'Everybody Loves Raymond,' 'Kevin Can Wait,' 18 more TV shows that took place on Long Island

Over the decades, Long Island has been the inspiration for many scripted TV series, occasionally the scene of them too. From a network TV perspective, LI's got it all: The suburbs, the beaches, the Hamptons, the middle class, that iconic Lawn Guyland accent, all combining together for a special slice of American life next to America's greatest city.

Most of the shows were never filmed here, because as LIers know so well, Long Island can be expensive.

But there remains regional pride years — decades even — after each of these aired. A few are now almost entirely forgotten, a few others fondly remembered, while a couple (you can easily guess which ones) rose to the level of TV classic. Here's the complete list (so far):

The Pruitts of Southampton (ABC, 1966-67)

Over-the-top comedian Phyllis Diller starred in this sitcom as the widowed matriarch of a once-wealthy Southampton family. They owed $10 million to the IRS, but were allowed to continue living in their 60-room mansion and perpetuate the illusion they were still loaded.

The Don Rickles Show (CBS, 1972) Mr. Warmth played a Manhattan ad-agency exec who lived with his family in Great Neck in this long-forgotten sitcom where plots shifted between work — where he was aggravated by clients — and home — where he was aggravated by his wife and daughter (played by Erin Moran, the future Joanie Cunningham of “Happy Days”).

The Hamptons (ABC, 1983) Short-lived summertime prime-time soap about a department-store heiress from executive producer Gloria Monty, who created “General Hospital.” Because ratings by 1983 standards were low (around 13 million on average tuned in), the show was shelved and the resolution of a couple of cliffhangers (involving incest and murder) were left to viewers' imaginations.

Growing Pains (ABC, 1985-92) 

Amiable sitcom about a shrink (Alan Thicke) who moved his office into his Huntington home (15 Robin Hood Lane) after his wife (Joanna Kerns) went back to work (as a reporter for the Long Island Herald). That way, he could keep an eye on his kids (Kirk Cameron, Tracy Gold and Jeremy Miller).

The Wonder Years (ABC, 1988-93) 

While this baby boomer coming-of-age classic was set in a generic suburb, series co-creator Neal Marlens (whose father was once Newsday's managing editor) has said many episodes were based on his growing-up years in the Audubon Woods section of Huntington and at Stimson Junior High (now Stimson Middle School) in Huntington Station. So we're letting this show join our little club.

Sunday Dinner (CBS, 1991) Not to be confused with the Sunday dinner on “Blue Bloods” (as if), this marked Norman Lear's return to prime-time three years after “The Facts of Life” had wrapped. Loosely modeled on his own life, it was about a widower (Robert Loggia) who marries a younger woman (Teri Hatcher) — cue to extended family squabbles around the Sunday dinner table in Great Neck. A rare Lear flop, “Dinner” wrapped for good after six.

Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS, 1996-2005)

In this beloved comedy (created by Hofstra graduate Phil Rosenthal), stand-up comic Ray Romano played a Newsday sports writer (who never seemed to come into the office) who lived with his wife (Patricia Heaton), daughter and twin sons in Lynbrook (the home's exterior was actually shot in Merrick). His contentious parents (Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle) and NYPD cop older brother (Brad Garrett) were his across-the-street neighbors. To be honest, though. some of us still can't get past what Romano said in the opening credits: "Hi! I'm Ray and I live here in Long Island." Come on Ray,  no LIer would ever ever say "in Long Island."  

How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 2005-14) During the show's final season, Lilly (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segel) decided to leave the city and move to Long Island when Lilly's grandparents offered their East Meadow house to them. Why East Meadow? Two of the show's writers, Craig Gerard and Matt Zinman, grew up there.

Royal Pains (USA, 2009-16)

This cable hit — about a stressed-out Manhattan doctor (Mark Feuerstein) who was wrongly blamed for a patient's death and then decided to open a concierge medical practice in the Hamptons — was in fact, the grand champion of Long Island-based shows. While set on the East End, it was largely filmed points west. Locations in Atlantic Beach, Locust Valley, Roslyn, North Hempstead, Huntington, Long Beach, Northport, Old Westbury Gardens, Oyster Bay, and Freeport were stand-ins for various fictional Hamptons' locales over the seasons. Oheka Castle's exterior depicted the principal residence of one Boris Kuester von Jurgens-Ratenicz (Campbell Scott), the patron of Hamptons' doctor-to-the-rich, Feuerstein's Hank Lawson.

Revenge (ABC, 2011-15) Prime-time soap starring Emily Van Camp and Madeleine Stowe is set in one of the Hamptons (it's never specified which one), but except for an exterior shot or two, this was actually filmed in Los Angeles and Wilmington, N.C.

