April 1, 2011 - This year, New York City, home to hundreds of television shows, welcomes the Ninth Annual TV Land Awards. The Awards, which pay tribute to series from the past and present, will be broadcast from the City for the first time, airing on TV Land on Sunday, April 17 at 9pm.

“We’ve always wanted to have the Awards in New York,” said TV Land president Larry Jones. “It was time to come. TV really started in New York City, and this year’s ceremony celebrates the City.”

For the 2011 awards, the goal was to feature as many New York-centric shows as possible. Bill Cosby and “The Cosby Show” will receive the Impact Award while television icon Regis Philbin will be presented with the Legend Award. “Regis is so beloved, so identifiable with New York,” said Jones. “He deserves it.”

It will also be the first time the entire cast of “The Cosby Show” reunites in public after filming the series in the City from 1984-1992. Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Sabrina Le Beauf, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Raven-Symoné and Lisa Bonet are expected to be in attendance. “It’s magical in the room [when casts reunite],” said Jones. “You become such a family when you’re part of a cast. You’re immersed in each other lives, and then you’re not together again. At the TV Land Awards, you feel like you’re sitting around the family table. They’re genuinely having a really good time.”

Among the other shows whose casts will reunite at the ceremony are “Welcome Back, Kotter,” “The Facts of Life,” both of which were set in New York, and “Family Ties.” John Travolta will be on hand with his “Kotter” co-stars to accept the 35th Anniversary Show Award, and Hall & Oates will be the musical entertainment.

Finding the perfect venue in New York City helped seal the deal to bring the Awards to the City this year. The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Manhattan’s West Side “is perfect,” said Jones. “It’s exactly the size and shape we need.”

Having the ceremony in New York has added a whole new level to the production of the Awards as well. The video promotions and intro videos will include iconic scenes from the City. Even the stage design is inspired by the City to look like an art deco ballroom on the top of a skyscraper with windows looking out onto the City landscape.

“We’re embracing the location,” Jones added.