ABSTRACT
Multi-camera sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 2005–2014) are often set in urban centers like New York City, but are primarily shot on Hollywood sound stages, limiting their ability to place characters and story events within urban space. Using the show as a case study, this chapter explores how the show embraces what I term “backlot urbanism,” strategies of television production and storytelling that position simulated studio environments in relation to cities that underline both the potential and the pitfalls of this evolving industry practice.
