What City is That? Trivia Quiz

Answer: New York City

"Law and Order" ran for so long, you'd think people in NYC are tripping over dead bodies everywhere they go.

Most of the "Law & Order" spin-offs were set in New York, too, including "Law and Order: SVU", "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and the short-lived "Law and Order: Trial by Jury". Only "Law and Order: LA" was set elsewhere.

Not only was "Law and Order" set in New York, it was also filmed on location there, giving local talent a regular source of employment.

Answer: Santa Barbara

Amateur detectives and best friends Shawn and Gus live and work in their hometown of Santa Barbara, California, which really is a beautiful city about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles. The show itself is shot mostly in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Sacramento and Fresno are not coastal, by the way! :)

Answer: New York, Miami, Las Vegas

The original "CSI" is set in Las Vegas. It was created by Anthony Zuiker, who grew up in Las Vegas (his mother was a blackjack dealer); he was driving casino-to-hotel trams on the graveyard shift when he got the idea for a show about crime scene investigators who work the night shift.

Later, "CSI" was spun off to Miami, starring David Caruso, and soon after to New York, starring Gary Sinise.

Answer: Grey's Anatomy

Picturesque San Francisco has been the setting for many television shows, including "Full House," "Dharma & Greg," "Monk," "Midnight Caller," "Suddenly Susan," "Party of Five," "Trapper John, MD," and of course "The Streets of San Francisco" with a young Michael Douglas.

It is very expensive to shoot in the city, so usually the shows are actually produced in L.A. or Vancouver, using establishing shots of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Trans-America building (the pointy one), and the foggy cityscape.

"Grey's Anatomy" takes place in Seattle, Washington.

You know a show isn't really shot in San Francisco when you see a lot of blue skies and palm trees. San Francisco is consistently foggy and while it has palm trees, they're not native and certainly aren't backed by blue skies! In the opening credits, the Tanner family of "Full House" is seen having a picnic with San Francisco actually in the background -- you can see from the actors' hair and clothes that it was a chilly day, with plenty of fog.

Answer: Seattle

On "Cheers" spin-off "Frasier" Frasier Crane returns to his hometown of Seattle after his divorce and takes in his father, Martin, and his father's helper, Daphne. He pals around mostly with his brother Niles. The beautiful Seattle skyline is in the background of many scenes set in Frasier's living room. It was a special effect, because the series was shot in L.A.

Bonus note: One episode, "The 1000th Show" from season 5, features the Space Needle and was partially filmed in Seattle.

Answer: One Day at a Time

"One Day at a Time" ran on CBS from 1975-1984 and starred Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertenelli, and Mackenzie Phillips.

"All in the Family" and "Kate & Allie" were set in New York, and Hunter fought crime in L.A.

Answer: Queens

I don't know the terrain of New York very well, but I know boroughs are a big deal to natives! The Bunker family lived in Astoria, Queens. Kevin James' sitcom "The King of Queens" was set in Rego Park, Queens.

P.S. I do know that New Jersey is not a borough.

Answer: Desperate Housewives

Many successful shows seem to be set in New York!

"Desperate Housewives" is set in the fictional town of Fairview, state unknown.

Answer: Chicago

"ER" and "Chicago Hope" were both set in Chicago and both shot in L.A., though the shows occasionally had short scenes in Chicago. Cast and crew regularly went to Chicago to shoot the scenes set on the L for "ER".

Answer: Milwaukee then Los Angeles

"Laverne & Shirley" was a spin-off from "Happy Days," and both were set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney lived in a basement apartment in Milwaukee for many years, then moved (along with their friends, neighbors, and families) to Burbank, where the show pretty much tanked after many good years. Even Shirley left!

Answer: Scranton

The makers of the American version wanted a city that felt real, and they chose Scranton. Although the show is produced in L.A., the characters make regular references to favorite Scranton locales such as Poor Richard's Pub and Abe's Delicatessen. The break room has a Crystal Club soda machine, a locally-made beverage.

Answer: Boulder

Mork's egg landed in Boulder, Colorado, and he was eventually taken in by pretty young thing Mindy McConnell.

"Mork & Mindy" was comic Robin Williams' break-out role. He went on to star in many comedic and dramatic films.

Answer: Twin Peaks

"Twin Peaks," a surreal mystery by filmmaker David Lynch, shook up television when it debuted in 1990, when rather one-dimensional shows such as "Full House", "The Cosby Show" and "Who's the Boss?" had been reigning in the Nielsen ratings.

Fairview is the fictional setting for "Desperate Housewives," Azkaban is in the world of Harry Potter, and Dayton is of course a real city!

Answer: Charmed

"Charmed", about good-witch sisters, was set in San Francisco, 400 miles north of L.A.

Answer: Chicago then Los Angeles

The show debuted to critical acclaim on CBS in 1978 and stunned audiences with gritty, realistic storylines about troubled high schoolers. Coach Reeves had played for the Chicago Bulls before coming to Carver High in south central L.A.

Unlike many shows starring high schoolers, "The White Shadow" allowed its characters to age, and by the end of season 2, most of the major players graduated from high school. The new cast members were not nearly as popular and the show tanked quickly.