Most of the greatest sitcoms of all time happen in New York Metropolis, and the neighborhoods they’re set in typically give them their distinctive personalities, identical to the individuals who stay in these neighborhoods. All around the metropolis, throughout all 5 boroughs (although Staten Island is underrepresented, as all the time), sitcoms draw from their neighborhoods’ character as a lot because the characters within the exhibits themselves. This checklist celebrates these exhibits and their ‘hoods.
Seinfeld – Higher West Facet, Manhattan
There is no such thing as a present in TV historical past that fairly represents the Higher West Facet like Seinfeld does. The present simply oozes UWS vibes in each approach. Jerry’s condo, which, if we’re sincere, is without doubt one of the extra realistic-looking NYC flats (ahem, Buddies), and the whole lot from the eating places to the outlets and the road scenes is simply pure Higher West Facet.
I Love Lucy – Higher East Facet, Manhattan
One among TV’s earliest and most profitable sitcoms is, in fact, I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball and her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, star on this present a couple of bandleader (Arnaz) and his spouse residing on the Higher East Facet. Many of the present takes place within the couple’s condo constructing, and it was all shot on a soundstage in LA, but it surely’s nonetheless a really New York Present.
Welcome Again, Kotter – Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
John Travolta is famously the most important breakout star of Welcome Again, Kotter, and though Travolta is initially from New Jersey, he completely embodies a very good Italian child from Brooklyn. The present’s highschool, James Buchanan Excessive College, is about within the quintessentially (and appropriately numerous) Brooklyn neighborhood of Bensonhurst.
Everyone Hates Chris – Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Bedford–Stuyvesant is without doubt one of the most well-known neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and one which has a tremendous historical past, each good and unhealthy. It has produced a ton of well-known actors and musicians, not the least of which is Chris Rock, who grew up in Mattress-Stuy. When the comic co-developed a present based mostly loosely on his life rising up, they simply needed to set it right here.
Ugly Betty – Jackson Heights, Queens
Jackson Heights is without doubt one of the most underrated neighborhoods in all of New York. It is unbelievable range, and its central location in Queens makes it fairly nice throughout. Setting Ugly Betty is an ideal alternative for a present.
Diff’lease Strokes – Higher East Facet, Manhattan
On Diff’lease Strokes, Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Willis (Todd Bridges) are two orphans from Harlem who’re taken in by their late mom’s employer, Mr. Drummond (Conrad Bain), in his swanky condo that may be very a lot the epitome of what folks anticipate from a extremely wealthy household on the Higher East Facet. Although a lot of the UES is rather like many different components of Manhattan with tiny studios and one-bedrooms, it additionally positively has large two-story models just like the one right here.
The Nanny – Higher East Facet, Manhattan
It is hardly shocking that The Nanny was set in a townhouse within the tony Higher East Facet of Manhattan. In fact, the present is a couple of nanny to a really wealthy household, performed by Fran Drescher, and many of the present’s shenanigans happen within the Sheffield’s very good home, the outside of which is on East seventy fifth St., close to Central Park.
The King Of Queens – Rego Park, Queens
Wouldn’t it shock you to be taught that The King Of Queens, starring Kevin James and Leah Remini, is about in… Queens? Rego Park, to be precise. I’ve all the time considered Queens as essentially the most “New York” of the 5 boroughs, so setting any present right here actually brings out a real New York Metropolis vibe.
Mad About You – Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Mad About You was probably the most common sitcoms of the ’90s and helped propel Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser to very large fame. Like lots of exhibits on this checklist, the couple lived in Greenwich Village.
All In The Household – Glendale, Queens
Glendale, Queens, is true smack in the midst of Queens and Brooklyn, making it the proper location for probably the most “New York” exhibits of all time, the beloved All within the Household. Archie Bunker is without doubt one of the greatest (and worst) characters of all time, and there’s no extra acceptable place for the blue-collar Bunkers to stay than in Queens with neighbors just like the Jeffersons (who would finally transfer on up).
2 Broke Ladies – Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Within the early ’00s, Williamsburg acquired so well-known as the house of hipsters that it grew to become the butt of lots of jokes about these new residents. The quirky neighborhood is a superb setting for a present like 2 Broke Ladies, following the lives of a few 20-something girls making their approach within the large metropolis.
Buddies – Greenwich Village, Manhattan
It looks as if volumes have been written in regards to the flats the place the buddies in Buddies stay and the way unrealistic they have been on the present. When you think about that they have been supposedly residing within the Village, it makes it even more durable to consider as a result of even within the ’90s, rents in that a part of city have been astronomical.
The Cosby Present – Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights is one in every of my favourite neighborhoods in New York. It is also by no means been an inexpensive place to stay, particularly in one of many stunning townhouses close to the Promenade, because the Huxtables did in The Cosby Present. It is a good factor Dr. and Mrs. Huxtable, a physician and a lawyer, made some huge cash! Elevating 5 youngsters (or extra) in that a part of city is not low cost!
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – – Higher West Facet, Manhattan
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel takes place, largely, in a neighborhood you’ll anticipate, the Higher West Facet of Manhattan, although Maisel’s adventures are inclined to take her throughout Manhattan.
Ladies – Greenpoint, Queens
Even with how “hipster” Ladies is, it does not truly happen in Williamsburg. No, the truth is, by the point Ladies was created, Williamsburg was already performed out, and its neighbor to the north, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, had firmly change into the middle of hipster NYC. Therefore, that is the place Ladies is about.
