History ShownTheirWork / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/AirCrashInvestigation'': In the episode "Deadly Crossroads," which documented the mid-air collision between a Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev Tu-254 and a DHL Boeing 757 over Uberlingen, Gemany in 2002, the Bashkirian pilots are shown looking toward their right side for the DHL, which is actually approaching from the left. In the uncensored version (you can see it in the censored version too, it's just less clear), it is clearly seen that all the heads in the cockpit turn when a flight crew member yells "There on the left!" The reason for this (which wasn't said in the episode) was that controller [[TooDumbToLive Peter Nielsen had actually reported the position of the DHL mistakenly at the Bashkirian's 2 o'clock position when in reality it was at their 10 o'clock.]] It was probably omitted to keep the sympathy level for Nielsen higher among the viewers [[spoiler:,as if him getting murdered by Vitaly Kaloyev, who was hailed as a hero in his hometown, wasn't enough.]]

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]" is based around the myth of Set/Sutekh from Myth/EgyptianMythology, but in the broadest possible strokes (for the sake of fitting it into a ''Doctor Who'' plot), incorporating plenty of influence from Christian {{Satan}} mythology and CosmicHorror. However, Creator/RobertHolmes was a keen researcher and snuck in several GeniusBonus references to the original myth. For instance, Set in mythology was the god of 'deserts and storms', and when the Doctor takes Sarah to Sutekh's version of 1980, the planet is a stormy desert. Later, Sutekh growls that his brother Horus condemned him to 'a life of darkness and impotence', when in the original myth Set was believed to be impotent, and Horus had ripped off one of Sutekh's testicles.

* ''Series/{{TheExpanse}}'' probably have the most realistic and meticulously crafted depiction of space ever put on the TV screen. Ships have no artificial gravity, have to turn around in order to slow down, communication between various places can take up to hours and days of lag due to distances involved. And of course, [[TwoDSpace space is not a flat plane]], and there isn't any defined up or down. Basically it takes almost every space-related sci-fi trope you can think of, and throws them out of the window. The level of detail goes so far to take in account that the Coriolis effect on rotation habitats would affect the motion of falling things, and that exhaust of the departing ship is hot enough to [[WeaponizedExhaust melt away]] the drydock structures a fair distance behind it.

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' does a painstaking job of accurately recreating the look of 1920's Atlantic City with the sets and costumes designed to reflect the time period. The creators have also done thorough research on their subjects and make sure that the personalities seen onscreen reflect the ones in real life, most notably with Arnold Rothstein. Many of the automobiles used on the show are actually vintage 1920 cars that were bought and restored for use on the show.
** On the audio commentary for the DVD set, writer Terence Winter recalls how during the filming of the pilot episode he had to ask Creator/MartinScorsese to reshoot a scene because one of the male characters was wearing a cap in a room full of women. In the 1920s a man who entered a room with women present would take off his cap.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'', and its spinoff ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', pays careful attention to the authenticity of its Albuquerque setting, often to the level only a resident would notice. The geography is accurate, and the stores mentioned or shown (save for the fictional ''Los Pollos Hermanos'', which itself is represented by a Twisters restaurant) all exist in Albuquerque. In one good example, the 5th season opens inside a Denny's, then cuts to the exterior. Although the exterior shot never actually shows the Denny's, viewers familiar with the University area will recognize that it truly is in front of a Denny's.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': In one episode, the unsub thinks he is the Fisher King of Arthurian legend. In the story's climax, he demands that Spencer Reid (whom the unsub thinks is Sir Percival) "ask the question." Reid refuses, as doing so would deepen the unsub's belief in his delusions. The episode never mentions what question the unsub had in mind, but given that those interested in Arthurian tales know ''exactly'' what it was, it's evident that the writers did their mythology homework.
** For the uninitiated, the question is [[http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/student_orgs/arthurian_legend/grail/fisher/ "Whom does the Grail serve?"]] and the fact that Reid refuses to ask it takes the research one step further -- in most renditions, Percival reaches the Fisher King but fails to ask the correct question.

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'', similarly, has a reputation for HollywoodScience, but in a snippet of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' a tech taking out a hard drive for evaluation was shown switching the jumper before putting it in the external enclosure, a small detail anyone not in the know would not likely catch. Especially surprising given the sad prevalence of HollywoodHacking on the show.
** Often the writers on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' ''do'' actually do the research and try to show it, but the compression required for a 40-minute episode makes it HollywoodScience anyway.

