Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Video: Revisit HBO's Insanely Detailed 1980s Model City
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 11, 2013
Modified Nov 11, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 11, 2013
Modified Nov 11, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Remember that HBO intro from the 1980s? It showed a family getting ready for some quality time in front of the television before the camera pans out of their apartment window and swoops over the city, into the suburbs, and up to the sky, where the HBO logo was hovering like a UFO. It really made whatever you were about to watch feel like an EVENT. Here it is:
The sequence was painstakingly created (in a way that would make Wes Anderson smile) by a team in New York, and below they explain how they did it. One designer says, "We threw a few extras in to see if people would spot 'em—we put some bums on the street, some hookers on the corner."
Tagged
1983
flashback
HBO
hbo city
intro
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Meet Mamdani's arts commissioner, who wants to keep NYC's culture scene affordable
Diya Vij was appointed to lead New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs six months ago.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Aug 21, 2026 at 9:01 a.m. ET
New York City is full of transplant pizza. We tried some.
There's never been a better time to be in New York City if you want pizza that's not from here.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
New York City is full of transplant pizza. We tried some.
There's never been a better time to be in New York City if you want pizza that's not from here.
By
James Ramsay
Block Party Pow Wow coming to Carroll Gardens Saturday
By
Hannah Frishberg
Are there hidden wonders on the other side of the Hudson from NYC?
By
James Ramsay
and
David Brand
Goodbye horses, welcome back Puppetworks: NYC businesses opening and closing
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .