Baltimore Sun becomes The Washington Herald -- for a TV minute anyway

With "VEEP and "Game Change" produced here, I have been writing a lot about Baltimore standing in for Washington.

But Wednesday afternoon, the TV sleight of hand hit a little too close to home when the Calvert Street entrance to the Sun said in big bold letters "The Washington Herald."

Happily, it was not real institutional change -- just a little more TV magic as the crew for the $100 million Netflix series "House of Cards" had "dressed" the building for scenes to be shot later this week.

The series, which is a remake of a 1990 BBC political drama, stars Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and Kate Mara. David Fincher, one of the executive producers, is directing the first two hours. The first 13 episodes of the series are expected to arrive in early 2013.

The producers have built a newsroom soundstage in the Sun building where for the last two months they have been filming scenes involving Mara's character, a young reporter who becomes involved with a powerful, manipulative Washington politician (Spacey).