Lights, Camera, Action: Jon Hamm Is on the Set at Princeton's Nassau Inn

Princeton, NJ – Over the years we have met plenty of fascinating characters at the bar in the Yankee Doodle Tap Room of the Nassau Inn. We can recall plenty of divorced folks, a good number of hedge fund managers, some of them recently fired, and even a few borderline crooks. But we’ve never come across one character with all that rolled up in one -- a recently divorced hedge fund manager who, after being fired, resorts to stealing from the residents in his wealthy suburban hometown to keep his family’s lifestyle intact.

But that’s exactly the kind of amazing character that was hanging out Monday afternoon, July 22, at the Tap Room. You or I could have chatted him up -- if we had been able to make our way past the gaggle of onlookers on the sidewalk outside the Palmer Square East entrance, the swarm of equipment handlers overseeing carts outside the entrance, and the handful of private security guys at the entrance.

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The character in question was just that –a character in an upcoming dramatic series for Apple TV+. The colorful but imaginary character is being played by Jon Hamm, famous for the Don Draper character in the long-running Mad Men series.

The Apple TV+ production, titled “Your Friends and Neighbors,” Hamm plays opposite Amanda Peet. Based on a concept by Jonathan Tropper, Hamm’s character is a recently fired hedge fund manager who takes to stealing from the wealthy residents in his tony upstate New York suburb. The petty crimes are said to reinvigorate him -- until he breaks into the wrong house at the wrong time.

The production has also been reported to have shot scenes on location in Rye City, New York, in April, at which time a representative said that the filming was expected to wrap up in July. The series was not expected to air until the end of the year or early in the new year.

Whether Hamm and crew have any more Princeton shoots scheduled was unclear. But if they do, you will certainly know if they are in your vicinity. For Monday’s filming, the crew had a half dozen tractor trailers and box trucks lining Hulfish Street around the corner from the side entrance to the Tap Room.

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How a big movie production like this happens is probably a story in itself – maybe some characters at the bar will be talking about it next time we visit.

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