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Does <em>The Mindy Project</em> Portray NYC's Subway System Accurately?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 4, 2012
Modified Dec 4, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 4, 2012
Modified Dec 4, 2012
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We've been lightheartedly keeping tabs on movies and television shows that don't realistically portray New York City, and after spending so much time scrutinizing them we can say that unless a real subway is used, our underground is rarely recreated accurately. Earlier this year Lena Dunham told us about the process of bringing the city's mass transit system to the small screen:
"When I went to shoot on the subway [for Girls], this amazing woman who kind of loves shooting on the subway named Albertine—everyone should know about her, she's a New York hero—she's the woman who, if you want to shoot on the subway, you talk to. She will lead you to some clandestine location where you have to figure out what train you're using and why. When I explained to her where the character was getting she was like, 'Well you can't use the F train! Do you know how insane viewers go if you've got characters going from Greenpoint to Coney Island on the F?' And I was like, 'Yes! I do know! Thank you for guiding me!' Because the last thing I want is to have a native New Yorker with a very poor sense of direction."
And while Girls gets a pass on accuracy (even with the apartments), not everyone does. In the late 1990s Buffy The Vampire Slayer was an offender; last year Two Broke Girls portrayed the circa-2011 subway system in a seemingly pre-Giuliani way; and now The Mindy Project has become the latest to deliver a confusing adaptation of our underground. Click through for a look... and check out The Mindy Project tonight regardless, it's a really good show!
What other television shows and movies have butchered the look of our precious city?
Tagged
nyc as seen on tv
subway
the mindy project
original
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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