Philadelphia is known by many as the home of the Liberty Bell, cheesesteaks, and feral sports fans, but the city is also the home of some amazingtelevision series.As an integral facet of American history and culture since the very beginning, the City of Brotherly Love is brimming with stories of every genre.Police procedurals,sitcoms, and whatever genrePretty Little Liarsiscan all call Philly home.
WithAbbott ElementaryandIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiaon the cusp of joining forces forthe most important crossover in PhiladelphiasinceGeorge Washingtonsailed the Delaware,there’s no better time to review Philadelphia’s TV history. Here are the best TV series that are West Philadelphia (and north, south, and central) born and raised, ranked from Pat’s to Geno’s. (Or vise versa. Put down the snowballs!)
10’Boy Meets World' (1993-2000)
Created by Michael Jacobs & April Kelly
Before the boy met the world, he only knew Philadelphia.Boy Meets Worldfollowed middle-schooler (and eventual high-schooler) Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) as he navigated all the challenges of growing up– like difficult teachers, his first girlfriend, and rooting for the Phillies.When it came to delivering feel-good moments, the show was as dependable as a Wawa hoagie.
TheABCsitcom, however, wasn’t the most dedicated when it came to authentically depicting its setting. The show threw in an occasional Phillies hat or reference to the SEPTA train, almost as a cursory reminder to the audience that the series was, in fact, set in Philadelphia, but any further specificity to Philly culture was lacking. Nonetheless, there are enough sitcoms vaguely set in the Midwest, so Philadelphians can rejoice that the city found a placein the TGIF lineup.
Boy Meets World
9’Pretty Little Liars' (2010-2017)
Created by I. Marlene King
Got a secret, can you keep it?Pretty Little Liars' fictional setting of Rosewood, PA, is based on book series authorSara Shepard’s hometown of Rosemont in Montgomery County. Although the slew of murders, kidnappings, and fake murders and kidnappings are (hopefully) not inspired by true events,many of the Liars' favorite haunts are derived from real locations around the Philly suburbs.
The guilty pleasure seriesmakes no secret of its metro allegiance, with references to Wawa, the Sixers, and the casual appearance of the 215 area code.The most specific real location used is Tyler State Park, located in Bucks County, where the Liars are kidnapped and held hostage by A.The real park, however, doesn’t contain any creepy dollhouse dungeons (probably).
Pretty Little Liars
Four friends band together against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, while also investigating the disappearance of their best friend.
8’Dispatches From Elsewhere' (2020)
Created by Jason Segel
Dispatches From Elsewherepacked a lot of Philadelphia into its 10-episode run.The short-lived, but well-received seriesfollowed a group of individuals who, wanting more out of life, are drawn into an elaborate game that blurs the lines of reality. Highlighting Philadelphia’s diversity and unexpected hidden gems,the show constitutes a literal scavenger hunt around the city,hitting both iconic and undercover landmarks like the Art Museum, Fishtown, and the South Philly Cheesesteak Intersection.
Airing at the very beginning of Covid lockdowns,Dispatches From Elsewhere’s exploration of Philadelphia was so extensive, viewers could almost believe they weren’t trapped inside their homes. CreatorJason Segel, while a Southern California native, chose Philadelphia as the show’s setting due to its alignment with the theme of finding beauty in unexpected places. Philadelphia thanks you for the backhanded compliment, Jason!
Dispatches from Elsewhere
Feeling as though there’s something missing in their lives, four ordinary people stumble across a puzzle hiding just beyond the veil of everyday life, and their eyes are opened to a world of possibility and magic.
7’Cold Case' (2003-2010)
Created by Meredith Stiehm
While New York and Los Angeles tend to getthe lion’s share of police procedurals,Cold Casemade its home in Philadelphia, where an apparently highly incompetant Philadelphia Police Department left enough murders unsolved that one needed to be reopened each week. The series, which was predominantly filmed in Los Angeles,kept its Philly authenticity by shooting exterior scenes in the cityand utilizing Philadelphia homicide detectiveTim Bassas a consultant.
Cold Casepresented a slightly unfair representation of the city’s law enforcement, since, while many episodes were based on true crimes, only a fraction of those actually occurred in Philadelphia.The series did, however, explore a few real, notorious Philadelphia cases, like The Center City Rapist, the murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner, and The Boy in the Box.
In a city plagued by unresolved crimes, a unit of detectives specializes in revisiting dormant homicide cases that were once thought unsolvable. Each episode delves into a different case, using contemporary forensic methods and fresh perspectives to bring justice to long-forgotten victims and peace to their families.
6’How To Get Away with Murder' (2014-2020)
Created by Peter Nowalk
Philadelphia is home to some of the most prestigious universities in the world, and the city’s commitment to higher education is on full display inHow To Get Away With Murder.The series, created by South Jersey nativePeter Nowalk, followslegendary defense attorney Annalise Keating(Viola Davis), who teaches the eponymous class at fictional Middleton University, loosely based on the University of Pennsylvania.
