Top 10 NYC apartments on TV

Shows set in New York City have a tendency to sugarcoat the realities of apartment life. Which shows’ supposedly local pads are realistic, and which do we covet in spite of their impossibility? We rank ten from worst to best, rating each for how realistic it is: 0 = “Only in your dreams, TV audience”; 10 = “It could happen”

10. Friends
They’ll be there for us, in their giant, sunny affordable Village apartment, thumbing their fictional noses at us. Monica and Rachel’s digs were supposedly thanks to a deceased Geller relative, but we don’t buy it—the only places with that much elbow room south of 14th Street are owned by Cipriani. The abode was full of the faux-vintage decor that neatnik Monica would never have really tolerated; that stuff collects dust like nobody’s business. The Friends pad does gain points for the fact that Chandler and Joey’s apartment, across the hall, was much crappier. Ah, the cruel inequality of the ex-tenement.
Reality rating: 2

9. The Real World
Sure, the original reality show gave us a pretty decent look at group life—we’ve seen those circular staircases, tripped over our housemates in the same cramped hallways. But the most recent, Red Hook installment gave us a “house” that looked like the inside of a gum ball machine, and unreality won out. It was complete with more nonsensical set pieces than a McDonald’s Playland—a little red boat to sit in? Really?
Reality rating: 3

8. How I Met Your Mother
The 21st-century version of Friends gets NYC right in so many ways—the search for the forgotten perfect burger joint, the distaste for New Jersey, the charms of our local cable channel—but this Hell’s Kitchen pad is a head-scratcher. Sure, the size has to be exaggerated for sitcom shenanigans, but why wouldn’t a law student, budding architect and schoolteacher live in Park Slope? Why wouldn’t their furniture be more recognizably Ikea-bought? Why do the tchotchkes on the wall have an Applebee’s vibe?
Reality rating: 4

7. Sex and the City
Carrie Bradshaw had the elusive urban myth of an apartment—it was on a tree-lined block among stately brownstones and had a view perfect for “I couldn’t help but wonder” contemplation. And don’t get us started on the walk-through closets, though the unusual layout did capture the charm of Manhattan’s aged, reapportioned living spaces. If you factor in rent control, we can pretend that there really is a prewar cubbyhole on a quiet, leafy street just waiting for us.
Reality rating: 5

6. Castle
Is it just us, or does Richard Castle’s swanky apartment look kind of, well, Los Angeles–y? The floating steps, the open kitchen, the boxy overhead lighting—all hallmarks of the West Coast lifestyle. An author with as much swagger and cash as Castle would opt for a look that doesn’t scream “I make my own organic guacamole!” And even best-selling authors probably couldn’t swing the Castle lifestyle, but if ever there was a New York City fantasy we’d like to believe in, it’s that art, even Pop Art, could pay off that well.Reality rating: 5

5. Gossip Girl
In this instance, unlike with just about every other apartment on this list, we can believe that the Bass/Van der Woodsen conglomerate can afford their ridiculous New York Palace Hotel space. After all, the late Bart Bass owned the Palace, half of New York City and, no doubt, a sizable chunk of an unnamed South American republic (that’s just how he rolled). The Van der ’partment has a hint of minimalism, a touch of “I bought it at the MoMA store!” and a whopping dose of pretension (see the giant PRADA artwork). Yep, that’s probably how New York bazillionaires live, though our wealth isn’t obscene enough to find out for sure.
Reality rating: 6

4. The Odd Couple
For his fundamental understanding of the amount og exasperation and compromise that makes up roommate life, Simon gets a thumbs-up. But we can’t help but agree with Howard Cosell about the aesthetics of the odd bachelor den: “Your apartment is furnished in questionable taste.”Reality rating: 6

3. Life on Mars
If the actual ’70s made us cringe, the modern ’70s-themed Life on Mars makes us (falsely) nostalgic for the decade of leisure suits. Michael Imperioli’s Ray Carling is a sexist buffoon, but his apartment reveals a sunny side we didn’t know he had (or rather, his wife had). This is how to use yellow: in blocky tile and flowery wallpaper, with plenty of natural light. And a yellow fridge.
Reality rating: 6

2. Seinfeld
Know what most guys don’t do? Decorate. There was something kinda corporate and square about Jerry Seinfeld’s Upper West Side spot—probably the two-tone walls and multiple shades of beige. For a show about nothing, his was an apartment about nothing. We’ve all been there.
Reality rating: 8

1. Flight of the Conchords
Bret and Jemaine’s Chinatown apartment looks suspiciously like it was furnished completely through off-the-street found items, so it’s probably got a raging case of bedbugs. It’s dingy, and understocked in the cup department (the purchase of a single mug forces the pair into prostitution, after all). There’s no privacy. The landlord is always one exasperated knock away. And yet you need only dance about the place in your PJs to make it feel like home. Yep, that’s NYC reality.
Reality rating: 9