How I Met Your Mom – “Dowisetrepla”
Sometimes, a TV present has simply invented a neighborhood for the present to happen in. “Dowisetrepia” in How I Met Your Mom is without doubt one of the extra well-known examples of a pretend neighborhood. Marshall and Lilly stay in Dowisetrepla, which is a play on NYC neighborhood names like Tribeca and Dumbo, although many of the present does not actually spotlight any specific neighborhood by title. Dowisetrepla, by the best way, is brief for “Downwind of the Sewage Remedy Plant.” That is not the perfect to stay…
Barney Miller – Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Among the best cop comedies of all time, Barney Miller, was set in its personal time, when New York Metropolis was nonetheless fairly dirty, particularly downtown, the place the present’s precinct was situated. Greenwich Village is without doubt one of the most storied neighborhoods in Manhattan, and on the time, it wasn’t the Village everyone knows right now, for higher and for worse.
Broad Metropolis – Astoria, Queens And Gowanus, Brooklyn
There’s a proud historical past of sitcoms about folks making an attempt to make it in New York Metropolis, exhibits like The Mary Tyler Moore Present, and even The Jeffersons. One of many extra offbeat and quirky variations of the story is Broad Metropolis. Within the present, the 2 “broads,” Abbi Abrams (Abbi Jacobson) and Ilana Wexler (Ilana Glazer), stay in Astoria, Queens, and Gowanus, Brooklyn, respectively.
The Jeffersons – Higher East Facet, Manhattan
They may have began in Queens as neighbors to the Bunkers in All within the Household, however as soon as George and Weezy Jefferson acquired their very own present, everyone knows what occurred. They “moved on as much as the East Facet, in a deluxe condo within the sky.” The Higher East Facet continues to be the place many attempt to maneuver on up, in order that’s the proper setting for this legendary present.
Grounded For Life – Staten Island
One of many few exhibits to truly happen on the oft-ignored borough of Staten Island was Grounded for Life. The present had a checkered scores historical past, but it surely did handle to final 5 seasons on two networks.
The Honeymooners – Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
It is laborious to think about what sitcoms can be like right now if it weren’t for The Honeymooners. The traditional present set the template for TV comedies in so some ways, it is unattainable to overstate its significance. That features setting the present in working-class Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
Taxi – Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Solely within the Village within the Nineteen Seventies would you ever discover a assortment of weirdos and heroes just like the solid of Taxi. Like Barney Miller, Greenwich Village is the proper place to set the legendary sitcom. It wasn’t the Village we all know right now. Within the seventies, it was the precise form of enterprise you may discover down there.
Excessive Constancy – Crown Heights, Brooklyn
The e book Excessive Constancy by Nick Hornby was set in London. The film, based mostly on the e book starring John Cusack, was set in Cusack’s hometown of Chicago. The Hulu present, starring Zoe Kravitz because the proprietor of a report retailer, is about in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In every, the setting is definitely good for the best way the story is advised.
Residing Single – Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Prospect Heights has been probably the most common neighborhoods in Brooklyn for many years, and within the ’90s, that recognition was simply beginning to take off when the Queen Latifah-led sitcom Residing Single.
Gimme A Break! – Greenwich Village, Manhattan
It is a little bit of a bizarre one, and should you’re a fan of the ’80s traditional Gimme A Break!, you may need already seen what it’s. “Wasn’t Gimme A Break! set in California?” is what you may be pondering. You would be right, however within the present’s ultimate season, Nell (Nell Carter) strikes to New York, following Sam (Lara Jill Miller) to school.
And Simply Like That… – Gramercy Park, Manhattan
In Carrie Bradshaw’s authentic present, the character, performed by Sarah Jessica Parker, lived on the Higher East Facet. Within the reboot, And Simply Like That…, Carrie has moved to a a lot cooler neighborhood additional downtown, Gramercy Park. Good selection, Carrie. Now that you must work out what to do with Aiden.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – “East Dogmouth”
In Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) has an condo in an actual constructing that’s situated in Greenpoint, however the present is about within the fictional neighborhood of “East Dogmouth.” There is no such thing as a strong data given on the place the fictional neighborhood is, so your guess is pretty much as good as ours.
Brooklyn 9-9 – Park Slope Or Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
The solid of Brooklyn 9-9 is the perfect a part of the present, however its location is a bit complicated. For starters, there isn’t any 99th precinct in New York, Brooklyn, or in any other case, so whereas that may be one strategy to determine the neighborhood, it does not assist us right here. The police station used for the outside photographs within the present is the 78th precinct in Brooklyn Heights. Different followers of the present declare the station on the present is definitely in Park Slope or Prospect Heights. So do with that data what you’ll.
Nurse Jackie – Manhattan
Edie Falco’s sensible follow-up to The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie, is a really completely different present from the one which made her an enormous star. It is also questionable if it is actually a sitcom, but it surely’s fairly darn humorous, if darkish. Within the present, her character, Jackie, works at a fictional hospital referred to as All Saints Hospital, and whereas the present was filmed largely in Astoria, the exteriors have been numerous hospitals round Manhattan.
Wizards Of Waverly Place – Greenwich Village, Manhattan
One more traditional sitcom set in Greenwich Village, Wizards of Waverly Place, starring Selena Gomez in her breakout function on the Disney Channel. It is price noting that the spinoff, Wizards Past Waverly Place, was a uncommon instance of a present set on Staten Island.
What We Do within the Shadows
Whereas the curtains have been all the time drawn tight to maintain the solar out within the horror comedy What We Do within the Shadows, based mostly on the film of the identical title, came about in that mysterious borough of Staten Island.
Automobile 54, The place Are You? – The Bronx
For sure, The Bronx has been approach under-represented within the historical past of TV. Probably the most notable sitcom set within the northern-most borough needs to be Automobile 54, The place Are You? Even then, the precise neighborhood for the fictional precinct within the present isn’t recognized, so like exhibits set on Staten Island, we caught with “The Bronx.”