New York City has been one of the most popular settings for American sitcoms ever since the genre first found its feet. As the most populous city in the United States, New York has plenty of representation on TV, with police dramas, medical procedurals and all sorts of shows taking place in the Big Apple. Sitcoms have even more New York-based shows than most other genres, including old classics and more recent hits.
New York City has proven time and time again to be fertile ground for comedy. This is partly because New York is seen as a cultural melting pot, with people from all over the world interacting in a densely populated area. New York’s various industries also make it a great setting for different comedy shows, and many sitcoms have a group of characters working completely differnt jobs and living different lives, all brought together by the hustle and bustle of the city.
How I Met Your Motherstarted in 2005, just a year after the final season ofFriends,so it was immediately viewed as a replacement of sorts.There were many shows in the same period that were marketed as the nextFriends,butHow I Met Your Mothersucceeded by being something completely different. Although the basic premise of the two shows may be the same, their comedic styles are different.
It’s a great comfort watch, featuring fast-paced banter and enough heart to go with the humor.
Ever since thecontroversial finale ofHow I Met Your Mother,the show has gradually fallen out of fashion. A lot of the criticism could be an overreaction to a disappointing ending, but the show still has plenty of great moments over the course of its nine seasons. It’s a great comfort watch, featuring fast-paced banter and enough heart to go with the humor, even if it isn’t quite as popular as it used to be.
Broad Cityis based on the web series of the same name, which was created by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson based on their own experiences living in New York City. This semi-autobiographical angle givesBroad Citya raw honesty, as the two stars make no attempt to hide the unglamorous parts of their life or their own imperfect qualities. They’re both playing characters, but some stories are taken directly from their real lives.
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Broad Cityis a rare female-led sitcom that tells stories from a female perspective, and its originality has given it a continued fan base long after its ending. Glazer and Jacobson chose to end the show on their own terms, leaving five great seasons without a drop in quality.Broad Cityshows plenty of different areas in New York, clearly displaying how well the two creators know the city.
Flight of the Conchordsonly ran for two seasons, but it still delivered more laugh-out-loud moments than many shows that air for three or four times as long. The musical sitcom follows two New Zealanders living together in New York City, struggling to get their folk duo any attention. They have a one-woman fan club and a string of poorly-attended shows at public libraries, aquariums and other terrible venues.
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Flight of the Conchordsdraws from the years of music that Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie had already developedas a comedy duo on stage. The show simply builds a framework for their comedic personalities to thrive, and it surrounds them with some more hilarious characters. As well as some brilliant songs and awkward humor,Flight of the Conchordsfinds comedy in the differences between the rapid pace of New York and the laidback charms of the Kiwi duo.
Brooklyn Nine-Ninecombines the sitcom genre with police procedurals, two TV genres that frequently choose New York City as a setting. This allows for a comedic spin on some of the tropes and stock storylines of cop shows, butBrooklyn Nine-Nineis ultimately a workplace sitcom like many others, with an entertaining ensemble cast, some romantic tension in the air and some work-based friction to drive the narrative.
Like many police shows which came before it,Brooklyn Nine-Ninefinds plenty of crime in the hustle and bustle of New York.
Many of thebest episodes ofBrooklyn Nine-Ninehave exciting plots that could work in more dramatic shows likeLaw and OrderorBlue Bloods,for example, but there are also some fun episodes which take place entirely within the precinct, like the Halloween heist episodes that quickly became a staple. Like many police shows which came before it,Brooklyn Nine-Ninefinds plenty of crime in the hustle and bustle of New York.
I Love Lucyhelped shape the sitcom genrein its infancy more than any other show. Watching it back decades later reveals just how many of its innovations are still in use today, like its ensemble cast of eccentric characters, the live studio audience and the “battle of the sexes"comedy. Watching the show today also reveals how much ofI Love Lucyhas aged well, and it’s still funnier than many modern sitcoms.
Some of the storylines and jokes wouldn’t fly in modern society, butI Love Lucy’s razor-sharp writing is still worth watching.
I Love Lucyshows that New York City has always been a popular setting since the dawn of the modern American sitcom. Like many sitcoms that take place in New York,I Love Lucyis about a group of friends struggling to make their dreams come true. In particular, Lucy dreams of breaking into showbusiness, although many of her performances end in disaster and she clearly has more enthusiasm than talent. Some of the storylines and jokes wouldn’t fly in modern society, butI Love Lucy’s razor-sharp writing is still worth watching.
