Happy National New Jersey Day! Did You Know All These TV Shows Take Place in NJ?
If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times (and created a job for myself) it’s that New Jersey Isn’t Boring. And because NJ isn’t boring so many TV shows take place in the Garden State. I’ve put a list of the most iconic shows (no reality shows included).
The Showtime series Yellowjackets has been renewed for Season 3! The show, which takes place in Fairview is about a harrowing plane crash in the early 1990s, leaving a high school girls’ soccer team stranded in a remote wilderness. As they struggle to survive in the unforgiving environment, the series artfully alternates between their treacherous past and their haunted present, following the survivors’ lives 25 years later. It’s a great show…and equally disturbing.
I recently watched all of Ramy, a Hulu show that takes place in Jersey City. The show is a thought-provoking and critically acclaimed television series that delves into the life of Ramy Hassan (played by comedian Ramy Youssef who was raised in Rutherford), a first-generation Egyptian-American Muslim living in New Jersey. The show follows Ramy as he navigates the complexities of his identity, grappling with the clash of cultures, religion, and personal desires. The show, which has 3 seasons streaming, has garnered praise for its exploration of contemporary Muslim life and earned a devoted fan base for its relatability and emotional depth.
Jersey City got its own Marvel superhero – Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel based on the comic series which launched in 2014. The six-episode Disney+ show premiered in 2022 and features a teenage Avengers fan who becomes a superhero. The show features landmarks in Jersey City such as Journal Square, Liberty Square Park, Coles Academic High School (based on the Dr. Ronald McNair Academic High School on Coles Street), Islamic Masjid of Jersey City, and more.
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The series left off with a cliffhanger that will continue in “The Marvels” which comes out this year.
Speaking of Marvel the first Marvel tv show that premiered on Disney+, Wandavision, also took place in NJ. The show was set in the fictional town of Westview. While there is no Westview, there is a “West View” community within Ridgefield Park in Bergen County. In the show, Wanda creates the town to live out a fictional life with her deceased paramour Vision who dies in the Infinity War. The town is placed next to another fictional NJ town called Eastview.
Perhaps the most famous TV show to take place in NJ and filmed in NJ is the Sopranos which ran for six seasons between 1999 and 2007. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying the difficulties that he faces as he tries to balance his family life with his role as the leader of a criminal organization.
The show filmed in many NJ locations including the Satin Dolls (aka the Bada Bing!) a strip club in Lodi, the private residence of the family in North Caldwell, and most famously at Holsten’s in Bloomfield for the series’ final shot. If you’re a Sopranos fan be sure to visit Holsten’s (because their ice cream is amazing) and you can sit in the actual booth where the scene was filmed.
Another HBO series that takes place in NJ is Boardwalk Empire which ran from 2010 – 2014. The show features an Atlantic City politician, played by Steve Buscemi, who plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era. Sadly not filmed in NJ despite the fact that the show is literally about Atlantic City. Oh well.
There are not one but two animated shows that take place in the Garden State, albeit from fictional towns. The first is one of my favorite shows, Bob’s Burgers which began in 2011.
The show is based on the Belcher family and their burger restaurant that resides on Ocean Ave in a seaside resort town in NJ that has not been named. The show follows the family’s antics and side adventures, fun side characters, and original music.
The other animated show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force (aka Aqua Teen and ATHF) started in 2000 and ran for 11 seasons until its conclusion on August 30, 2015. The Adult Swim show followed the adventures of roommates Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad as well as their human next-door neighbor, Carl Brutananadilewski. The show took place in a fictional suburban neighborhood in South New Jersey called South Jersey Shore.
Other notable NJ tv shows include House starring Hugh Laurie took place in Princeton and Charles in Charge starring Scott Baio took place in New Brunswick, 12 Monkeys (2015-2018) which took place in Rariton, and
