A hundred years after NBC signed on as a radio network, the Paley Museum in midtown Manhattan is marking the milestone with a sprawling new exhibit packed with costumes, set pieces and interactive displays pulled from a century of the network's biggest shows. NBC100: A Century Together opened Friday, September 18, spread across three floors of the museum, and offers fans the chance to stand behind the TODAY desk or sit in a coaches' chair from The Voice.
NBC began life as a radio company on November 15, 1926, and didn't introduce television until 13 years later, in 1939, according to Spectrum News NY1. The exhibit, hosted by the Paley Museum in Midtown, contains more than 75 artifacts, costumes, set pieces and show memorabilia tracing that arc from early broadcasts to modern-day programming, the station reports. Paley Museum President and CEO Maureen Reidy said, “The history of NBC is really the history of how Americans have watched, listened, laughed and enjoyed some of history’s most important moments,” per NY1's reporting.
From Joey's Closet to Carson's Desk
Fans of NBC's sitcom era will find Joey's unforgettable many-clothes costume from Friends, worn by Matt LeBlanc, according to the Paley Museum. The same release notes suits worn by Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin from their Saturday Night Live Two Wild and Crazy Guys sketches are also on display, alongside interactive touchpoints like an Olympic Games victory podium and Johnny Carson's Tonight Show desk.
NY1 reports the exhibit also includes the Coneheads costumes from Saturday Night Live, the EGOT necklace Tracy Morgan wore on 30 Rock, and Barbara Eden's wedding dress from I Dream of Jeannie. Outfits from Miami Vice, Seinfeld, The Office and Law & Order: SVU round out the wardrobe displays, per the station's report. A real Howdy Doody puppet is also part of the collection, according to NBC.com, which lists artifacts drawn from Friends, Seinfeld, The Office, Saturday Night Live, Law & Order, The West Wing, ER, NBC News and NBC Sports.
SVU Cast Members Reflect on NBC's Reach
Two actors from Law & Order: SVU spoke to the network's staying power in comments carried by NY1. Corey Cott, who plays Detective Jake Griffin on the show, said NBC programming shaped his family's television viewing and that he felt like part of the network's legacy. Aimé Donna Kelly, who portrays Captain Renee Curry on SVU, said she took her first steps to the opening song of Cheers, a personal detail she shared with the same outlet.
Ticket Prices and Hours
The Paley Museum, located at 25 West 52 Street, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., according to the museum's event listing. Standard adult admission is $21.50, while children 12 and under and Paley members get in free, NBC.com reports. The exhibit runs through the 100th anniversary of NBC's first broadcast, per NY1, and NBC.com separately notes it is scheduled to close after November 20, 2026.
A companion event, the NBC100: TV's Next Generation panel, was scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, with tickets listed at $40 for museum members and $50 for the general public, according to NBC.com. The Paley Center for Media also promoted the exhibit on LinkedIn, describing it as tracing “NBCUniversal's evolution through 75+ artifacts spanning News, Sports, late night, and entertainment.”
The show frames NBC's evolution as a story of firsts: coast-to-coast radio broadcasting, paid television advertising, color broadcasting and the modern late-night talk-show format all get a nod, according to the Paley Museum's press materials. Reidy's framing, that the exhibit tells the story of how Americans watched, listened and laughed together for a century, threads through the artifacts on all three floors, from the earliest radio days to the sets fans recognize from their own living rooms.
