Many of the best sitcoms of all time take place in New York City, and the neighborhoods they're set in often give them their unique personalities, just like the people who live in those neighborhoods. All over the city, across all five boroughs (though Staten Island is underrepresented, as always), sitcoms draw from their neighborhoods' character as much as the characters in the shows themselves. This list celebrates those shows and their 'hoods.
Seinfeld - Upper West Side, Manhattan
There is no show in TV history that quite represents the Upper West Side like Seinfeld does. The show just oozes UWS vibes in every way. Jerry's apartment, which, if we're honest, is one of the more realistic-looking NYC apartments (ahem, Friends), and everything from the restaurants to the shops and the street scenes is just pure Upper West Side.
I Love Lucy - Upper East Side, Manhattan
One of TV's earliest and most successful sitcoms is, of course, I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball and her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, star in this show about a bandleader (Arnaz) and his wife living on the Upper East Side. Most of the show takes place in the couple's apartment building, and it was all shot on a soundstage in LA, but it's still a very New York Show.
Welcome Back, Kotter - Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
John Travolta is famously the biggest breakout star of Welcome Back, Kotter, and even though Travolta is originally from New Jersey, he perfectly embodies a good Italian kid from Brooklyn. The show's high school, James Buchanan High School, is set in the quintessentially (and appropriately diverse) Brooklyn neighborhood of Bensonhurst.
Everybody Hates Chris - Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Bedford–Stuyvesant is one of the most famous neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and one that has an amazing history, both good and bad. It has produced a ton of famous actors and musicians, not the least of which is Chris Rock, who grew up in Bed-Stuy. When the comedian co-developed a show based loosely on his life growing up, they just had to set it here.
Ugly Betty - Jackson Heights, Queens
Jackson Heights is one of the most underrated neighborhoods in all of New York. It's incredible diversity, and its central location in Queens makes it pretty great all around. Setting Ugly Betty is a perfect choice for a show.
Diff'rent Strokes - Upper East Side, Manhattan
On Diff'rent Strokes, Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Willis (Todd Bridges) are two orphans from Harlem who are taken in by their late mother's employer, Mr. Drummond (Conrad Bain), in his swanky apartment that is very much the epitome of what people expect from a really rich family on the Upper East Side. Even though much of the UES is just like many other parts of Manhattan with tiny studios and one-bedrooms, it also definitely has huge two-story units like the one here.
The Nanny - Upper East Side, Manhattan
It's hardly surprising that The Nanny was set in a townhouse in the tony Upper East Side of Manhattan. Of course, the show is about a nanny to a very rich family, played by Fran Drescher, and most of the show's shenanigans take place in the Sheffield's very nice house, the exterior of which is on East 75th St., near Central Park.
The King Of Queens - Rego Park, Queens
Would it shock you to learn that The King Of Queens, starring Kevin James and Leah Remini, is set in... Queens? Rego Park, to be exact. I've always thought of Queens as the most "New York" of the five boroughs, so setting any show here really brings out a true New York City vibe.
Mad About You - Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Mad About You was one of the most popular sitcoms of the '90s and helped propel Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser to huge fame. Like a lot of shows on this list, the couple lived in Greenwich Village.
All In The Family - Glendale, Queens
Glendale, Queens, is right smack in the middle of Queens and Brooklyn, making it the perfect location for one of the most "New York" shows of all time, the beloved All in the Family. Archie Bunker is one of the best (and worst) characters of all time, and there is no more appropriate place for the blue-collar Bunkers to live than in Queens with neighbors like the Jeffersons (who would eventually move on up).
2 Broke Girls - Williamsburg, Brooklyn
In the early '00s, Williamsburg got so famous as the home of hipsters that it became the butt of a lot of jokes about those new residents. The quirky neighborhood is a great setting for a show like 2 Broke Girls, following the lives of a couple of 20-something women making their way in the big city.
Friends - Greenwich Village, Manhattan
It seems like volumes have been written about the apartments where the friends in Friends live and how unrealistic they were on the show. When you consider that they were supposedly living in the Village, it makes it even harder to believe because even in the '90s, rents in that part of town were astronomical.
The Cosby Show - Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights is one of my favorite neighborhoods in New York. It's also never been a cheap place to live, especially in one of the beautiful townhouses near the Promenade, as the Huxtables did in The Cosby Show. It's a good thing Dr. and Mrs. Huxtable, a doctor and a lawyer, made a lot of money! Raising five kids (or more) in that part of town isn't cheap!
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - - Upper West Side, Manhattan
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel takes place, mostly, in a neighborhood you would expect, the Upper West Side of Manhattan, though Maisel's adventures tend to take her all over Manhattan.
Girls - Greenpoint, Queens
Even with how "hipster" Girls is, it doesn't actually take place in Williamsburg. No, in fact, by the time Girls was created, Williamsburg was already played out, and its neighbor to the north, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, had firmly become the center of hipster NYC. Hence, that is where Girls is set.