** Done quite a few times with AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho, where pure historicals are still done and well-researched.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' is one of the few SciFi shows/movies that has no sound in space. This actually adds atmosphere to the show and does not lessen the action.
** There's also a subversion. Jayne mentions his guns don't work in vacuum, and they have to rig it up so that [[ICallItVera Vera]] has atmosphere so they can shoot a space-borne trap. This is incorrect; most modern guns would work fine in vacuum, and doubly so in the future. However, they ''did'' consult a firearms expert, he was just wrong.
*** Even that is justifiable: Most gun lubricants will flash-freeze when exposed to vacuum, disabling the weapon.
* ''Series/FoylesWar'' creator Creator/AnthonyHorowitz ensured that all the WWII period details in this show were thoroughly researched. Most episodes are inspired or directly based off actual people, events, or wartime organizations.
** There is one scene when Foyle becomes suspicious of a secretive factory that's being presented as a munitions facility, but doesn't have any smokestacks and the employees appear to know more about carpentry than machinery. The maintainers of the factory eventually allow him in, revealing that they are making coffins. Thousands and ''thousands'' of coffins, knowing full well they'll be needed. Foyle and Sam are sworn to secrecy, as the knowledge would be damaging to public morale.

* ''Series/TheITCrowd'' is ridiculously exaggerated slapstick. But the writers put in lots of little details and shout-outs that shows they Did The Research into what IT workers are actually like and into. As a result, actual IT workers love it.
** A lot of the IT and general geekiness accuracy comes from the fact that writer Graham Linehan is OneOfUs and in one of the DVD commentaries pretty much says Moss is based on a younger him and Roy is based on him now.

** It should be noted that none of the starring characters who are military lawyers became that without having prior military service: Harm started out as an aviator, Mac was an administrative officer, and Bud was from the beginning a public affairs officer. AJ started out as a [[UsefulNotes/NavySEALS Navy SEAL]], served in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar in that capacity, and was transferred later to surface warfare. Sturgis began his career as a submariner. This makes for interesting characters, as opposed to MildlyMilitary straight-out-of-law-school-graduates, as they can relate to and interact differently with the various communities in the Naval Services. This is not completely unrealistic as the Department of the Navy has a law degree program which allows officers in the Navy & Marine Corps to earn a law degree at an accredited law school on Uncle Sam’s dime, conditioned that they fulfill service obligation following graduation, which must be within three years. Suffice to say, this program is quite sought after and competitive to enter.
* ''Series/LawAndOrder'', despite a lot of script-kludging, always cites real cases, and usually on point. Whether the judge's ruling or the defense counter-point is realistic is another matter, but the show does cite real case law.

** For its first few years, ''Series/LawAndOrder'' was accurate in another way that was rare on television for the time: the police rarely even drew their weapons, much less fired them. True to life, most of their time was spent talking to people, doing research on the victims' backgrounds, and running down leads.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' has an actual pickpocket as a consultant so that all of Parker's FiveFingerDiscount maneuvers are pulled off as realistically subtle as possible--sometimes, it's not even clear that she's robbed someone until the scene is shown from her perspective in flashback. Sometimes it was not even clear to ''other people on the set''. During one blocking run-through, the director asked the actress to repeat a scene, but "really do the lift this time." She responded by holding up the item, which she'd already stolen on the last run.
** Said consultant played Parker's counterpart on Starke's team in "The Two Live Crew Job".
** This self-described "honest thief" is also consulted when it comes to Sophie's mind games and grifting tricks. Even some of Hardison's techniques come from him. One of the show's creators recounted a time when he spoofed a phone call to his cell phone to look like it was coming from his mother. WordOfGod is that roughly 95% of the seemingly impossible things the characters do on the show are things the consultant has shown them in real life.
** There is one episode-long subversion, however - Episode eight of the first season, "The Mile High Job." While the cons are just as accurate as any other episode, regarding the aviation industry, it's so wildly inaccurate that it gives one cause to wonder if the writers had ever been on a commercial aircraft, let alone consulted anyone within the industry.

* ''Series/MadMen'' series creator Matthew Weiner appears to take pride in this. Given that the show is about an advertising agency in the 1960s with scads of ProductPlacement using past ad campaigns, they are remarkably free of major errors. One notable example: An early episode (set in 1962) shows the secretarial pool all gushing over a new office machine: a Xerox photocopier. The episode noted the month, so with a little digging, you'll discover it's the right machine, at the right time and place. (How they got their hands on that specific ancient device is beyond us.)
** They also showed their work with another minor background detail: Pete Campbell's mother is said to be a member of the Dyckman family that used to own a lot of land in Upper Manhattan. Not only did this family exist and own a lot of land in Upper Manhattan, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyckman_Street there's a pretty major street named after them]].

** The show has an InUniverse example in the episode ''Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding''. After Monk had to take Natalie with him to a mud spa due to it becoming a crime scene from a body being discovered in one of the stalls, he also took a male stripper with him, having mistook him for an actual cop. When telling the "cop" of the situation via police terms, the stripper responded with "That bad, huh?", implying that the stripper in question knew enough about police terms to understand the situation (presumably to allow him to play the role of a cop as realistically as possible).