What better city than the home of the Constitutional Convention to set a series about undermining the law?The Philadelphia Police Department is kept busy in the ABC series, in which Keating and her ambitious students frequently find underhanded and creative ways to exonerate the perpetrators of violent crimes. The series regularly utilizes exterior shots of the Philadelphia skyline and City Hall– ABC’s lesson in how to get away with shooting a Philadelphia-set series in Los Angeles.
How to Get Away With Murder
5’Thirtysomething' (1987-1991)
Created by Edward Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz
Thirty-something years ago,Thirtysomethingbrought the yuppie family dramedy to Philadelphia. Set in the Main Line suburbs,the series followed a group of friends navigating life as actual adults after spending their youth immersed in the counterculture.Thirtysomethingfrequently referenced and filmed scenes in real locations around Philadelphia, with certain references holding extra resonance for Philly natives. While traffic on the Schuykill Expressway may make many hapless commuters wish they were dead,Thirtysomethingtook the notion literally by killing one of its characters on the hellish highway.
Much like Philadelphia’s influence on the evolution of America,Thirtysomethingwas ahead of its time with its storytelling choicesand became an inspiration for many series that followed. The nuanced exploration of adulthood,blending of comedy and drama,and use of flashbacks and daydreams weren’t prevalent TV staples in the 80s, and the show was awarded for its innovation with 13 Emmys.
Thirtysomethingis not currently available for streaming in the U.S.
4’Servant' (2019-2023)
Created by Tony Basgallop
The series serves an added dose of Philadelphia authenticity, since,unlike many series,Servantwas actually shot in the city. Sorry, Los Angeles, but even your best cosplaying can’t recreate Philadelphia’s most charming, colonial neighborhoods. Ironically enough, since the central catalyst to the series is a deceased child, the owners of the featured Rittenhouse home donated the entirety of the location fee to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in a quintessential gesture of brotherly love.
3’Mare of Easttown' (2021)
25 years afterTitanic, in whichKate Winsletfaked her own death to dodge a wedding that all of Philadelphia high society was set to attend, she finally made her way to the Philadelphia area to investigate a murder inMare of Easttown. Winslet has spent her career performing in essentially every accent on Earth besides her own, soit’s only fitting that she was the one to bring the elusive and undeniably melodic Philadelphia accent to the general public.Her ability to stretch her vowels into infinity was so impressive, the Television Academy had no choice but to award her an Emmy for her performance.
Created by Berwyn, PA, nativeBrad Ingelsby, the series is the first to ever be set in the unlikely Hollywood locale, Delaware County, and there’s a good chance that the spin-offTask, which went into production earlier this year, will be the last. The series was so aggressively and unapologetically Philadelphian,Saturday Night LiveimmortalizedMare of Easttown’s specific charms in thephonetically indecipherable “Murder Durdur” sketch.
Mare of Easttown
2’Abbott Elementary' (2021-)
Created by Quinta Brunson
If anyone were to watchAbbott Elementarywithout knowing where the show takes place, it wouldn’t take long to find out. From its first episode, in which Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) laments that their school is underfunded while the Eagles' neighboring stadium gets a multi-million dollar renovation,Abbott Elementaryinextricably links itself to Philadelphia. And like a kindergarten teacher proudly displaying their students' art projects in their classroom, the series never misses an opportunity to show off the local culture.
Whether with a visit from Gritty or a field trip to the Franklin Institute,Abbott Elementaryintersperses glimpses of Philadelphia’s joyful side within its underlying conflict withthe city’s much needed educational reform. Its commitment to authenticity is reflected in its characters' speech;Philly slang is used so liberally that the uninitiated might not even understand what they’re saying in this jawn.Abbott Elementarymay take the award for most specific Philly reference, because how can anyone top a shoutout to the Chickie’s & Pete’s located in Terminal E of the PHL airport?
Abbott Elementary
A workplace comedy centered around a group of dedicated teachers - and an oblivious principal - in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life.
1’It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia' (2005-)
Created by Rob McElhenney
No series has ever been more flip-flip-Flipadelphia than the one with the city’s name in its title. From theopening credits ofIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia– which delightfully tours landmarks like the Ben Franklin Bridge, Lincoln Financial Field, and Boathouse Row– each episode is a brotherly love letter to the city.The Paddy’s Pub gang have become unofficial mascots as iconic as Gritty and the Phanatic,and just as weird, slightly horrifying, and unexpectedly lovable.
Created by South Philly nativeRob McElhenney, theFX sitcomcontains nuggets of Philly culture that could only come from the lived experience of someone who grew up marinating in cheesesteak grease. With episodes that reference the St. Patrick’s Day Erin Express, South Street’s TLA theater, and cameos by Philly sports legends, watchingAlways Sunnyjust hits differently for Philly natives. Asthe longest-running live-action sitcomin television history, the Gang can surely expect their ownRockystatue any day now.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a sitcom and black comedy created by Rob McElhenney. It stars Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Glenn Howerton, and Danny DeVito. The series follows a group of friends that own and frequent the Irish bar, Paddy’s Pub, and get into all sorts of troubling adventures.
NEXT:Movies of Brotherly Love: 7 Films That Showcased the Best of Philadelphia
