Kimberly O'Brien: Best Chicago TV Shows
by kimberlyobrienchicago | created - 13 Jun 2014 | updated - 13 Jun 2014 | PublicKim O'Brien's top 25 TV shows set in or about Chicago!
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1. According to Jim (2001–2009)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Romance
A television show centered around a macho everyman, his loving wife, and their three precocious children.
Stars: Jim Belushi, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Larry Joe Campbell, Taylor Atelian
Votes: 38,196
2. Chicago Hope (1994–2000)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
The lives and trials of the staff of a major hospital in Chicago.
Stars: Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin, Hector Elizondo, Peter Berg
Votes: 4,697
3. Due South (1994–1999)
TV-PG | 46 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
The adventures of an impossibly upright Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable and his American colleagues in the city of Chicago.
Stars: Paul Gross, Beau Starr, Tony Craig, David Marciano
Votes: 7,574
4. Good Times (1974–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
A poor family make the best of things in the Chicago housing projects.
Stars: Ja'net DuBois, Ralph Carter, BernNadette Stanis, Jimmie 'JJ' Walker
Votes: 8,124
5. Valerie (1986–1991)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Originally is was the saga of a working mom raising her three sons alone while her pilot husband was away, but after star Valerie Harper left, Sandy Duncan stepped in as the boys' aunt.
Stars: Jason Bateman, Jeremy Licht, Dan Ponce, Josh Taylor
Votes: 1,980
6. Life Goes On (1989–1993)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama
A modern All-American family deals with the struggles of life and love in mid-western suburbia.
Stars: Kellie Martin, Chris Burke, Patti LuPone, Bill Smitrovich
Votes: 2,923
7. Perfect Strangers (1986–1993)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Family
A high-strung and cynical man's life is never the same when his naive but good-natured cousin comes to America to live with him.
Stars: Bronson Pinchot, Mark Linn-Baker, Melanie Wilson, Rebeca Arthur
Votes: 11,022
8. Family Matters (1989–1998)
TV-G | 30 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
The Winslow family deals with various misadventures, many of them caused by their pesky next-door neighbor, ultra-nerd Steve Urkel.
Stars: Reginald VelJohnson, Jaleel White, Darius McCrary, Kellie Shanygne Williams
Votes: 30,031
9. Samantha Who? (2007–2009)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Mystery, Romance
A woman suffers from amnesia and is forced to find out who she really is.
Stars: Christina Applegate, Jennifer Esposito, Kevin Dunn, Melissa McCarthy
Votes: 11,397
10. Punky Brewster (1984–1988)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Young Punky Brewster is abandoned with her dog, Brandon, in a supermarket. When she befriends Henry Warnimont, her new family life begins.
Stars: Soleil Moon Frye, George Gaynes, Cherie Johnson, Sandy
Votes: 6,109
11. Prison Break (2005–2017)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A structural engineer installs himself in a prison he helped design, in order to save his falsely accused brother from a death sentence by breaking themselves out from the inside.
Stars: Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper
Votes: 579,771
12. The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy
The professional and personal misadventures of a psychologist and his family, patients, friends and colleagues.
Stars: Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, Bill Daily, Marcia Wallace
Votes: 6,738
13. The Boondocks (2005–2014)
TV-MA | 22 min | Animation, Action, Comedy
Brothers Huey and Riley Freeman experience a culture clash when they leave Chicago to move in with their grandfather in the suburbs.
Stars: Regina King, John Witherspoon, Gary Anthony Williams, Cedric Yarbrough
Votes: 35,751
14. The Chicago Code (2011)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Detective Jarek Wysocki, one of Chicago's toughest cops, struggles to clean up the town's violence and corruption.
Stars: Jason Clarke, Jennifer Beals, Matt Lauria, Devin Kelley
Votes: 8,481
15. Chicago P.D. (2014– )
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Follows District 21 of the Chicago Police Department, made up of two different groups: the uniformed cops and the Intelligence Unit.
Stars: Jason Beghe, Patrick John Flueger, Marina Squerciati, LaRoyce Hawkins
Votes: 44,937
16. Chicago Fire (2012– )
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Drama
The story of firefighters and paramedics in the city of Chicago, both on a personal and professional level.
Stars: Taylor Kinney, Christian Stolte, Eamonn Walker, Joe Minoso
Votes: 64,656
17. Early Edition (1996–2000)
TV-PG | 41 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
His name is Gary Hobson. He gets tomorrow's newspaper today. He doesn't know how. He doesn't know why. All he knows is when the early edition hits his doorstep, he has twenty-four hours to set things right.
Stars: Kyle Chandler, Shanesia Davis, Fisher Stevens, Billie Worley
Votes: 12,868
18. Generations (1989–1991)
30 min | Drama
Soap opera about two families, one black and one white.
Stars: Kelly Rutherford, Kristoff St. John, Joan Pringle, Jonelle Allen
Votes: 455
19. The Good Wife (2009–2016)
TV-14 | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Alicia Florrick has been a good wife to her husband, a former state's attorney. After a very humiliating sex and corruption scandal, he is behind bars. She must now provide for her family and returns to work as a litigator in a law firm.
Stars: Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Josh Charles, Matt Czuchry
Votes: 82,803
20. Happy Endings (2011–2020)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy, Romance
This Chicago-set sitcom follows the intertwined lives of six young urbanites trying to learn the ropes of adulthood. Through breakups and whatever other curve-balls life throws them, the pals stick together.
Stars: Eliza Coupe, Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally
Votes: 40,126
21. Kenan & Kel (1996–2023)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Kenan and Kel: two best friends who live in Chicago are always dragged down by Kenan's get rich quick schemes while orange soda-loving buddy Kel is dragged along but tends to mess things up.
Stars: Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Ken Foree, Teal Marchande
Votes: 16,832
22. Life with Bonnie (2002–2004)
30 min | Comedy
Local TV show host Bonnie Molloy has the life of a sort-of celebrity. Sometimes her fans actually remember her name. But when it comes to her family life, a little fame goes a long way. ... See full summary »
Stars: Bonnie Hunt, Mark Derwin, David Alan Grier, Charlie Stewart
Votes: 662
23. Married... with Children (1987–1997)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy
Al is the quintessential working class dad. Peggy, his wife, always wants more from him. With their children, they go through the highs and lows of ordinary life.
Stars: Ed O'Neill, Christina Applegate, Katey Sagal, Amanda Bearse
Votes: 111,165
24. My Boys (2006–2010)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Romance
A female sports columnist in Chicago deals with the men in her life including her brother, her best friend and a sportswriter for a rival publication.
Stars: Jordana Spiro, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Michael Bunin
Votes: 5,294
25. Sisters (1991–1996)
60 min | Drama
Follows the lives and loves of four close, but very different, sisters of the Reed family living in Winnetka, Illinois.
Stars: Swoosie Kurtz, Patricia Kalember, Sela Ward, Elizabeth Hoffman
Votes: 2,300
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