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50 Iconic TV Shows Set in Every State in the U.S.

Here is a list of famous television series that took place in every state in the Union

Uploaded English Wikipedia by Papayoung Ilmari Karonen, derived from Wapcaplet, Wikimedia Commons

When I started this list, I wasn’t confident that it could be done. I thought for sure that I would run into a state or two that had no famous television shows associated with it.

But surprisingly, I was able to find at least one television series that was famously set in each of the 50 states in the United States. Often, I had to decide between two of three good choices.

Here is the list of the fifty states in alphabetical order, and what I decided were the most iconic television series set in each state.

1. Alabama: The Wonder Years (2021 Reboot)

Although the writers of the original show intentionally left the location of Kevin, Paul and Winnie vague, the characters from the 2021 reboot about life in the 1960s clearly lived in Montgomery, Alabama.

2. Alaska: Northern Exposure

This unique show with a cult-like following starred Rob Morrow, Barry Corbin, and Janine Turner. In the series, a New York doctor was sent to the small Alaskan town of Cicely, Alaska to practice medicine.

The show was about his interactions with the townsfolk and him adjusting from life away from the big city.

3. Arizona: Alice

The show Alice ran on CBS from 1976 until 1985.

It was about a widowed mother who worked at a waitress at Mel’s Diner in Phoenix, Arizona. It introduced the world to the insult, “Kiss my grits!”

4. Arkansas: Evening Shade

Evening Shade was an early 90s CBS sitcom.

It starred Burt Reynolds as a former professional football player turned high school coach. It is set in the small town of Evening Shade in Arkansas.

5. California: The Big Bang Theory

There were so many California-set shows to choose from. None are more iconic than The Big Bang Theory set in Pasadena, California.

The sitcom was of course about a brilliant group of scientists navigating their personal life and relationships. Nerds and geeks could finally come out of the shadows and be proud of their idiosyncrasies.

6. Colorado: Mork & Mindy

Mork & Mindy was a classic television sitcom in the late 70s that introduced most of us to Robin Williams who played an alien from the planet Ork learning about Earthlings in Boulder, Colorado. It was a spin-off of Happy Days.

Listing Mork & Mindy instead of South Park for Colorado was a close call, but I went with it because of the brilliance of Robin Williams.

7. Connecticut: Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls was a unique show about the mother-daughter relationship between Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. It was set in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.

8. Delaware: The Pretender

This 1990s NBC sci-fi television drama centered around a child prodigy named Jerod who escaped the shady research facility called “The Centre” located in Delaware.

9. Florida: Miami Vice

I had no shortage of good television shows to choose from for Florida. Between the Golden Girls, Dexter, Fresh of the Boat and, of course, Miami Vice, I chose the latter because it couldn’t have taken place anywhere but Florida.

The show was about undercover Miami detectives, Crockett and Tubbs, who take on drug cartels and organize crime.

10. Georgia: The Walking Dead

What better place for a zombie apocalypse to be set than Georgia.

The horror-drama takes place all over the state including Atlanta, its suburbs, and the fictional town of Alexandria.

11. Hawaii: Magnum, P.I.

Tom Selleck played Magnum, a private investigator who lived on the island of Oahu. He must have done well because he drove a Ferrari.

This was a tough call for me. I almost chose Hawaii Five-0 but went with Magnum, P.I. because, well, because of Tom Selleck’s mustache. It was iconic.

12. Idaho: Gravity Falls

Gravity Falls was an animated children’s show that ran on the Disney Channel from 2012 to 2016.

It was set in the fictional town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. It was actually created by a native of Idaho, Alex Hirch. Hirch says the show was inspired by his childhood growing up in Idaho.

13. Illinois: Married…with Children

There were so many television shows set in Chicago that I had a tough time choosing. I narrowed it down to Shameless, Roseanne, Family Matters, Good Times, ER, and Married…with Children.

I went with Married…with Children because they had so many great characters, none of them likeable, yet we loved each one of them.

