25 Shows to Binge If You Love New York

NEW YORK. Yas. Yas. Yas! The city that never sleeps is worth staying up for, especially to binge the most stellar comedies and dramas ever televised.

We can’t get enough of shows set in New York because of the City’s culture, fashion, restaurants, and hustle; not to mention the comedic timing and badass attitude of its talented stars.

And when it comes to television’s most epic series, nobody plays the leading lady quite like New York City herself.

1. Broad City

BFFs and diehard New Yorkers, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glaser make each of their days together wild adventures, under the influence of whatever drugs they’re carrying and sexual boundaries they’re crossing.

Created by the hilarious Jewish millennials themselves and Executive Produced by Amy Poehler, Broad City is one of the freshest comedies on TV and will take you around the City like no other show on this list.

Typically short on cash, the girls rarely hail cabs or grab an uber. When Ilana and Abbi need to get somewhere, they hop on CitiBikes, board the bus, strap on rollerblades, and most frequently, ride the subway.

But it's their destinations that are real Manhattan magic. The besties venture to spots so random and wild, even the most devout New Yorker may have yet to discover where the hell they end up.

Like when when Abbi leads Ilana down a dark Lower East Side alleyway to a Prohibition-era Back Room speakeasy. Or when Ilana and her mom go to Chinatown for purse knock-offs and end up crawling through an underground tunnel to score "the good bags."

And don't even get me started on the amazing celeb cameos by everyone from Seth Rogan and RuPaul to Susie Essman, Kelly Ripa, and the girls' holiest of heroes, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

2. The Deuce

New York City in the 70s was a dirtier, seedier time, particularly in the area known as The Deuce. The streets are littered with hookers and their pimps, porno theaters and prostitutes. Cops who both enforce the law break it. While mobsters make killer moves, climbing into bed with club owners for their cut of the nightlife.

Maggie Gillenthal nails her role as working girl Candy, trying to get off the streets by learning to direct adult movies. Heartthrob James Franco plays not one, but twin brothers each angling for their piece of the pie. HBO already ordered a second season of this titillating drama, so now’s your chance to binge Season 1!

3. Nurse Jackie

Edie Falco is drug-addicted nurse, Jackie Peyton, who struggles to balance the demands of her stressful job at a New York City hospital with an endless array of personal dramas.

Whether she’s on duty at All Saints Hospital handling whatever lunatics come off the City streets, at home with her family, or scoring pills from her lover, you’ll wonder how Jackie tackles each day to get to the next...until you get to know her.

Be warned, once you start binging Nurse Jackie, you may need medical assistance to peel you away from your TV.

4. Master of None

Comic Aziz Ansari stars in his own series as Dev Shah, a 30-year-old actor, struggling to make it in New York while juggling romantic pursuits and cultural, sometimes racist experiences. This series is worth binging not only for the laughs but for the crazy cuisine Dev is constantly sampling all over the City.

Don’t want to take my word for it? The first season of Master of None holds an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes! Season 2 is streaming on Netflix, and Ansari nabbed a 2018 Golden Globe for best actor in a television series. I mean really, what more do you need?

5. Mad About You

Documentary filmmaker, Paul Buchman and public relations specialist, Jamie Buchman are newlyweds living in Greenwich Village, near NYU.

The couple’s relationship is organic, adorable and charming, as they navigate newly married life through comedic situations that constantly challenge their relationship, but cannot derail their chemistry.

Good news for those of you missing Paul and Jamie...We hear whispers of a revival in the works at Sony Pictures Television Studios, wherein The Buchmans are suffering from empty nest syndrome as their daughter Mabel, born 20 years ago(!), is off to college.

6. Billions

U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades goes after hedge fund king, Bobby "Axe" Axelrod in a battle between two powerful New Yorkers, both egomaniac a**holes with both their wives caught in the middle. Yet my money's on you to find someone to root for on either side of the rivalry.

Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis are brilliant adversaries who have just been gifted a 3rd season by Showtime. Binge the first two seasons and you’ll wonder what took you so long to find this incredibly intense drama, loosely based on a true story.

Billions exposes a world of astronomical New York opulence, greed, risk, reward, and it’s all about the Benjamins baby.

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This post appear first on 25 Shows to Binge If You Love New York by Rebecca Eisen