Television
| Date | Series | Notes | IMDB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 - present | Philadelphia Mummers New Year's Day Parade | Held annually on January 1 on Broad Street since 1901. First televised in 1941. Broadcast rights are currently held by WPHL-TV (Philadelphia). | |
| 1952 - 1964 | American Bandstand | Dance and music show hosted by Dick Clark, first locally on WFIL-TV (Philadelphia) as Bandstand, then nationally on ABC as American Bandstand. The show moved to Los Angeles in 1964. | |
| 1965 - 1978 | The Mike Douglas Show | Syndicated talk show hosted by Mike Douglas. Moved to Los Angeles in 1978. | |
| 1968 - 2012 | One Life to Live | ABC daytime drama (same-day rebroadcasts on SOAPnet from 2000 to 2012). Setting is the fictional town of Llanview, Pennsylvania, which is modeled after the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. | |
| 1969 | Hey, Hey, Hey: It's Fat Albert | NBC live action/animated special. Precursor to the Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids animated series. | |
| 1970 - 2011 | All My Children | ABC daytime drama (same-day rebroadcasts on SOAPnet from 2000 to 2011). Setting is the fictional town of Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, which is described as a Philadelphia suburb on the Main Line. | |
| 1972 - 1984 | Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids | CBS children's animated series. Philadelphia setting not specified, but the show was based on Bill Cosby's coming of age in Philadelphia. | |
| 1973 - 1986 | Schoolhouse Rock! - America Rock | ABC series of educational animated short films, designed to teach children about American history through song. "Fireworks" deals with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, while "Preamble" covers the drafting of the Constitution. The chorus to "Preamble" is a verbatim recitation (less four words) of the actual Preamble to the Constitution. Aired between Saturday morning cartoons on a rotating basis along with other Schoolhouse Rock! short films. | |
| 1976 - 1978 | The Tony Randall Show | ABC sitcom. | |
| 1979 | Blacks in America: With All Deliberate Speed? | CBS News two-part documentary. In Part 2, Ed Bradley travels to his hometown of Philadelphia, to assess how African Americans have fared in the 25 years following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed public school segregation. Aired July 25, 1979. | |
| 1979 - 1980 | Angie | ABC sitcom. | |
| 1981 - 1987 | Dancin' on Air | Dance and music show, aired locally weekdays on WPHL-TV (Philadelphia). | |
| 1983 | Grace Kelly | ABC made-for-television movie. Biopic chronicling the life of actress Grace Kelly, from her childhood in Philadelphia until her wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco. | |
| 1984 - 1989 | Brothers | Showtime comedy series. | |
| 1985 | Live Aid | Multi-venue benefit rock concert held on July 13, 1985 to aid famine relief in Ethiopia. One of the major venues was JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Concert was broadcast live to 1.5 billion viewers in over 100 countries. | |
| 1986 - 1991 | Amen | NBC sitcom. | |
| 1986 - 1993 | Double Dare | Nickelodeon game show for children. Originated from the studios of PBS member station WHYY-TV (Philadelphia). | |
| 1987 | Frontline | PBS documentary series. Episode entitled "The Bombing of West Philly" examines the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house by the Philadelphia Police Department. Aired May 5, 1987. | |
| 1987 - 1988 | Bustin' Loose | Syndicated sitcom. Based on the Richard Pryor film. | |
| 1987 - 1991 | thirtysomething | ABC drama. | |
| 1989 - 1991 | Shannon's Deal | NBC drama. | |
| 1990 - 1996 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | NBC sitcom. Frequent references to the titular character's hometown of Philadelphia, including the West Philadelphia section (which is mentioned in the theme song). | |
| 1992 | You Bet Your Life | Syndicated game show hosted by Bill Cosby (remake of the original, hosted by Groucho Marx). | |
| 1993 - 2000 | Boy Meets World | ABC sitcom. | |
| 1994 | The Oprah Winfrey Show | Syndicated talk show. Episode highlighting the city of Philadelphia aired May 23, 1994. | |
| 1994 | Philly Heat | ABC miniseries about members of the Philadelphia Fire Department. | |
| 1995 - 1997 | Brotherly Love | NBC/WB sitcom. | |
| 1996 | Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt? | HBO documentary. Examines the conviction and death sentence of journalist/activist Mumia Abu-Jamal for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. | |
| 1998 | Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery | PBS miniseries/documentary. Part 3, entitled "Brotherly Love", examines colonial Philadelphia and its community of free African Americans. | |
| 1998 | The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon | ABC made-for-television movie. | |
| 1999 | The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer | NBC miniseries. Dramatizes the 1977 murder of Holly Maddux and the decades-long pursuit of her accused killer, environmental activist Ira Einhorn. | |
| 2000 - 2006 | Little Bill | CBS cartoon. | |
| 2000 - 2006 | Strong Medicine | Lifetime Television medical drama. | |
| 2001 | Carmen: A Hip Hopera | MTV made-for-television musical, starring Beyoncé Knowles and Mekhi Phifer. Modern interpretation of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen, set in modern Philadelphia and Los Angeles. | |
| 2001 - 2002 | Philly | ABC drama. | |
| 2002 - 2005 | American Dreams | NBC drama. American Bandstand's presence in Philadelphia in the 1960s is central to the major premise of the series. | |
| 2002 - 2004 | Hack | CBS drama. | |
| 2003 - 2010 | Cold Case | CBS drama. | |
| 2004 | The Big House | ABC sitcom. | |
| 2004 - present | Living It Up with Patti LaBelle | TV One lifestyle show. Moderate number of the episodes highlight persons and places from the host's hometown of Philadelphia. | |
| 2004 - 2005 | The Real World: Philadelphia | MTV reality series. | |
| 2005 | Live 8 | Multi-venue benefit pop music concert held on July 2, 2005 as a means of pressuring the G8 nations to: increase aid to Africa, negotiate fairer trade rules, and cancel the debt of the world's poorest nations. One of the major venues was the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Concert was broadcast intermittently in the United States on MTV and VH1. | |
| 2005 | The Amazing Race: Family Edition | CBS reality series. The first leg of the race ended in Philadelphia. | |
| 2005 - present | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | FX sitcom. | |
| 2006 - 2007 | The Class | CBS sitcom. | |
| 2006 - 2010 | 'Til Death | Fox sitcom. The characters have telephone numbers with area code 215, indicating that the setting is the Philadelphia metropolitan area. | |
| 2008 | American Idol 7 | Fox reality series. Northeast regional auditions held at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Aired on January 15, 2008. | |
| 2008 | Parking Wars | A&E Network reality series spotlighting the Philadelphia Parking Authority. | |
| 2009 | Halls of Fame | Upcoming drama series inspired by the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. To be produced by Starz Media. Chris "Ludacris" Bridges will serve as co-executive producer. |
Read more about this topic: Cultural Depictions Of Philadelphia
Famous quotes containing the word television:
“We cannot spare our children the influence of harmful values by turning off the television any more than we can keep them home forever or revamp the world before they get there. Merely keeping them in the dark is no protection and, in fact, can make them vulnerable and immature.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)
“The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour.”
—Frederic Raphael (b. 1931)
“Anyone afraid of what he thinks television does to the world is probably just afraid of the world.”
—Clive James (b. 1939)