Popular TV shows make references to Syracuse University and the city of Syracuse

When it comes to the entertainment industry and the media, Syracuse University is in part known for producing the next Bob Costas and Aaron Sorkin hopefuls.

While there are multiple shows out there that mention or have references to anything orange, I decided to narrow them down to an important few.

Let’s start with some of my personal favorites, none other than “30 Rock.” This overall gem of a show reaches new levels of hilarity when Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy mentions that he knows a character, accurately named Bradley, that “never graduated from Syracuse” because he was “four credits shy of his degree in Bro studies.”

I’m going to take a moment to admire this legendary line.

“30 Rock” isn’t the only show that makes reference to the university’s reputation as a former top party school. Another show that references greek life and “Bro culture” is none other than “Friends,” when Winona Ryder’s former sorority queen character makes reference to dating a guy who was in Theta Beta Phi at SU. Someone with a better knowledge of the greek system, please DM me if this is a real frat.

Moving on from greek life, another thing SU is almost synonymous with — college basketball. While there is a tirade of movies that refer to SU’s adrenaline-fueled athleticism, surprisingly, very few TV shows mention it.

“New Girl” is perhaps one of those shows that keeps on surprising, and it’s not just from the sheer absurdity of some of its storylines. One of the biggest surprises I got while watching the show was learning that three of the main characters are supposed to have attended SU.

Few instances in life make you as irrationally happy as having some of your favorite fictional characters attend the same university as you. “New Girl”’s Nick and Schmidt met at SU, while it is implied Winston played basketball while attending SU. If Winston’s basketball skills on the show are a subtle dig of criticism at SU’s basketball team, I don’t care. Winston Bishop bleeds Orange.

No article about TV shows that mention SU would be complete without mentioning Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin makes it a point to pay subtle tributes to his alma mater with carefully placed dialogues about the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in both of his popular shows, “The West Wing” and “The Newsroom.” It’s clear Sorkin, who is a College of Visual and Performing Arts alumnus, favored Maxwell over his home college.

There are also a few handful of shows out there that chose not to refer to SU, but the city of Syracuse itself, including “The Office,” which occasionally mentions the Syracuse branch of Dunder Mifflin. An angry manager of that branch who makes an appearance. Another show worth mentioning is “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” which mentions Syracuse once.

Since I don’t want to end on that dull note, let’s have a special mention. In Netflix’s uber-popular sci-fi show “Black Mirror,” episode two of season three features the main character, Cooper, from Syracuse. The episode also has a few clips that show him taking a cab and boarding a plane.

Since this was shot in a pre-Uber time, as someone who has been in Syracuse for more than a year now, it’s difficult for me to believe Cooper actually managed to make his flight on time without the ride-hailing service.

Malvika Randive is a sophomore psychology and international relations double major. Her column appears biweekly in Pulp. She can be reached at mnrandiv@syr.edu.