How I Met Your Mother - "Dowisetrepla"
Occasionally, a TV show has just invented a neighborhood for the show to take place in. "Dowisetrepia" in How I Met Your Mother is one of the more famous examples of a fake neighborhood. Marshall and Lilly live in Dowisetrepla, which is a play on NYC neighborhood names like Tribeca and Dumbo, though most of the show doesn't really highlight any particular neighborhood by name. Dowisetrepla, by the way, is short for "Downwind of the Sewage Treatment Plant." That's not the best to live...
Barney Miller - Greenwich Village, Manhattan
One of the best cop comedies of all time, Barney Miller, was set in its own time, when New York City was still pretty grimy, especially downtown, where the show's precinct was located. Greenwich Village is one of the most storied neighborhoods in Manhattan, and at the time, it wasn't the Village we all know today, for better and for worse.
Broad City - Astoria, Queens And Gowanus, Brooklyn
There is a proud history of sitcoms about people trying to make it in New York City, shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and even The Jeffersons. One of the more offbeat and quirky versions of the story is Broad City. In the show, the two "broads," Abbi Abrams (Abbi Jacobson) and Ilana Wexler (Ilana Glazer), live in Astoria, Queens, and Gowanus, Brooklyn, respectively.
The Jeffersons - Upper East Side, Manhattan
They might have started in Queens as neighbors to the Bunkers in All in the Family, but once George and Weezy Jefferson got their own show, we all know what happened. They "moved on up to the East Side, in a deluxe apartment in the sky." The Upper East Side is still where many strive to move on up, so that's the perfect setting for this legendary show.
Grounded For Life - Staten Island
One of the few shows to actually take place on the oft-ignored borough of Staten Island was Grounded for Life. The show had a checkered ratings history, but it did manage to last five seasons on two networks.
The Honeymooners - Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
It's hard to imagine what sitcoms would be like today if it weren't for The Honeymooners. The classic show set the template for TV comedies in so many ways, it's impossible to overstate its importance. That includes setting the show in working-class Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
Taxi - Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Only in the Village in the 1970s would you ever find a collection of weirdos and heroes like the cast of Taxi. Like Barney Miller, Greenwich Village is the perfect place to set the legendary sitcom. It wasn't the Village we know today. In the seventies, it was the exact kind of business you might find down there.
High Fidelity - Crown Heights, Brooklyn
The book High Fidelity by Nick Hornby was set in London. The movie, based on the book starring John Cusack, was set in Cusack's hometown of Chicago. The Hulu show, starring Zoe Kravitz as the owner of a record store, is set in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In each, the setting is actually perfect for the way the story is told.
Living Single - Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Prospect Heights has been one of the most popular neighborhoods in Brooklyn for decades, and in the '90s, that popularity was just starting to take off when the Queen Latifah-led sitcom Living Single.
Gimme A Break! - Greenwich Village, Manhattan
This is a bit of a weird one, and if you're a fan of the '80s classic Gimme A Break!, you might have already noticed what it is. "Wasn't Gimme A Break! set in California?" is what you might be thinking. You'd be correct, but in the show's final season, Nell (Nell Carter) moves to New York, following Sam (Lara Jill Miller) to college.
And Just Like That... - Gramercy Park, Manhattan
In Carrie Bradshaw's original show, the character, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, lived on the Upper East Side. In the reboot, And Just Like That..., Carrie has moved to a much cooler neighborhood further downtown, Gramercy Park. Good choice, Carrie. Now you need to figure out what to do with Aiden.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - "East Dogmouth"
In Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) has an apartment in a real building that is located in Greenpoint, but the show is set in the fictional neighborhood of "East Dogmouth." There is no solid info given on where the fictional neighborhood is, so your guess is as good as ours.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Park Slope Or Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
The cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the best part of the show, but its location is a little confusing. For starters, there is no 99th precinct in New York, Brooklyn, or otherwise, so while that would be one way to figure the neighborhood, it doesn't help us here. The police station used for the exterior shots in the show is the 78th precinct in Brooklyn Heights. Other fans of the show claim the station on the show is actually in Park Slope or Prospect Heights. So do with that info what you will.
Nurse Jackie - Manhattan
Edie Falco's brilliant follow-up to The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie, is a very different show from the one that made her a huge star. It's also questionable if it's really a sitcom, but it's pretty darn funny, if dark. In the show, her character, Jackie, works at a fictional hospital called All Saints Hospital, and while the show was filmed mostly in Astoria, the exteriors were various hospitals around Manhattan.
Wizards Of Waverly Place - Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Yet another classic sitcom set in Greenwich Village, Wizards of Waverly Place, starring Selena Gomez in her breakout role on the Disney Channel. It's worth noting that the spinoff, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, was a rare example of a show set on Staten Island.
What We Do in the Shadows
While the curtains were always drawn tight to keep the sun out in the horror comedy What We Do in the Shadows, based on the movie of the same name, took place in that mysterious borough of Staten Island.
Car 54, Where Are You? - The Bronx
Without a doubt, The Bronx has been way under-represented in the history of TV. The most notable sitcom set in the northern-most borough has to be Car 54, Where Are You? Even then, the specific neighborhood for the fictional precinct in the show is never identified, so like shows set on Staten Island, we stuck with "The Bronx."
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