Currently one of cable TVs highest rated comedies; It’s Always Sunny present s a uniquely Philadelphia view of working class America. In the lives of the Paddy’s Pub Gang, Philly isn’t simply a setting where they’re hijinks happen but often the progenitor of many of their problems. The show’s love-hate relationship with Philly utilizes a blue collar feel against the big city glam often seen in Las Angeles or the back alley grit associated with New York. In the years before Sunny, the city’s everyman feel has been transferred the small screen with varying degrees of success. Below is a short list of the best shows set in Philadelphia.
Hack
Mike Olshanksy is a former police officer charged with corruption. In the show the corruption charges were never fully proven, but the fallout was just enough for him to leave the force. Since leaving Olshanksy took up driving a cab and assisting everyday Philadelphians the police either ignored or were unable to assist, on occasion becoming a borderline vigilante.
Boy Meets World
Cory Mathews (Ben Savage) is your typical sitcom teenager living in an unnamed suburb outside Philadelphia. He likes sports, weird around girls, and equates lifes greatest accomplishments to be winning a trivia game show by naming the finer points of The X-men. Unlike other sitcom teenagers, however, his problems aren’t always quick fix issues that can be summed up in a 20 minute spot. Early in the series the Mathews brothers were always seen decked out in either Philly sports clothes. One could say the writer’s went a little overboard in tying the series to Philly. Today, the show is probably best known for its realistic depictions of teenage life in the mid-1990s. During the show’s seven year run it dealt with topics ranging from alcohol/drug abuse to the struggles of being from the middle and lower classes.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated classic based around the comedy of the show’s creator Bill Cosby. From the first bellows of Alberts’ “HEY HEY HEY”, children knew they were in for a hilarious, musical and good natured program based around kids being kids and living life for the enjoyment of it. Each episode taught a small educational or moral lesson that was reiterated by Cosby himself at the end. What makes Fat Albert historic was its focus on the lives of African-Americans, a segment often overlooked by TV developers.
Cold Case
Perhaps the best known series set in Philly is the CBS detective drama Cold Case. Cold Case is based around a fictional police unit that centers solely on cold cases. For much of the episode the investigation is standard police procedurals such as CSI or NYPD Blue. The show’s writing team seemingly made it a point to give the show a blue collar feel by locating many of the cases in the city’s lower class neighborhoods and presenting not coldhearted killers but men and women who act often out of desperation or moment of anger. What makes Cold Case stand out is that it uses popular music of the day, used to invoke that cases time period and place the viewer at the foot of the crime.