Real and Reel Locations of Popular Shows
14th May, 2020
Real and Reel Locations of Popular Shows
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Think you can recognize your favorite shows from a single establishing shot? TV series always have an establishing shot that takes the narrative forward. From “Central Perk” to “Rockefeller Plaza,” if you know your TV series, you know which show these shots belong to. Take a look at these shows that enjoyed huge success and the real and reel life locations at which they were filmed. You’ll be surprised. We were!
Of manly men and an Alpha mom
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Of manly men and an Alpha mom

The flyover scene of the Malibu coastline is a fixture in this series spanning 12 seasons. The show ran into some trouble, limped back on track, but never really was the same post the ninth season.

Two and a Half Men
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men was easily one of the most entertaining shows. Pity that the house the series was filmed in though wasn’t real and was actually a set at the Warner Brother Studios. If those walls could speak…

Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

The outside shot of this American workspace is as iconic as its stars. While this is supposedly located in Scranton PA., the real location of filming is about 2500+ miles away.

The Office
NBCUniversal Television Distribution
The Office

While some of the location shots are from Scranton, the interior shots of The Office were filmed on a soundstage at the Chandler Valley Center Studios at 13927 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys. The exterior shots are of the building that houses offices for the studio.

Daddy lives in the basement
Sony Pictures Television
Daddy lives in the basement

A law firm secretary and a delivery guy get married. Hilarity ensues. Her father comes to live with them. Cue more hilarity. The external shots are of a real house while the internal shots are in a studio.

The King of Queens
Sony Pictures Television
The King of Queens

Doug and Carrie and Carrie’s father were the mainstays of the nine-season-long series. Despite “Queens” being in the title, the Heffernan house that is shown in the exterior shots is not in Queens but in New Jersey.

Pass the Beer Nuts
CBS Television Distribution
Pass the Beer Nuts

This quintessentially 80’s show is an icon by itself. Apart from running for nine seasons and featuring some now-very-big names in entertainment, the main set of this show was the main star and something to clink your glass to.

Cheers
CBS Television Distribution
Cheers

The Boston bar that was the mainstay of this series was actually filmed at Paramount Studios in LA in front of a live audience. The exterior shot of the iconic bar was the Bull & Finch Pub at 84 Beacon Street, Boston.

The only place they serve The Big Salad
Sony Pictures Television
The only place they serve The Big Salad

Monk’s Café is where the quartet hang out doing nothing in a show about nothing, and still managed to rake in millions and a fan following to boot. Now that’s talent, innit?

Seinfeld
Sony Pictures Television
Seinfeld

The exterior of Monk’s Café is, in fact, Tom’s Restaurant, a diner on the corner of West 112th Street in Manhattan, NYC, where Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer eat regularly. The indoor scenes of the café were filmed on a set in LA.

Keep the dress, throw away the ex-boyfriend
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution | HBO Enterprises
Keep the dress, throw away the ex-boyfriend

Located on the Upper East Side, this apartment is everything fashion, starting with a walk-in wardrobe. How this can be afforded on a columnist’s salary is a question none of us should be asking. Just enjoy the opulence.

Sex and the City
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution | HBO Enterprises
Sex and the City

Carrie Bradshaw’s enviable apartment isn’t even on the Upper East Side. The interiors were filmed in a studio, designed by production designer Jeremy Conway and the exterior is Perry Street, Manhattan.

Are you hungry dear?
CBS Television Distribution
Are you hungry dear?

What do you get when you put together a sports writer, his harrowed wife, his cantankerous dad, his overbearing mother, his jealous brother, and his three kids? We call it, comedy gold! Mostly filmed indoors, the exterior shots of the houses are very real!

Everybody Loves Raymond
CBS Television Distribution
Everybody Loves Raymond

Located on Margaret Blvd, NY, the houses used as Raymond’s home and his parents’ home are actually across from each other. These can be seen on Google Maps; just look for 135 Margaret Blvd, Merrick, NY and 136 Margaret Blvd, Merrick, NY. Check it out!