A Great Place: Sitcoms, Apartments, and New York City

This essay considers how U.S. television sitcoms set in New York City that first circulated on broadcast networks in the 1990s and 2000s generate discourse on apartment living and urban space. Departing from The Friends Experience , an immersive entertainment staged in shopping malls following the twenty-fifth anniversary of Friends (NBC, 1994–2004), the essay considers how the fantasies associated with apartment living became a recognizable programing trend during a specific moment in time, as well as how those programs have lingered in the time since. Programs discussed include Friends , Seinfeld (NBC, 1989–1997), Living Single (Fox, 1993–1998), and Mad About You (NBC, 1992–1999, 2019). Of particular interest: how sitcoms set in New York City apartment buildings during this era both normalize encounters with otherness and educate consumer desire.