14. Indiana: Stranger Things

Again, I wrestled with this decision. One Day at a Time was iconic, Parks and Recreation was clever, and The Middle was hilarious. All of those were set in Indiana.

I chose the sci-fi/horror drama Stranger Things set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana because it has become such a cultural phenomenon. Anybody whose childhood overlapped with the 80s will appreciate all the wonderful references to a bygone time.

15. Iowa: American Pickers

The reality television show American Pickers first aired on the History Channel in 2010.

Although Mike Wolfe and his team (rest in peace Frank Fritz) travel all over the country, their home base is in Le Claire, Iowa. It is where their store, Antique Archeology, is located.

16. Kansas: Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke was set in 1870s frontier town of Dodge City, Kansas.

The series had an amazing twenty year run from 1955 until 1975 on CBS. It was a gritty, action-packed western, heavy on the drama.

17. Kentucky: Daniel Boone

Another frontier show that ran in the 1960s, Daniel Boone was about the fictional exploits of the historic frontiersman Daniel Boone.

It starred Fes Parker in the title role and was set in the wilderness of Kentucky. It aired on NBC from 1964 to 1970.

18. Louisiana: NCIS: New Orleans

NCIS: New Orleans was a popular CBS that first aired in 2014. Its production was ended in 2021.

This police drama dealt with criminal cases revolving around military personnel in New Orleans.

19. Maine: Murder, She Wrote

Murder, She Wrote was a murder/mystery drama that first aired in the 1980s on CBS.

It starred Angela Lansbury as the clever mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. There were a lot of murders in her hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine.

20. Maryland: The Wire

The Wire, a drama that ran from 2002 to 2008 on HBO, was not only set in Baltimore, Maryland, most scenes were also filmed there.

The series focused on the crime and drama around many of the public institutions including city government, public schools, and the port authority.

21. Massachusetts: Cheers

Again, I had so many choices here. Wings, Boston Common, St. Elsewhere, Boston Legal, and Dawson’s Creek were all on my short list.

I went with the massively popular sitcom Cheers because, well, I really liked the show and I really like beer. Cheers was wonderful.

22. Michigan: Home Improvement

This hilarious 1990s sitcom on ABC was set in suburban Detroit, Michigan.

Tim Allen played the hapless and accident-prone Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor. He hosted his own show, Tool Time. Of course, it wouldn’t have been near as funny without his sidekick Al played by Richard Karn.

23. Minnesota: The Mary Tyler Moore Show

I had to choose between some great shows like Little House on the Prairie and Coach, but I went with the iconic 1970s sitcom about a television newsroom set in Minneapolis, The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

This classic comedy had so many funny moments, and hilarious characters.

24. Mississippi: In the Heat of the Night

In the Heat of the Night showed us that Carroll O’Connor was more than just Archie Bunker.

The police drama ran from 1988 to 1995 and was set in the fictional town of Sparta, Mississippi. It was based on the 1967 film by the same name. It originally aired on NBC but finished its run in the last few seasons on CBS.

25. Missouri: Mama’s Family

This spin-off of The Carol Burnett Show was set in Raytown, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. It originally aired on NBC in 1983.

It starred Vicki Lawrence as the ill-tempered Thelma Harper, the matriarch of her dysfunctional family.

26. Montana: Hannah Montana

Hannah Montana ran from 2006 to 2011 on the Disney Channel. It started off in Malibu, California, but beginning in Season 3, Miley Stewart (whose alter ego was Hannah Montana) relocated to a horse farm in Crowley Corners, Montana.

Hannah Montana was, of course, played by the beloved and wholesome singer/actress Miley Cyrus. But not everything is always as it appears in the world of show business.

27. Nebraska: The Young Riders

The early 90s ABC western, The Young Riders, followed a group of young Pony Express riders. They were based out of the Nebraska Territory in the 1860s.

This was an early opportunity for Stephen Baldwin and Josh Brolin, helping to launch their careers.

