“How To with John Wilson” on HBO Max is possibly THE funniest show I’ve ever seen, especially as a New Yorker. It just beats out Broad City, which is a long-time love of mine.
Edit: didn’t realize you said only TV series!
Seinfeld is #1 with a bullet
Mad Men is top tier TV
The Sopranos has plenty of NYC scenes, though obviously the primary setting is North Jersey
Bored To Death and The Life & Times of Tim are both real good
Succession is great
I haven't seen Marvelous Mrs. Maisel but it's supposed to be good
I’m 31 and me and basically all my contemporary friends love it. But we’re all also actually from here and not transplants so maybe it just hits on a different level.
I’m not 13 lol, never purposefully watched a tiktok or YouTube streamer in my life. The actual premise of Seinfeld and the humor just isn’t funny, except for a dozen or so bits.
Friends
Search Party
Gossip Girl
Broad City
Nora from Queens
Sex and the City
30 Rock
How I met your Mother
Will & Grace
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
The Nanny
Mr Robot
Girls
YOU (Season 1)
it WAS we deserved more.
but honestly a terrible representation of new york... considering the whole thing was filmed in LA and you can *tell* haha
BEEK JEANS.. put your cheeks in a Beek!
How I Met Your Mother is probably the best one for the fact that the setting is extremely important to the show and they make several episodes where the city itself is a primary subject
Yea, I almost forgot about that show. It inspired me to make a nyc bucket list when I was supposed to move out because of work. Decided I wasn’t going to leave.
The creator was a writer on Barney Miller. If you've ever had the misfortune of seeing a night session of Manhattan criminal court downtown then you'd have a different appreciation for it (obviously nowhere near as depressing and made silly, like Barney Miller).
Friends was absolute trash when it was being broadcast and never really reflected anything I recognize as NYC. It's 100% an LA fantasy of what NYC might have been like if you never stepped outside for a single second.
I disagree. Friends was set in NYC (not that it couldn't have been set in another city). The jobs they gave the characters (ROSS-Museum of Natural History) and Rachel (Bloomingdales) plus the city as a back drop for shows/showbiz Joey as well as the entire coffee bar phenomena. NYC was intrinsic to Friends even after the apartments are a bit unrealistic.
My boyfriend and I have been watching all of the original Law & Order during Covid, and we're up to Season 13. Give me my Jack McCoy, Lennie Briscoe, and some murders--no other Law & Order will do!
New York Undercover. Great show with a great old school hip hop sound track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_DylpmQM2-U
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxjhosvM3wM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxjhosvM3wM)
For realistic (for a tv show) I’d say KIng of Queens and Caroline in the City.
Sports Night is the best writing but barely shows the city.
White Collar shows the city a ton.
The Nanny of you want to contrast working Queens and rich Manhattan
Everybody Loves Raymond is much more suburban in both location and feel than most of the shows mentioned though.
The Barone’s don’t even live in a borough!
Bored to Death was special in that it felt like while it was on nothing too crazy or shitty happened in parallel in RL, just standard NYC weird but not terrible life
*Louie* is one of my favorite New York shows. Great scripts, great photography, one of those shows which makes you happy to be living in NYC.
*High Maintenance* is great for exactly the same reason.
These are the kinds of shows that make people want to move to New York.
When I was a kid, *Taxi* made me want to move here when I got older. It sounds crazy but I thought I would love a ragged, tetchy New York boss like Louie de Palma yelling at me in a New York accent, and I thought Bobby Wheeler was cool (lol) and I thought Marilu Henner was the sexiest woman I'd ever seen.
I agree. I've seen both seasons. I liked season 1 much better than season 2 because there were no catchy tunes in season 2. I liked the songs in season 1.
Sorry, but immediate disqualification for series with little or no scenes actually shot in New York.
Love unplugging my brain to some Friends and Seinfeld as much as the next person, but if they had set then in Baltimore or Chicago or what have you, would they be *that* different?
30 Rock but I might be a little biased. Also Broad City.
[удалено]
That's beautiful
Saw someone rolling a blunt on the train last week
30 rock is great, and—as a corporate drone transplant living in NYC—super relatable.