Necessary Roughness (USA, 2011-13)

Callie Thorne starred as a thick-skinned (and thick-accented) Long Island divorcee (unspecified hometown) who, to make ends meet, becomes the therapist for a professional football team. Her character, Dr. Dani Santino, was inspired by Dr. Donna Dannenfelser, a Commack-raised therapist who worked with the Jets. The show was filmed in Atlanta, although aerial shots of Long Island were shown.

Emergence (ABC, 2019-20) A Southold cop (Alison Tolman) is called to the scene of a mysterious plane crash on a nearby beach, where she is then approached by a little girl who has amnesia (Alexa Swinton). From there, stuff starts to get weird. -. In fact — other than some brief B-roll footage shot in Greenport — none of this one-season-and-done series was filmed on Long Island because New York state tax credits had run out by the time production had started.

Kevin Can Wait (CBS, 2016-18)

Kevin Gable (Kevin James) has retired from the Nassau County police force after 20 years, and has plans to fill his time with beer, friends, the Mets, paintball, go-carts — the usual — when real life intrudes: wife Donna (Erinn Hayes) reminds him that he’s already burning through his retirement funds. At the insistence of Mineola-born, Stony Brook-raised James, this became the first-ever network sitcom to be produced on Long Island (at Bethpage's Gold Coast Studio). Long Island is “literally a character in the show,” James told TVGuide.com. “It's got an authenticity to it, from the people we cast and deal with and the places we go on the show.” Nevertheless, the show was axed after two seasons because ratings had evaporated when the series dropped the popular Hayes — without explanation (in favor of Leah Remini, James' “King of Queens” co-star).

The Undoing (HBO, 2020)

This six-part thriller with Nicole Kidman as a Manhattan therapist and her oncologist husband (Hugh Grant) accused of murder was filmed out on the far reaches of the North Fork, including at a home on Rocky Point Road in East Marion just a few yards from the sound. The series' Danish director Susanne Bier had originally wanted to shoot parts on Shelter Island but the town board expressed reservations (mostly over a pivotal nighttime helicopter scene). She had no regrets, telling Newsday, “I liked the North Fork more because it had a feeling of endlessness.”

The Affair (Showtime, 2014-19)

Across a few seasons — particularly the first and last — this drama about a star-crossed love affair (starring Ruth Wilson, Dominic West, Laura Tierney, Joshua Jackson) was set in Montauk, which assumed its own starring role too. The Lobster Roll — the landmark diner on Montauk Highway — was the setting for a pivotal early scene, as were scenes around Fort Pond, Lake Montauk, Deep Hollow Ranch, and (of course) the lighthouse. The final scene of the final episode was shot atop a Montauk bluff with the Atlantic beyond.

Turn: Washington's Spies (AMC, 2014-17)

In 18th century Setauket, a young father and husband, Abe Woodhull (Jamie Bell), assumes the Revolutionary War raging to the north and west has little to do with him, and then he's enlisted as a spy, in this series based on the Alexander Rose book “Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring.” Alas, most scenes were filmed in and around Richmond, Va.

Bridge and Tunnel (Epix, 2021-22) From Valley Stream native Ed Burns, this two-season coming-of-age dramedy with Sam Vartholomeos, Caitlin Stasey and Gigi Zumbado as twentysomethings who grew up on LI was set in '80s Long Island and Manhattan. To Burns' credit, he refused to film this some place cheaper (or inauthentic): Locations included Lynbrook, East Rockaway and Larry's Pub in Valley Stream.

Pivoting (Fox, 2022) Set in an unnamed LI town, this comedy was about three friends since childhood (Eliza Coupe, Maggie Q and Ginnifer Goodwin) who were shocked by the sudden death of another friend. Why LI? Possibly (make that probably) because showrunner Liz Astrof — behind hits like “The Conners” and “The King of Queens” — was from LI. A Seaford native, she had also lived in Massapequa Park.

Life & Beth (Hulu, 2022-)

Beth (Amy Schumer) is a successful wine salesperson who grew up in a matchbox-sized house in Rockville Centre and who, approaching 40, fears she is becoming her mother or about to repeat her mother's mistakes, Then, she meets the love of her life, farmer John (Michael Cera). This sharp right-turn in the career of Schumer embraced the LI of her childhood: Scenes in the first season were shot in Rockville Centre, others at Angelo’s Pizzeria on Hempstead Avenue in Malverne, Peter's Clam Bar in Island Park.

The Black Hamptons (BET+, 2022-24)

This old-money-versus-new soap — more specifically a feud between a pair of families, the Brittons (old $) and the Johnsons (new $), is based on a novel by Carl Weber, and did well enough for BET+ to earn a second season after the (short) 4-episode launch in 2022. (The 8-episode second streamed last year, but nothing official yet on a third.) While this is set in Sag Harbor — home of the historic SANS district comprised of Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest and Ninevah Beach — “The Black Hamptons” was actually taped a little further afield: Santa Clarita, California.