The actual Hill Street from the name is in downtown LA. IIRC, the show creators said it was set in a city somewhere between Boston and Chicago.
The late, great Due South, a culture-clash cop show about a Canadian Mountie assigned to Chicago.
And there sure ain’t no hills in Chicago. Flattest city I’ve ever seen.
I read somewhere that they were thinking Pittsburgh. I believe some of the creators and actors went to school there.
But there is a Hill Street in Chicago. It’s near where Cabrini Green used to be. It’s about three blocks long, and flat as a pancake.
I was told by two different people who worked on the show (one actor, one production staff) that Hill Street Blues was set in a fictitious (and unnamed) city. Exteriors were shot in LA, of course, but establishing shots were also from Chicago and (I think) Detroit.
Are you sure about “Bosom Buddies”? I don’t think it was ever specifically said, but it gave off a Manhattan vibe to me. Since Kip and Henry worked in advertising, this seemed most likely to me.
The beloved** My Boys**. Important because P.J. is a sportswriter and her brother (the wonderful Jim Gaffigan) is married and living in Hoffman Estates.
(Sorry, Jophiel! I swear I scanned the thread before posting!)
I thought it was interesting that Jordana Spiro, the chick who played PJ in *My Boys *(set in Chicago) also played *The Mob Doctor *(also set in Chicago). I thought maybe she was a Chicago girl who refused to work outside her home town. But nope; according to IMDb, she is from New York City.
PS - Get a rope!
Bonnie Hunt was in a short-lived series in 1993, The Building, set overlooking Wrigley Field. A running gag was home runs would periodically come crashing through her window. In 1995 she had a show with much the same cast, “Bonnie/The Bonnie Hunt Show” also set in Chicago.
A favorite! Although, aside from a few establishing shots, it was actually filmed in Toronto.
Many references to things in Buffalo. One of the writers/directors/producers was from there. A friend of mine went to Catholic high school with him there and made a list of the Buffalo references.
I’m sure you’re right. I think I’d heard that the exteriors filmed for the opening credits were in Lincoln Park though.
It would be tough to throw a home-run ball back onto the field from your living room!
The opening credits were filmed in Los Angeles’s Lafayette Park.
The police cars in Hill Street Blues were with the ones the Chicago PD used at the time, but as said uptread, Hill Street’s characters were careful never to actually name the city they were in.
Yep, you’re right, and I knew that. I mentioned it because the OP said “set in Chicago” and very very few TV shows are actually filmed here 100%.
Also, most of the cars had Colorado plates and the Rockies could often be seen in much of the back ground.
In that case, I’m incredibly off.