Real American Cities, Great TV Shows Quiz

Answer: New York City, New York

The series premiered in 1994 and remained popular during its entire ten-season run. The six friends all live in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NYC, and the sitcom makes clear reference to the cultural impact that their setting has. Most of the friends grew up in the city as well.

Answer: Pasadena, California

The series revolves around four smart but socially awkward men who find that their new neighbor, Penny, is an attractive woman. All four of the main male characters work at the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) in various fields of specialization, and the very real university is located in Pasadena, California.

Answer: Albuquerque, New Mexico

The series, starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, follows Walter White (Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer. Fearing for his family's financial security after his death, he decides to use his skills as a chemist to develop highly desirable forms of the street drug "crystal meth".

The story is set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the large New Mexico desert is often used as a setting for the criminal enterprises that are involved in the drug trade.

Answer: Seattle, Washington

The American medical drama became one of the longest-running television shows when it celebrated its 20th season in 2024. With over 400 episodes filmed, the original name of the fictional hospital where the talented surgeons work is Seattle Grace, making it no secret to the audience where the show is set.

Answer: Scranton, Pennsylvania

Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and his bumbling employees are comedy gold in this mockumentary set in the small regional office building of a paper company. Because his Scranton branch, mentioned by name several times by corporate bosses, is undergoing financial trouble in the early seasons, Michael attempts to take drastic measures to ensure that his job and that of his colleagues is safe.

Answer: Baltimore, Maryland

The highly critically acclaimed "The Wire" is loosely based on the experiences of Ed Burns, a Vietnam veteran who served on the Baltimore Police Force for 20 years before becoming a co-writer and producer of the show. The show's producer is David Simon, a police reporter who also spent a great deal of his career in Baltimore. Each of the five seasons explores different themes related to the relationship between criminals and police in the city.

Answer: Washington, DC

The political thriller is, of course, set in the political and national capital of the United States, Washington, DC. When the series opens, Congressman Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) has been passed over for Secretary of State by his president, Garrett Walker, because he is too valuable in his role as majority whip. Frank is very upset by this and works on a detailed plot to consolidate his power and discredit all those who he believes were unjust towards him.

Answer: Atlantic City, New Jersey

The period crime drama is set in the Prohibition era of the United States and the title itself is a reference to the famous Atlantic City "Boardwalk", which was the first boardwalk in the world when it was erected in 1870. Steve Buscemi stars as Enoch Thompson, a powerful political figure and corrupt treasurer of Atlantic County who is involved with the various mobs and mafias active in 1920s Atlantic City.

Answer: Chicago, Illinois

The Cook County (seat: Chicago) Illinois State Attorney Peter Florrick is jailed after he is involved with a major political corruption and sex scandal. His wife, Alicia, the protagonist of the show, herself a lawyer who had been a stay-at-home mother to her two children, has to go back to work in her field at a law firm in order to support her kids, as her husband's assets have been frozen.

Answer: Miami, Florida

If the beautiful overhead shots of Miami beaches were enough for the viewer to notice, the blood spatter analyst and forensic technician Dexter Morgan is a member of the fictional Miami Metro Police Department. However, when he is not working on putting criminals away in his lab, he is a serial killer who targets criminals who escape justice and murders them before calmly discarding their bodies in the Atlantic Ocean.