The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs (2018)

Joaquín Cosio, J.J. Soria, Carlos Santos, and Karrie Martin Lachney in Gentefied (2020)

Richard Wilson, Angel Coulby, Katie McGrath, Colin Morgan, and Bradley James in Merlin (2008)

I recommend a bunch of shows that lasted multiple seasons, still have tons of relevance and which mostly leave a positive impression/don’t lost most of their positive traits overtime.

Obviously tons of shows will be missing either because I feel they haven’t dated well, their last few seasons undid all the positives or because they got cancelled prematurely. But if they have two or more mostly solid seasons they can be contenders.



I also decided to have this be an alternative for the IMDb 250 Top Ranked TV Shows list currently in place.

Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodríguez, Frances Conroy, Rachel Griffiths, Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, and Mathew St. Patrick in Six Feet Under (2001)

Sylvester Stallone, Steve Agee, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, David Dastmalchian, Margot Robbie, and Daniela Melchior in The Suicide Squad (2021)

Jordan Kristine Seamón and Jack Dylan Grazer in We Are Who We Are (2020)

What we now consider the City of New York was founded in 1624, as a trading post, eventually called "New Amsterdam" by the Dutch who were running things for awhile, before it became the Megalopolis it is, now. Of course that ignores the fact that people were likely living on that land centuries before Julius Caesar led the Roman Empire, but hey, it's "American History," right?

Anyway, that 1624 date means that 2024 is the 400th Anniversary of New York City and to celebrate that historic year, I have compiled a list of the 400 Most Notable Television Shows that were set in NYC through 2024.

The Ground Rules:

New York City needs to be a primary location for the action. So, for example, even though "The Simpsons" visited New York in an episode, that wouldn't count. It's not about visiting the city; it's about being here.

Also, some shows change their locale; they may either move from or to NYC. We can consider those programs, presuming at least one season of the show was New York based.

And some shows split focus between two or more locations within their episodes. If one of those regular settings is a part of New York City, that qualifies it to be considered. Let's also acknowledge that because of production needs, many shows are not actually shot IN NYC, but are produced in Hollywood, Toronto, Vancouver, and other places. We aren't penalizing programs that are produced in part or in whole in other locations, as long as their typical settings are within the Five Boroughs of The City.

NOTE: This list is in reverse order. The show listed as 1 is, in fact, show #400.

The 400 Most Notable TV Shows Set in New York City (As of 2024)

Kelly Coffield Park, Shari Headley, Vincent Laresca, Jesse L. Martin, Karim Prince, Richard Roundtree, and Dawn Stern in 413 Hope St. (1997)

Top 130 Network/Dog Day Afternoon Type Films

Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey in The Negotiator (1998)

Top 200 NYPD Blue/Homicide Type Movies+TV Shows

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