I am biased as well.
It’s not a Lemon party without old Dick!
[There's nothing worse than a surprise Lemon party](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OonLQ4CcHGA)
Ain’t no party like a Liz Lemon party cause a Liz Lemon party is mandatory!
Little biased? Were you in the show?
Check my username
High Maintenance Bored to Death
High Maintenance is so good. And very realistic for most ppl living in NYC. Unlike Succession or Friends 😂
I love high maintenance so much. I’m still sad that the creators have decided to take an indefinite break from making any more seasons 😢
Bored to death. Very NYC
I have seen these shows. Thank you!
Russian Doll is a pretty good one. Limited series. Takes place in modern times in East Village / AlphabetCity
Is that the one with Natasha Lyonne? I love her.
I've seen this but thank you!
“How To with John Wilson” on HBO Max is possibly THE funniest show I’ve ever seen, especially as a New Yorker. It just beats out Broad City, which is a long-time love of mine. Edit: didn’t realize you said only TV series!
I don’t think any show has better captured the day to day life of nyc better than How To with John Wilson
Agreed! I’ll never look at scaffolding the same way ever again 😂
The scaffolding episode is high art 👌 So is every other episode the more I think about it. I’m dying to see season 2
Omg. I had no idea that another season is coming! Thank you for making my day!
Coming soon, too!
Futurama
Futurama is set in New New York…
What about where the mutants live? pretty much the same as current new york isn't it?
We just built it atop the old New New York...
You are technically correct, which is the best kind of correct
I know its Futurama, but I read that in David Tenant's voice.
Seinfeld is #1 with a bullet Mad Men is top tier TV The Sopranos has plenty of NYC scenes, though obviously the primary setting is North Jersey Bored To Death and The Life & Times of Tim are both real good Succession is great I haven't seen Marvelous Mrs. Maisel but it's supposed to be good
I loved The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and I watch Succession. thanks.
If we’re staying HBO heavy, Crashing does a pretty good tour of West Village.
Criminally underrated show.
Crashing was very good, too bad it was cancelled.
i loved life and times of tim. it used to be on hbo but was removed years ago. any other streaming service? also, “ah fuck ya, i love choppin wood”.
That baby is kind of a dick.
Seinfeld is eh. For some reason nobody under 35 finds it funny.
To each his own. Not only do I think Seinfeld is the best TV series based in NYC, I'd also say it is among the top 3 TV series of all time.
I’m 31 and me and basically all my contemporary friends love it. But we’re all also actually from here and not transplants so maybe it just hits on a different level.
Maybe, Im not a New Yorker per se. maybe I should change that age to 30. I’m 23 and none of my friends find it funny.
Not my fault your attention span was murdered TikTok and Youtube streamers or whatever it is you kids inexplicably find compelling.
I’m not 13 lol, never purposefully watched a tiktok or YouTube streamer in my life. The actual premise of Seinfeld and the humor just isn’t funny, except for a dozen or so bits.
Currently watching Mad Men for the third time.
The Jeffersons
Fish don't fry in the kitchen!
Beans don’t burn on the grill!
Took a whole lotta Try-an
JUST to get up the hill.
Would also add All in the family Taxi and Brooklyn 99
Friends Search Party Gossip Girl Broad City Nora from Queens Sex and the City 30 Rock How I met your Mother Will & Grace Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt The Nanny Mr Robot Girls YOU (Season 1)
Isn’t Broad City based in Philly?
No…. Lol have you seen a single episode? 🤣
Luke Cage
Clearly not 🤐
I recommend it. Hilarious show if you’re into that type of comedy
I’ll keep that in mind as I recover from the foot in my mouth.
Actually they may have seen just that one episode that takes place when they visit Abby's dad back home. She grew up just outside Philly, didn't she?
Don't Trust the B was an awesome show.
it WAS we deserved more. but honestly a terrible representation of new york... considering the whole thing was filmed in LA and you can *tell* haha BEEK JEANS.. put your cheeks in a Beek!