What We Do in the Shadowsis based on a movie directed by and starring Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, but it moves the setting from Wellington, New Zealand to New York City. The new cast of vampires live in an old gothic house in Staten Island, originally supposed to be the base of operations for their nefarious takeover of the New World, but they get stuck in their ways as the centuries pass.
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What We Do in the Shadowshas a great castand some exciting guest stars, including Nick Kroll, Tilda Swinton and Mark Hamill, and the writing is sharp enough to get the best out of them. A lot of the humor comes from the bizarre culture clash with vampires from different historical eras when they decide to venture into the city and interact with regular humans.New York is known as “The City That Never Sleeps,” which is perfect for vampires who can’t go out in the sunlight.
Tina Fey created30 Rockafter being inspired by her experiences as a writer onSaturday Night Live,and the show takes place within the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, whereSNLand other NBC shows are filmed. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the creator and head writer of a weekly sketch show much likeSNLin some ways. Her hilarious chemistry with Alec Baldwin’s no-nonsense business executive at the head of NBC is what makes the show so special.
Even when an episode stays within the confines of the building, it’s flavored by the busy atmosphere of New York City.
30 Rockspends the majority of its time inside the titular building, focusing on industry satire and hilarious behind-the-scenes antics. However, even when an episode stays within the confines of the building, it’s flavored by the busy atmosphere of New York City. The scenes which take place outside often depict the city as a whirlwind of chaos at street level, with Liz Lemon being uniquely ill-equipped to handle it.
Technically,Futuramais set in New New York City, a futuristic metropolis built directly on top of the crumbling remains of Old New York, but the basic layout and many of the landmarks are the same. Some iconic New York spots have a sci-fi makeover, like the Vampire State Building, Madison Cube Garden and Radio City Mutant Hall. The show takes Fry and the Planet Express crew to every corner of the galaxy, but there are plenty of great episodes which remain in New New York.
Some iconic New York spots have a sci-fi makeover, like the Vampire State Building, Madison Cube Garden and Radio City Mutant Hall.
Futuramaoften uses its sci-fi setting to highlight the timeless foibles of human existence and the oddities of modern society. It also uses New New York to poke fun at modern city living, especially in New York. For example, the city is overrun with owls instead of pigeons, and there’s often traffic in the pneumatic transport tubes instead of on the subway.Futuramaseason 13will continue the show’s legacy, but it has already left other animated New York City sitcoms likeCentral ParkandThe Criticfar behind.
Friendswas the biggest show on TV for a reason, and it may have become fashionable to dismiss its sentimentality and broad appeal, but it remains a perfect comfort show.Friendsis all about the awkward stage of early adulthood when people move out of their family homes and try to get a foothold in life, leaning on their friends as their new support system. Over the course of 10 seasons, thecharacters inFriendsmature and eventually start families of their own.
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The large majority ofFriendstakes place in Manhattan, with the odd excursion to Las Vegas, London or elsewhere, andthe characters provide a cross-section of different New York City archetypes. Joey is the struggling actor, Chandler is the corporate stooge, and Rachel is the daughter of rich parents trying to make it on her own. From these simple starting points,Friendsshows that its characters are much more interesting and layered.
Seinfeldwas quite unlike any other sitcom being made at the time when it first premiered, but its unique style has helped shape the modern sitcom, and many of the funniest shows of the 21st century owe a great debt toSeinfeld.In particular, the famous “No hugging, no learning” mantra that the show stuck by helped to tear down the tired conventions of the sitcom genre. It helps thatSeinfeldhas some brilliant actors, including the recurring characters and guest stars.
Seinfeld’s constant revolving door of eccentric characters creates an image of the city as unpredictable and bizarre.
Many of thebest episodes ofSeinfeldtake in some of New York City’s sights, andthe diner has become a local landmark thanks to the success of the show. Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer all live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which is where a lot of the action takes place, but there are also a few trips to see George’s parents in Queens or his job at Yankee Stadium when he briefly works there.Seinfeld’s constant revolving door of eccentric characters creates an image of the city as unpredictable and bizarre.