28. Nevada: Reno 911!

Reno 911! was a mockumentary that aired on Comedy Central from 2003 to 2009.

The funny comedy satirized the Reno Sheriff’s Department. The characters were incompetent, inappropriate, and hilarious.

29. New Hampshire: North Woods Law

North Woods Law was a reality show by Animal Planet that followed game wardens in the course of their duty. The show debuted in 2012.

It was originally filmed in Maine, but after a controversial poaching sting, authorities in Maine did not feel it painted the state in the best light.

In 2017, the show changed locations to New Hampshire and followed members of the state’s Fish and Game Department. Since 2024, new episodes have been put on hold.

30. New Jersey: The Sopranos

Although business sometimes brought him into New York, Tony Soprano did most of his dealings in Essex Country, New Jersey on HBO’s The Sopranos.

The popular show won five Golden Globe Awards and 21 Emmys.

31. New Mexico: Breaking Bad

Most of the action in the iconic series, Breaking Bad, took place in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico. Starring Bryan Cranston, the widely acclaimed show aired from 2008 to 2013 on AMC.

In the shocking series, terminally ill schoolteacher, Walter White, turned into a drug lord to try and leave a legacy for his family before he was to die.

32. New York: Seinfeld

There are so many television shows that are set in the Big Apple, it was extremely hard to narrow the list down.

I went with Seinfeld as the most iconic because of its long run, the popularity it had throughout its run, and the fact that so many of the episodes revolved around actual iconic locations in New York City.

The award-winning series about nothing ran for most of the 90s on NBC.

33. North Carolina: The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show starring Andy Griffith as small-town sheriff Andy Taylor, ran on CBS from 1960 to 1968. But it is ubiquitous on cable channel reruns ever since that time.

Sherriff Andy Taylor with his bumbling cousin, Deputy Barney Fife played by Don Knotts, dealt with whatever drama the sleepy, but needy townsfolk of Mayberry, North Carolina could throw their way.

34. North Dakota: Fargo

Although the show Fargo is actually set in Minnesota, I included it under North Dakota because much of the action takes place in that state, and the title city is, of course, in North Dakota, after all.

This dark comedy and crime drama was inspired by the 1996 Coen brothers’ movie by the same name.

35. Ohio: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

Set in the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio, Mary Hartman, Mary Harman was a satirical soap opera produced by Norman Lear. If ran for two series in 1976 and 1977.

The title character, Mary Hartman, was played by Louise Lasser. She was a naive housewife who wanted the perfect life that she had seen for housewives on television.

The show mocked the popular soap operas at the time and was received well, despite its short run.

36. Oklahoma: Saving Grace

Set in Oklahoma City, the TNT television series Saving Grace ran from 2007 to 2010.

In the series, a hard-partying, self-destructive detective played by Holly Hunter is assigned a non-traditional angel to set her straight and lead her towards redemption.

37. Oregon: Hello, Larry

Better known for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake on the hit television series MASH, McLean Stevenson was Larry Alder for two seasons on the short-lived show set in Portland, Oregon, Hello, Larry.*

On the show, Larry was a divorced radio talk show host raising two teenage daughters.

38. Pennsylvania: The Office

Although there were some great choices for shows set in Pennsylvania (Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Abbott Elementary, The Goldbergs, and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood), too me, none were more famously set in Pennsylvania than The Office.

The branch of Dunder Mifflin paper company, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, was filled with some hilarious characters that only occasionally took a break from their hijinks to try to sell paper.

39. Rhode Island: Family Guy

The Griffin family lives at 31 Spooner Street in the fictional Rhode Island city of Quahog.

Peter and his family are just like any American family except for have a mad-genius toddler, a talking dog, and a dad who likes to fight a giant chicken.

Created by Seth MacFarlane and premiering on Fox in 1999, Family Guy has been on the air for over 27 years.

