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Why are all sitcoms set in New York?

Tue., Apr. 17, 2007 5:12 PM PDT by Leslie Gornstein

Why are all sitcoms set in New York?
—Lisa, Los Angeles

The B!tch Replies: Actually, Industry wonks inform me that only maybe 30 to 40 percent of sitcoms are based in New York these days.

But let's pretend your question is true.

Why New York? For the same reason Ellen DeGeneres spends most of her waking hours talking about herself and expecting others to laugh. She thinks she's fascinating, and New Yorkers find their city absolutely riveting.

Add this factor: Many sitcom writers, creators and producers have either worked or grown up in New York. Ergo, they have funny things to say about New York. Tina Fey's 30 Rock is based in New York because it's about an SNL-style show in New York. Kevin James, the soon-to-be-deposed King of Queens, grew up on the North Shore of Long Island. Ray Romano comes from Queens.

Conversely, I suspect very few sitcom writers have sampled the fried alligator tail in Fort Worth. (That's not code for anything—there's literally fried alligator tail in Fort Worth.)

Nor have they tracked the mighty beasts of the veld via Charlize Theron's old home in Benoni, South Africa. But many, many ambitious showbiz types have jockeyed in line for the last chocolate babka on 34th Street.

"Look at the history of TV," says Gary West, founder of Mr. Pop History, one of the most obsessive pop-culture sites of all time. "A lot of these writers are from Brooklyn. Look at [Seinfeld cocreator] Larry David—he's from Brooklyn."

One other reason for all those self-impressed New York sitcoms: There's at least one of everything in New York. Need a hot Ukranian girl character who raises ferrets and hates cheese? Or a random run-in with surprise guest star Sarah Jessica Parker? That would be bizarre in Raleigh, but not so unimaginable in New York.

"Everybody thinks that people in New York are crazy," confirms the Hollywood Reporter's Ray Richmond. "It's easier to create colorful characters out of them."

Besides, most sitcoms require actors to scream their lines. And no one talks louder than a New Yorker.