From reality shows like Dance Moms to crime dramas like Task, medical dramas like The Pitt, and comedies like Abbott Elementary, The Office, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has taken over television with 22 million weekly viewers across its concurrently running shows. Shows like Abbott Elementary and The Pitt are going viral weekly, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been running for almost twenty seasons. One of the common themes between all these shows revolves around regular people in their daily lives. Pennsylvania’s rich history with television has allowed a culture around television art to blossom and be brought to Americans’ TV screens.

Pennsylvania has always been an integral part of the television industry since John Walson invented cable television in 1948. In Mahanoy City, two hours north of Philadelphia, John Walson couldn’t get television service because of the surrounding mountains. He used local supplies to connect the TVs in his appliance store, then connected several people in his town to this antenna. This became the first community antenna television (CATV) in the United States. Soon after, the first program of WQED Pittsburgh aired on April 1, 1954. It was the first community-led educational television network in the US. Finally, in 1979, the PCN, or the Philadelphia Cable Network, was the first countrywide educational TV network in history. Pennsylvania’s historic developments to the TV network have allowed the TV field to expand and have a hold on viewers for almost a century. 

The Pitt and Abbott Elementary have won eleven Emmy Awards in total and have gathered over 500 award nominations between them. The Pitt has twelve million viewers weekly and has topped the charts on HBO Max. Recently Katherine LaNasa, who plays the charge nurse Dana, has gone viral for the phrase, “baby Jane Doe.” This has gathered over 4.2 million views on just one video alone, showing the success of the show not just on the charts but on the internet as well. The Pitt’s success has been credited to its high accuracy and intense drama. It has also been praised for the show’s authenticity and its honest depiction of an emergency department and its staff. The show is seen as an immersive experience into a world of relatable characters and heartfelt storylines.

One of the most well-known shows set in Philadelphia, Abbott Elementary, finds success because of its genuineness to the Philly area. Abbott Elementary includes things any Philadelphia resident would recognize, like Phillies games, The Franklin Institute, Jalen Hurts, and the classic Wawa vs. Sheetz debate. Abbott Elementary also stays true to Philly with their characters like Melissa Schemmenti saying, “And all these wasted eggs when the Cowboys are in town. Now I gotta throw Molotov cocktails at their bus.” Abbott Elementary, like The Pitt, is bringing back the classic fifteen to twenty episode weekly season drops, which resonates with many people in older generations who grew up watching TV weekly. 

Pennsylvania’s competitive market for film can be attributed to many different reasons, like its film tax credit program, the communities of cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and its themes that resonate with viewers. When filming a TV show, if crews spend sixty percent of their total production budget in Pennsylvania, then the show gets a 25 to thirty percent tax credit on all expenses. The diverse settings in Pennsylvania allow flexibility in cities, suburbs, and rural areas to make it a destination zone for television producers. Both Abbott Elementary and The Pitt share themes of inequality and overcoming resilience, which hits home for many viewers in the current political climate. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh also have a community that, when replicated, is a clear recipe for success in the television industry. The authenticity and local accuracy of these shows are what make them so enticing to viewers. Pennsylvania, but specifically Philadelphia’s rise in cultural recognition, is also a factor in Pennsylvania’s rise in television. Recent Super Bowl wins, viral moments, and historical landmarks are all reasons for a TV show set in Pennsylvania. The television industry in Pennsylvania is soaring to the moon and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.