40. South Carolina: Vice Principals

Set at the fictional North Jackson High School in the fictional city of North Jackson, South Carolina, the series Vice Principals ran on HBO from 2016 to 2017.

The dark comedy centered on two callous, rival high school vice principals who desperately wanted to be principal of the school. What they did to try to achieve these goals was shocking and uncomfortably funny.

41. South Dakota: Full Throttle Saloon

The reality television series Full Throttle Saloon was set in Sturgis, South Dakota at what the owners claimed was the world’s largest biker bar, the Full Throttle Saloon.

The series first aired in 2009 on truTV. It focused on the 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. In 2015, the sixth and final season aired on the cable channel Destination America. The show ended when the famous bar sadly burned down.

42. Tennessee: Nashville

The musical drama, Nashville, follows the fictional lives of country music singers in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Music City drama first aired in 2012 on ABC but was picked up for its final two seasons by CMT before ending production in 2018.

43. Texas: Walker, Texas Ranger

Texas had lots of good shows for me to choose from. King of the Hill, Dallas, and Friday Night Lights would all have been good choices.

I chose Walker, Texas Ranger in honor of Chuck Norris who passed away earlier this year in March.

44. Utah: Big Love

When not being the bothersome big brother in Weird Science, or chasing tornadoes in Twister, Bill Paxton found time to play a Mormon with three wives in HBO’s Big Love.

With a marriage involving four people, there was no shortage of drama in this groundbreaking, unique show set in Sandy, Utah.

45. Vermont: Wednesday

I am certain I will catch hell for this one.

Newhart is probably the most iconic show set in Vermont. But when I asked my ten-year-old daughter which show should I choose between Wednesday and Newhart, she said, “What’s a Newhart?”

So, I chose Wednesday to pacify both my younger and older readers. The older readers get a character from Addams Family, and my younger readers get an extremely popular Netflix series set in Jericho, Vermont.

In the series, Wednesday Addams attends a boarding school for monsters and outcasts called Nevermore Academy.

46. Virginia: The Waltons

For Virginia, I had a couple of other good choices: American Dad and Bones. But no show that is set in Virginia is more iconic than the classic 70s feel-good series The Waltons.

This historical drama set between the Great Depression and World War II followed a family that lived on the fictional Walton’s Mountain in rural Virginia.

47. Washington: Frasier

Fans of Grey’s Anatomy will be disappointed to know that I decided to list Frasier as the most iconic show set in the state of Washington. Grey’s Anatomy would have been a fine choice too, but I went with my favorite.

Frasier Crane, of course, left Boston and his friends from Cheers to move to Seattle and become a pretentious radio psychiatrist. He must navigate his career, his retired policeman father, and an eccentric brother in his new home with some very funny results.

48. West Virginia: Hatfields & McCoys

For West Virginia, I chose to look at the acclaimed 2012 miniseries, Hatfields & McCoys.

This was a three-part television event that premiered on the History Channel. This, of course, followed the infamous and violent post-Civil War feud between the two Appalachian families.

49. Wisconsin: Happy Days

There were three great iconic choices for Wisconsin: That 70s Show, Laverne and Shirley, and, of course, Happy Days.

I decided that the 70s sitcom based on the life in the 50s, Happy Days, was the most iconic. Set in Milwaukee, it actually led to the spin-offs Laverne and Shirley, Mork & Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi.

50. Wyoming: The Virginian

Don’t be misled by the name, The Virginian was set in the real town of Medicine Bow, Wyoming.

The long-running western aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971. The Virginian’s real name was never actually revealed through the run of the series, but the tough ranch foreman was originally from Virginia before settling in the frontier.

This list took me some time to compile, and I was surprised that I not only could find a series set in every U.S. state, but also often had multiple good shows to choose from.

Do you agree with the choices I made? What states would you have gone in a different direction than I did? Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

As always, thanks for reading!

If you like my listicles, you can find the complete list of them here, organized by subject: The Unabridged List of All of my Listicles

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