thing — that doesn’t happen in Hollywood. She gave me my wings and let me fly. And the result was the look of The Nanny.”
By the end of the after-party, we’ve captured more footage than we know what to do with! As they say, she/he who hesitates is lost, so Jonny and I duck into a nearby coffee shop, determined to get a same-day recap video out. Fueled by a matcha caffeine hit, we upload everything to a shared drive we’ve prepped with the team. Our teammates are ready to make edits, and we quickly coordinate approval with the clients.
With approval in hand, we launch the recap video to an eager audience, and it quickly goes viral, earning 7.7 million views and 333k likes on Instagram.
We attribute the success to our preparation and great collaboration with our clients at Sony Pictures Television, who got us access to the event and stayed on call for approvals all afternoon. Having Jonny and me on the ground and the rest of our team selecting and editing footage, communicating with the clients, and posting on the fly allowed us to share these joyful moments in almost-real time so that fans could feel like they were there.
As a digital agency, we love seeing strong performance metrics, but the highlight of the day was getting a quick interview with Fran herself. After waiting in the press-pit line (easier said than done — I’ve officially ruled out a future in press), we caught a couple of unforgettable soundbites for The Nanny’s social channels. And yes, although I think I managed to maintain a professional demeanor, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fan girl a little.
Celebrating Icons, Digitally and Beyond
For us, this day was about more than capturing content — it was about celebrating a cultural moment and showing how The Nanny still resonates with audiences decades later. It’s fun to experiment with all the ways we can keep classic sitcoms like The Nanny, Seinfeld, and The King of Queens in the cultural zeitgeist for new generations of fans.
Whether it’s celebrating a 90s sitcom on TikTok or capturing a once-in-a-lifetime Hollywood moment, we love helping timeless stories shine online — sometimes, quite literally, with a star. 🌟
Watch the full recap video to relive Fran’s big day.