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TV shows past and present set in D.C. Although they’re not always filmed on location, many classic and current television shows have made Washington their home.
Scandal
The fast-moving political thriller stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, a former White House communications director who starts her own crisis management firm.
Danny Feld
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ABC
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House of Cards
Kevin Spacey stars in the Netflix original series, an adaptation of a British classic. The Washington-themed show, which debuts Feb. 1, is likely to become the largest production ever filmed in Maryland.
Melinda Sue Gordon
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Netflix via AP
Homeland
Mandy Patinkin and Claire Danes star as CIA agents in the Showtime thriller. The show wrapped up its second season and won multiple Emmys and Golden Globe awards.
Ronen Akerman
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AP
Political Animals
Sigourney Weaver plays the Hillary Rodham Clinton-esque Elaine Barrish and Carla Gugino a reporter for the (ahem) “Washington Globe” on the limited-episode series on USA Network.
David Giesbrecht
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USA Network
The Americans
Keri Russell stars in the FX program alongside Matthew Rhys. The show is about KGB agents posing as travel agents in Washington during the Reagan administration.
Jason Kempin
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Getty Images
1600 Penn
Bill Pullman plays President Dale Gilchrist on the White House-set comedy about a quirky first family. The show also stars Jenna Elfman as the first lady and co-creator Josh Gad as the eldest son.
Jordin Althaus
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NBC
Bones
David Boreanaz’s FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and Emily Deschanel’s Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan investigate a murder that took place in a prison in the Season 7 premiere of the Fox drama. The investigative team works at the fictional Jeffersonian Institute, which parallels the Smithsonian Institution.
Patrick McElhenney
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Fox
Veep
Julia Louis-Dreyfus portrays Vice President Selina Meyer in the HBO comedy and Emmy award winning series, which is returning for a second season.
Bill Gray
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HBO via AP
Criminal Minds
The cast members of the CBS crime series — Mandy Patinkin, foreground, Paget Brewster, far right, A.J.Cook, center, and Thomas Gibson, seated at computer — take a break while filming in 2007. The fictional Behavioral Analysis Unit is part of the FBI in Quantico.
Nick Ut
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AP
DC Cupcakes
Katherine Kallinis, left, and Sophie LaMontagne work on a cupcake order in “D.C. Cupcakes,” a reality TV series about the sisters’ cupcake bakery in Georgetown.
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TLC
24
Kiefer Sutherland played Jack Bauer for the eight-season run of the Fox political thriller.
Kelsey McNeal
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Fox via AP
The Real Housewives of D.C.
From left, Mary Amos, Michaele Salahi and Tareq Salahi were the subjects of the installment of the venerable reality-show franchise. While "Housewives D.C.” wasn't renewed for a second season, the controversy surrounding the Salahis’ uninvited appearance at a White House state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a reality TV gold mine.
Stephen Boitano
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Bravo
The X-Files
Agent Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Agent Mulder (David Duchovny) may have worked out of a basement office at FBI headquarters in D.C. — but their attention was really focused on otherworldly, unexplained phenomena. “The X-Files” ran for nine seasons.
David Gray
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Fox
The West Wing
The long-running series — featuring, in its later episodes, from left, Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman, Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, Jimmy Smits as President Matt Santos and Matthew Del Negro as Bram — began in the Clinton administration and ended during the Bush administration, but its White House universe centered on two different presidents: Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and Smits’s Santos.
Mitchell Haddad
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NBC via AP
Murphy Brown
Candice Bergen, center, was the titular star of “Murphy Brown,” about a news anchor for the fictional newsmagazine “FYI.”
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AP
NCIS
Mark Harmon stars as Gibbs and Cote de Pablo as Ziva on the spin-off of the series “JAG.” This high-rated series focuses on a federal law enforcement agency — the abbreviation stands for “Naval Criminal Investigative Service.”
Cliff Lipson
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CBS
The Real World: D.C.
“The Real World: D.C.” may have flopped, but not from a lack of trying. From left, Andrew Woods, Ashley Lindley, Josh Colon, Emily Schromm, Erika Wasilewski, Mike Manning, Callie Walker and Ty Ruff.
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MTV
Top Chef D.C.
Contestant Tiffany Derry, third from left, takes a break from her “Top Chef D.C.” and “Top Chef: All Stars” seasons to meet with members of Congress at the Capitol. From left: Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Derry, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.).
Nick Wass
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AP for Tiffany Derry
Covert Affairs
From left, Christopher Gorham, Piper Perabo and Sendhil Ramamurthy stop by Comic-Con 2011 to support their show, in which Perabo portrays a CIA trainee whose cover is that she works in acquisitions for the Smithsonian Institution.
Matt Sayles
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AP
American Dad!
The only animated show to make the list is et in a fictional D.C. suburb called Langley Falls. The Fox show centers on an overeager CIA agent named Stan Smith — the dad of the title — and his family, including 13-year-old Steve Smith.
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Fox via AP
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Section:/lifestyle/style
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