Aug 3, 2022 - Things to Do

Chicago TV's Final Four

Film crew on Chicago el station

"ER" shoots on the L in 2005. Photo: Chuck Hodes/NBCU Photo Bank

We've been voting on the best Chicago television shows of all time.

  • The Elite Eight voting results had only one close matchup — "Married … With Children" squeaked out a win against "The Bear" by just 25 votes.

Here are the Final Four matchups:

Clown on a shrinks couch
A clown lies on a couch during an episode of "'The Bob Newhart Show," 1972. Photo: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

"ER" shot a lot of interiors in L.A. but also spent a considerable amount of time in Chicago. A lot of great local actors got to be trauma patients.

  • And it helps that "ER" is one of the most popular shows of all time.

"The Bob Newhart Show" is such a Chicago show that Newhart himself has a statue in front of Navy Pier.

  • The show is set here, with the intro montage and some interstitial swipes showing the city in the 1970s.
family gathered around a kitchen table
A scene from "Good Times" in 1975. Photo: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

"Good Times" is another show that shot only exteriors in Chicago. The sitcom was filmed in front of a live studio audience in L.A.

  • But the backdrop of Cabrini-Green and the constant references to Chicago make it ours.

"Married … With Children" used the iconic Buckingham Fountain in its intro montage but shot in front of an L.A. audience.

  • Ed Bundy did spend a lot of time talking about Chicago and his high school football glory days. Who can't relate to that?

What's next: Final Four voting is now open.

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