“Lou Grant” (1977), Los Angeles
“The show portrayed all sections of Los Angeles, from downtown, to the beach, to Bel-Air, to like, y’know, the Valley and stuff, and to the scruffier sections in the east and south. I first watched the show when I lived back east, and was thrilled to visit many of those locations after I moved to Southern California in the early ’80s.
Recently, I picked up several DVD box-sets of ‘Lou Grant,’ and was amazed at how well the show holds up after all these years. One episode, first broadcast in 1979, dealt with undocumented immigrants. Forty-two years old, and it easily could have been written 42 minutes ago.” — Bob Haus, Oakland
“Nash Bridges” (1996), San Francisco
“I used to watch ‘Nash Bridges’ in part as a scavenger hunt trying to determine exactly where in San Francisco the scenes were filmed. I even saw the crews in action around town. There’s something special about seeing the real places you know show up onscreen.” — Mark Jones, Sacramento
“Monk” (2002), San Francisco
“The opening of the show with Monk walking to his apartment at the top of one of San Francisco’s many steep hills is priceless!” — Chick Harrity, Calistoga
“Terriers” (2010), San Diego
“Not only was it a very good show with intricate plotting, crackling dialogue and great acting, it also shone a light on a bit of a seedy underbelly of the San Diego beach towns. If I recall correctly it took place in Ocean Beach.