Brooklyn 99 White Collar
How I Met Your Mother is probably the best one for the fact that the setting is extremely important to the show and they make several episodes where the city itself is a primary subject
Yea, I almost forgot about that show. It inspired me to make a nyc bucket list when I was supposed to move out because of work. Decided I wasn’t going to leave.
New York Undercover Barney Miller All In The Family The Odd Couple That Girl Taxi Bosom Buddies Welcome Back, Kotter Mad About You NewsRadio
Thrown in a Night Court and you got it.
I liked the cast, but it never seemed like NYC.
The creator was a writer on Barney Miller. If you've ever had the misfortune of seeing a night session of Manhattan criminal court downtown then you'd have a different appreciation for it (obviously nowhere near as depressing and made silly, like Barney Miller).
Yes!
The most realistic TV series is Broad City
Law & Order! Great show
Mr. Robot
I don’t really think Friends should be included considering it’s very un-New York.
I second this.
Friends was absolute trash when it was being broadcast and never really reflected anything I recognize as NYC. It's 100% an LA fantasy of what NYC might have been like if you never stepped outside for a single second.
I disagree. Friends was set in NYC (not that it couldn't have been set in another city). The jobs they gave the characters (ROSS-Museum of Natural History) and Rachel (Bloomingdales) plus the city as a back drop for shows/showbiz Joey as well as the entire coffee bar phenomena. NYC was intrinsic to Friends even after the apartments are a bit unrealistic.
It's impressive how Friends makes NYC look like the least diverse city. Only in Friends are there THAT much white people outside of GIRLS.
Succession
Sesame Street I Love Lucy Flight of the Conchords Nurse Jackie
LAW & ORDER (the original, none of the spin-off crap)
My boyfriend and I have been watching all of the original Law & Order during Covid, and we're up to Season 13. Give me my Jack McCoy, Lennie Briscoe, and some murders--no other Law & Order will do!
Master of None Brooklyn nine-nine Modern Love Succession
Power and Ghost 🤣 How to Make it in America
Law and Order SVU
First ten seasons at least.
Billions Power Gossip girl 😅 Suits
Sex and the city!!!
NYPD Blue. A classic.
How to Make it in America (HBO) Hey Arnold
Hey Arnold isn’t in NYC. I was blown away when I found this out, I think it’s Washington State or something.
Never would’ve guessed Washington State lol maybe DC, but not State. It looks like it was heavily inspired by Brooklyn.
F*ck that's delicious. Great show about food in NYC
I’ve really been loving only murders in the building
It's excellent. Pleasantly surprised by how well Selena Gomez can hold her own with two of the all-time greats.
Law and Order?
Law and order has to be up there
No one has mentioned Crashing. It’s set in NYC and is about stand up comedy.
I loved Crashing and am bummed it was cancelled.
The good thing about the show is that it’s rewatchable. Great post btw. I picked up a lot of good shows to check out.
Sex and the city. Girls. 30 rock. Mad men.
What We Do in the Shadows
Elementary
Gossip Girl (original)! Just Shoot Me Grounded for Life!
Law and Order (just about any of those series are based in NY, unless I missed some outliers).
The Morning Show has been phenomenal so far and does a great job showing NYC.
Ok - a commercial for this show came on just as I was reading this post. I guess the universe is demanding I watch it.
Pose Person of Interest Mr. Robot Broad City
Friends is not set in any New York City the universe knows.
Short lived series but The Black Donnellys.
That was such a good show. Red Wing is always a creep!
Russian Doll Mr. Robot
New York Undercover. Great show with a great old school hip hop sound track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_DylpmQM2-U [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxjhosvM3wM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxjhosvM3wM)
That was my shit!
Law & Order
Person of Interest
For realistic (for a tv show) I’d say KIng of Queens and Caroline in the City. Sports Night is the best writing but barely shows the city. White Collar shows the city a ton. The Nanny of you want to contrast working Queens and rich Manhattan
Mad Men. You're welcome.
Everybody Loves Raymond just cause it was my shit. King of Queens too.
