New Jersey
Billy Crystal series ‘Before’ spent $64M filming in N.J. with Jersey actors you know
Billy Crystal plays a child psychiatrist in the new Apple TV+ series “Before.”
Crystal, an Emmy and Tony winner, may be known for his long history as a funnyman, but here he stars in a thriller — one filmed in New Jersey (see trailer below).
The New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission tells NJ Advance Media that the Apple show, which premieres Friday (Oct. 25), reported spending more than $68 million filming in the state.
Production spanned Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Passaic and Morris counties (full list of locations and towns below).
Filming in Jersey took 71 days, starting in May 2023 and ending in March 2024, says Joseph Marra, a project officer with the commission. Production had to go on hiatus during the Screen Actors Guild strike and started up again in December 2023.
Jacobi Jupe and Billy Crystal in the show. Crystal plays a child psychiatrist. Apple TV+
In the 10-episode limited series, Crystal, 76, plays Dr. Eli Adler, a child psychiatrist mourning his wife. He meets a boy who is somehow connected to his own past.
Besides filming in Jersey, the show also boasts plenty of Jersey talent.
Emmy and Tony winner Judith Light (“Poker Face,” “Transparent,” “Ugly Betty,” “Who’s the Boss?”), a Trenton native, stars in the show as the late wife of Crystal’s character.
Her character may not be alive, but she’s very much in the show because Adler can see her, or has visions that she’s there.
Tony-nominated Jersey actor Maria Dizzia (”Agatha All Along,” ”Orange is the New Black”), who grew up in Cranford, is also in the show.
Jersey actor Maria Dizzia with Billy Crystal in “Before.”Apple TV+
Oscar nominee Rosie Perez (”The Flight Attendant,” “Do the Right Thing,” “White Men Can’t Jump,” “Fearless”) plays the foster mother of the boy, played by Jacobi Jupe.
Tenafly’s Hope Davis (”Succession,” “Perry Mason,” “Your Honor,” “American Splendor,” “Asteroid City,” “Home Alone”), a three-time Emmy nominee, also appears in the show in a recurring role.
Other cast members include Ava Lalezarzadeh (”Big Mouth”) and Julia Chan (”Saving Hope,” “Silent House”).
Two episodes of the series debut Oct. 25 and the rest will be released weekly on Fridays.
Oscar nominee Rosie Perez and Jacobi Jupe in “Before.”Apple TV+
“Before,” created by Sarah Thorp and produced by Crystal, was based out of Sustainable Studios in Moonachie, but also filmed in a lot of other places.
Here’s a county-by-county list. You can watch a trailer for the show below.
Bergen County
Sustainable Studios, Moonachie
Essex County
Essex County Courthouse, Newark
CareWell Health Medical Center (formerly East Orange General Hospital), East Orange
The pool at Ironbound Recreation Center, Newark
National Newark Building, Newark
Grace Church, Newark
Walnut Street between Broad and Orchard streets, Newark
Private homes in Newark, Montclair and Glen Ridge
Hudson County
The Donegal Saloon, Kearny
Maxwell Place Park, Hoboken
Coles Street, Jersey City
Private homes, Jersey City
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Jersey City
Hampton Court Terrace, Jersey City
The Barrow Mansion, Jersey City
Morris County
Jockey Hollow, Morristown National Historical Park
Passaic County
Private homes, Paterson
St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center, Wayne
“Before” premieres Friday, Oct. 25 on Apple TV+.
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup.
3-minute read
Gov. Mikie Sherrill addresses affordability crisis in NJ: video
Watch new Gov. Mikie Sherrill on state affordability: “Too many people are working too hard and still falling behind.” Jan. 20, 2026 at NJPAC, Newark
Gov. Mikie Sherrill is set to present her first state budget proposal in a Tuesday, March 10, address to the New Jersey Legislature. It’s clear the proposal will make some hard choices as state finances face major headwinds.
Late last month, Sherrill said her budget plan will include some “tough choices” because of the looming uncertainty of a structural deficit for state finances.
The governor explained that if projections stay on the current path, the state would have a structural deficit of about $3 billion by the end of June, when her proposed budget would be in the final stages of negotiations with the Legislature.
Uncertainty due to federal funding cuts, along with the end of pandemic relief funding, has already forced Sherrill to consider all of her options when crafting her plan for New Jersey’s fiscal year 2027.
The governor wouldn’t give particulars about what to expect in her upcoming fiscal plan but instead said she is “setting the table so people can anticipate that this is going to be a tough budget season.”
What does a structural deficit mean for New Jersey taxpayers?
A structural deficit, simply put, means New Jersey spends more than it earns.
Among the costliest tax relief programs in the state’s history, Stay NJ was introduced legislatively in the run-up to the fiscal year 2024 budget and received funding for three years without paying anything out.
The first Stay NJ checks are being sent out to qualifying New Jersey seniors, but the accumulated $1.2 billion covers only the first six months of the program for this year. Roughly $900 million will need to be added to the line item in Sherrill’s first fiscal plan to maintain the program.
The law that created Stay NJ requires full pension payments, full school funding payments and a surplus of at least 12% to be built into the budget as prerequisites for funding the program. The surplus was not 12% when the budget was signed during the last two years, but budget language allowed for a work-around.
Sherrill would not commit to requiring the prerequisites before she would be willing to sign a budget bill in late June.
Increasing costs for the State Health Benefits Program, which is already a contentious topic, could also be a concern for the new governor, as payments are about $2 billion annually and the 10% increase needed in this year’s budget added more than $180 million.
How does New Jersey’s budget process work?
New Jersey’s $58.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 is the largest in history and is set to expire at the end of June.
The plan for fiscal year 2027 — which will run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027 — is a major factor in how New Jersey state government will function by dictating which state departments and programs are funded.
After Sherrill’s address in March, her proposed spending and revenue plan will be analyzed and shaped in the Legislature through the spring. Negotiations will heat up as the current fiscal year winds to a close in June. If the budget cycle is normal, a final budget bill will land on Sherrill’s desk hours before the current fiscal year ends at 11:59 p.m. on June 30.
Though it would be unlikely — given Democratic control of both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office — in the event the budget bill does not get signed, state government shuts down. There have been two shutdowns in state history: for 10 days in 2006 and three days in 2017.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
Phil Murphy on NJ Transit future during State of State address
Gov. Phil Murphy discussed the future of NJ Transit during his final State of the State address.
A woman was fatally struck by a train in Ramsey on the morning of March 8.
The unidentified woman was hit by the train at 10:49 a.m., just west of the Main Street crossing near the main Ramsey station, said John Chartier, director of media relations for NJ Transit.
Rail service was suspended in both directions between Allendale and Port Jervis but has since resumed, with delays of up to 30 minutes.
The train came from Port Jervis and was heading to Hoboken, and 150 people were on board at the time, Chartier said.
NJ Transit police are leading the investigation. No additional information about the circumstances of the death was available.
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