With Abbott Elementary taking over tv, it made me realize that some of the best tv shows of all time are actually set in Philly! From sitcoms to drama, there has been some really awesome shows based in and around Philadelphia. Let’s take a look shall we.
Abbott Elementary
A documentary crew is recording the lives of teachers working in underfunded schools. One of the places they have decided to document is Philadelphia’s Willard R. Abbott Elementary School, a predominantly Black Philadelphia public school. Quinta Brunson, who went to Temple, has become the Queen of Philly!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO-_7oi-61Y
The Goldberg’s
The Goldbergs is set in an alternate version of the 1980s in the Philadelphia suburb of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and shows the reality of the 1980s through a preadolescent‘s, and later in the series, teenager’s, eyes
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The series follows a group of misfit, narcissistic sociopaths, referred to as “The Gang”, who run a meager, unsuccessful Irish bar called Paddy’s Pub in the neighborhood of South Philadelphia.
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Will Smith is a street-smart African-American teenager, “born and raised” in West Philadelphia. While playing street basketball, Will accidentally hits a group of gang members with the ball, causing a confrontation that frightens his mother, who sends him to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle in the opulent neighborhood of Bel Air, Los Angeles.
Bel Air
The spin off is more in Philly than the original! The series follows Will Smith’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air.[3] This series dives into Racial tension, Culture shock, and Black excellence.
How to Get Away with Murder
Annalise Keating is a prominent criminal defense attorney and law professor at Middleton University in Philadelphia.
Cold Case
The show is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and follows Detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris), a homicide detective with the Philadelphia Police Department, who specializes in “cold cases”, or investigations which are no longer being actively pursued by the department.
American Dreams
In 1963 Philadelphia, the Pryors are a close Irish American Catholic family. World War II veteran John “Jack” Pryor owns a television and radio store. He and his homemaker wife Helen have four children: High school senior and football player “JJ”, younger sisters Meg and Patty, and younger brother Will, who is lame from polio.
Mare of Easttown
In a suburb of Philadelphia, police detective Marianne “Mare” Sheehan investigates the recent murder of a teenage mother while trying to keep her own life from falling apart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm7RmpzCeyk
Parking Wars
The series’ original focus was on the employees of the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) and their daily work – ticketing, “booting” (via wheel clamp) and towing vehicles, as well as dealing with issues that arise with vehicle owners when they try to retrieve their vehicles from the impound lots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyOPqObaLXc
Thirtysomething
It focuses on a group of baby boomers in their thirties who live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and how they handle the lifestyle that dominated American culture during the 1980s given their involvement in the early 1970s counterculture as young adults.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH8mcUCifAw
Boy Meets World
The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and family, as he progresses from childhood to adulthood. Episodes chronicle the everyday events of Cory’s home and school life; his teacher and neighbor George Feeny (William Daniels) delivers life lessons as Cory learns to cope with social and personal issues of adolescence.
Servant
A wealthy Philadelphia couple, Dorothy and Sean Turner, experience a fracture in their marriage after the death of their thirteen-week-old son, Jericho. It’s M Night Shyamalan so you know it’s wild.
Amen
I loved this show! Used to watch with my Grammy all the time. The series revolves around Ernest Frye, a widower deacon of the First Community Church of Philadelphia, who also works as a lawyer. He is often dishonest and frequently gets into trouble with his many harebrained schemes.
