When on a rain-soaked Clark Street Bridge in the opening sequence of “The Bear” in June of 2021 — spoiler alert, it was a dream sequence — we had no inkling we were about to experience Chicago television greatness in the making. To be sure, there was reason to be optimistic. Series lead Jeremy Allen White had recently completed a decade-long run as “Lip” Gallagher on the Chicago-set Showtime series “Shameless,” and “The Bear” creator Chris Storer (a native of Park Ridge) had been building an impressive resume through his collaborations with Bo Burnham and his work as a director and executive producer on Ramy Youssef’s acclaimed Hulu series.
Still, there was no way of knowing “The Bear” would quickly become a bona fide cultural phenomenon, with Season 3 solidifying its standing as one of the best TV shows of the decade — and one of the greatest Chicago series of all time. Which brings us to this juncture. In light of “The Bear” making its return, I thought this would be an apt time to rank the best Chicago TV shows of all time.
A few tidbits I picked up along Research Road: Punky Brewster? Chicagoan. Larry and his cousin Balki, those “Perfect Strangers”? New arrivals in Chicago. Kenan & Kel? Chicagoans.
Webster? Getting into all sorts of hijinks in Chicago. Which brings us to the rules. As much as we advocate for shows set in Chicago to actually be shot in Chicago, we’re giving no extra points for that.
In order to qualify for our list, a .