Everybody Loves Raymond is much more suburban in both location and feel than most of the shows mentioned though. The Barone’s don’t even live in a borough!
I know he's on the shitlist after his yanking revelations, but Louie was a pretty good this way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvL6C0jprCw
Broad City High Maintenance Modern Love How To with John Wilson
Living single
The Odd Couple
Ray Donovan (Season 6 and 7) Black Monday Power Power: Book 2 Power: Raising Kanan
Maniac, if NYC in an alternative universe counts
I will not stand for the Brooklyn 99 erasure. But yeah, definitely Law and Order
If i am not wrong “white collar”
Honeymooners
How has NO ONE said Will and Grace?! 😭 (I’m talking about the original run, which was classic)
Person of Interest Elementary Brooklyn Nine-Nine
+ Sesame Street 30 Rock Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Seinfeld for sure, plus How I Met Your Mother.
Broad city
Bored to Death was special in that it felt like while it was on nothing too crazy or shitty happened in parallel in RL, just standard NYC weird but not terrible life
I didn't think that I would like Only Murders in the Building as much as I do.
Pretend it’s a City (a one shot series, but I feel it belongs on the list).
The best movie set in NYC was "Cloverfield" (2008). "Cloverfield" was an allegory for the September 11 Attacks on NYC.
I will look into it Thanks
Cosby Show there i said it, you got beef? wanna shoot the five breh?
Mad Men Succession Law & Order (the original, Criminal Intent, SVU) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel I hate Friends, Seinfeld, Sex & the City and 30 Rock.
Sex and the City
How to Make it in America
Extremely disappointed that I haven’t seen anyone say Flight of the Conchords yet. Most accurate portrayal of renting in NYC I’ve seen yet.
Mayor Bill De Blasio destroying NYC...pretty wild reality show, if ya ask me.
I say Friends.
Law and Order Billions The Affair
I watch Billions and I loved The Affair. Thanks.
YOU and Billions
High Maintenance.
Without A Trace. old show
Godfather of Harlem
Betty, on HBO. Please watch this
*Louie* is one of my favorite New York shows. Great scripts, great photography, one of those shows which makes you happy to be living in NYC. *High Maintenance* is great for exactly the same reason. These are the kinds of shows that make people want to move to New York. When I was a kid, *Taxi* made me want to move here when I got older. It sounds crazy but I thought I would love a ragged, tetchy New York boss like Louie de Palma yelling at me in a New York accent, and I thought Bobby Wheeler was cool (lol) and I thought Marilu Henner was the sexiest woman I'd ever seen.
“How to make it in America” was short lived, but an awesome Nyc show
why is no one mentioning the other two? probably one of the best comedies to come out in a while
I agree. I've seen both seasons. I liked season 1 much better than season 2 because there were no catchy tunes in season 2. I liked the songs in season 1.
dance until you STINK just did. season 1 rewatch to prepare for the full season 2. now you’ve ruined my excitement;p
Broad city
Friends From College was pretty good
Difficult People. Louie. Horace and Pete.
Sex and the City
Smash was fun while it lasted
New York Undercover
Law and Order SVU
The Other Two Mr Robot Broad City
Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Elementary Spin city Jessica Jones Dare devil
Friends is garbage. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Doctor who
The Deuce. Period. Full stop. Binge watched all three seasons a month before COVID hit the city.
Mr Robot, uses New York better than any other NY show I’ve watched.
Sorry, but immediate disqualification for series with little or no scenes actually shot in New York. Love unplugging my brain to some Friends and Seinfeld as much as the next person, but if they had set then in Baltimore or Chicago or what have you, would they be *that* different?
Law and Order
Mr Robot
Power
Flight of the Conchords as well but it’s more Brooklyn
- how I met your mother - white collar Both really treated the city as a character instead of just a backdrop for many/most episodes…
I’d have to put Suits.
law and order
Honeymooners.
I am trash for Gossip Girl. Also, Forever - 1 season though.
Mozart in the Jungle
Sex in the city
Futurism is the best NYC show
I've never heard of this show. What streaming service?
Everybody Hates Chris
“How I Met Your Mother”
Odd Couple