The 50 states of television

Cafe Society
1

I was taking a long train ride this past weekend and to pass the time I started seeing if I could name a TV show set in each of the fifty states. The only rules were that the shows have to have run on national networks, where the show was actually filmed doesn’t matter, and shows that travel from one location to another (Knight Rider, X-Files, The Fugitive) don’t count, or only count if there’s one state that could be considered a ‘headquarters’.

I could only get about half. I figured you guys could fill out the rest of the list pretty easily

Maine:
Murder, She Wrote

Vermont:
Newhart

Massachusetts:
Cheers
St. Elsewhere
Ally McBeal
The Practice
Boston Public

Rhode Island:
Family Guy

Connecticut:
Who’s the Boss?

New York:
All in the Family
Barney Miller
Hill Street Blues
Diff’rent Strokes
Night Court
NYPD Blue

New Jersey:
Down the Shore

Virginia:
The Waltons

North Carolina:
The Andy Griffith Show

Georgia:
Designing Women

Florida:
Miami Vice
Golden Girls
Empty Nest

Arkansas:
Evening Shade

Ohio:
The Drew Carey Show

Illinois:
Chicago Hope
Married… With Children

Wisconsin:
Laverne & Shirley (the first half, anyway)
Happy Days
That 70’s Show

Minnesota:
The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Kansas:
Little House on the Prairie

Texas:
Dallas

Colorado:
South Park
Mork & Mindy

Washington:
Fraiser
Twin Peaks

Nevada:
Vega$
Bonanza

California:
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hillbillies
Streets of San Francisco

Alaska:
Northern Exposure

Hawaii:
Hawaii Five-O
Magnum, P.I.
Most of my TV watching was 10-25 years ago. Does it show?

2

Michigan

Home Improvement

3

Hmm, maybe I could clear up those rules a bit.

  1. Fiction only

  2. No local TV shows

  3. The setting of the show is what’s important. The actual filming location doesn’t matter.

  4. Shows where each episode takes place in a different location don’t count, or only count if there’s an identifiable ‘headquarters’. X-Files, therefore, might count for Washington, D.C., but wouldn’t count for New Hampshire, Oregon, Ohio, Michigan, or any of the other places where episodes have taken place (i.e., places that Vancouver could be made to look like).

4

Washington

Frasier

5

Georgia

Dukes of Hazzard

6

I swear I actually went back to look for that one. :smack: :wally

7

South Dakota
Deadwood

Pennsylvania
Grand

8

Missouri
Mama’s Family
Grace Under Fire
The John Larroquette Show

Virginia
JAG
The Waltons

Ohio
Family Ties
Homefront

Wisconsin
Picket Fences

New Jersey
The Sopranos

Pennsylvania
ThirtySomething
Mr. Belvedere
Boy Meets World

Georgia
Designing Women

New Mexico
Quantum Leap

Illinois
The Bob Newhart Show
Chicago Hope
ER

9

*New Mexico
Roswell

10

Indiana: One Day at a Time.

11

Kentucky

The first time I ever saw the “Behind The Laughter” episode of “The Simpsons,” they were identified as a Northern Kentucky family. I know that the state was rotated from broadcast to broadcast, but I couldn’t think of anything else set in my home state. I mean, sure, there’s a lot of hick shows, but most of them could have been set in any number of Southern states and/or West Virginia.

12

Maryland

Homicide, life on the streets

Washington D.C.

Murphy Brown

13

Arizona

Alice

Indiana

One Day at a Time

14

Arizona

*The New Dick Van Dyke Show

Probe

Cade’s County

Greetings From Tucson* (?)

Little House on the Prairie was actually set in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

15

Puerto Rico
The Flying Nun

Wyoming
Yogi Bear

North Dakota
F-Troop

Mississippi
Gomer Pyle

(I’m not gonna swear to those last three.)

What states are we left with?

Utah
Oregon
Idaho
Nebraska (Too bad we can’t include Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom)
Iowa
Alabama
Where did Gomer Pyle and F-Troop take place?

16

Kansas
Smallville

17

New York
Third Watch

Florida
CSI: Miami

Nevada
CSI

California
Monk

18

Alaska - Northern Exposure

More states that were missed:

Delaware
Louisiana
Montana
New Hampshire
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
West Virginia
Wyoming

I’ve lived in West Virginia all my life, but I can’t think of any shows that have been set here. The only thing I can think of is that both Andy Griffith and the Clampetts had some relatives from Wheeling, and there was an episode or two of the X-files set here. Hillbillies and aliens. Sheesh.

19

Could be. I thought Gomer was stationed at Camp Lejune, NC.

Mississippi
In the Heat of the Night

Tennessee
Daniel Boone

20

Louisiana: Frank’s Place was set in New Orleans.