** In "Mr. Monk and the Big Game," many of the girls on the basketball teams were actual players, and the final goal was a shot that was accomplished in a single take.

** If you look at the author's notes for each of the novels, you'll notice that Lee Goldberg did a lot of extra research to make the stories and settings as realistic as possible.
*** In ''Mr. Monk in Outer Space'', to create the parody show ''Beyond Earth'' and some background on the burger chain Burgerville, Goldberg did his homework by looking into ''Franchise/StarTrek'' and [=McDonald=]'s, respectively. Mr. Snork is like Mr. Spock, while a couple of real [=McDonald=]'s controversies are referenced, just with Burgerville in their place - namely, the ''Liebeck vs. [=McDonald=]'s Restaurants'' lawsuit (the Hot Coffee case), and the discovery in 2000 that [=McDonald=]'s was secretly using beef flavoring in their French fries which angered a lot of vegetarians. Additionally, the Burgerville financial scandal is compared by the forensics accountant as being identical to the Enron scandal.
*** In ''Mr. Monk is Miserable'', he did a lot of reading to create a very accurate impression of Paris. In ''Mr. Monk Goes to Germany'', its prequel, a lot of research was done on Lohr, Germany, the main setting, for information on the hotel that the psychiatric conference is held at, and also nods to "Literature/SnowWhite" (such as Natalie mentioning the town's old glass factories).
*** In ''Mr. Monk in Trouble'', Goldberg poured plenty of research on old mining towns in California around the time of the 1849 Gold Rush in order to recreate the atmosphere realistically to make Abigail Guthrie's journal entries about the tales of Artemis Monk seem realistic. Such information included stuff about train heists, various methods of salting mines, a disease known as Greeley's Cure, and a miner's lodgings.
*** In ''Mr. Monk On the Couch'', Goldberg created Natalie's subplot with a lot of background information about housing architectural styles and research about binoculars and optical lenses.
*** In ''Mr. Monk on the Road'', there was plenty of research done into the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, and painstakingly researched information on the physics of the Bixby Creek Bridge is shown. And many of the landmarks are ones you can encounter if you took a real road trip through the area.

* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' owns this trope; as befits a show written by a group of {{Oxbridge}} graduates, it often parodies writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Marcel Proust, and frequently mentions philosophy. Even the Creator/MontyPython films show their workings; Holy Grail for example steers away from well-known legends such as the Sword in the Stone and concentrates on parodying lesser known Arthurian tales (for example Galahad's temptation in Castle Anthrax is based on actual legends of castles designed to cause knights to stray).
** The fun also comes from their famous inversions of typical tropes like "Welsh miners are stupid" when they start talking about things like the 30 Years War and obscure classical architecture.

* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' often shows Utz brand potato chips and pretzel snacks can be seen in its breakroom vending machines. Utz is a Lancover, PA product widely distributed in the northeastern United States, and would indeed be seen in a Scranton, PA workplace.
** Similarly, Sheetz coffee cups can regularly be seen by the office workers. Sheetz is a gas station/convenience store that is so common in Pennsylvania and several surrounding states that it borders on the point of absurdity.

** ''The Office'' features many other [[ShoutOut Shout Outs]] to real products, people and places from the Scranton area as well. The Froggy101 sticker on the file cabinet next to Dwight's desk is a Scranton-area country music station: WGGY 101.3 FM

*** In a flashback in "Alethia," a young Harold Finch hacks into ARPANET on October 27, 1980. On that day, the real-world ARPANET suffered a four-hour outage.

** See the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PersonOfInterest/TropesNToS entry on the series' main page]] for many more examples.

* ''Series/{{Rome}}'' featured a rather odd case of this trope meeting RealityIsUnrealistic, at least according to the director's commentary. At least one reviewer took the time to complain about Atia's unrealistic bikini line, when apparently they'd gone to the trouble of finding out exactly ''how'' the Romans looked after that sort of thing. Apparently it involved sharp seashells....

** ''This is Wonderland'' is similarly accurate, though in a courtroom rather than a hospital. Lawyers, apparently, are traded around between courts, work multiple cases simultaneously, and have to deal with people even more unpleasant than [[AmoralAttorney the lawyers themselves]].
** Another example is ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'', in its depiction of the (pre-Clear Channel) radio-broadcast industry.
*** The [[YetAnotherChristmasCarol Christmas Carol episode]] had an eerily prescient depiction of the [[BadFuture Clear Channel era]].

** And ''Series/BarneyMiller'' is often acknowledged as the most accurate cop show ever put on TV.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'' and its spin-offs: Had this in spades because the producers cooperated closely with USAF. All scripts were checked for accuracy, military protocol were uphold, many of the extras were military personnel, two chiefs of staff appeared on the show, actual C-130 and F-15 planes were used, and the show was also shot on a former Soviet submarine and a real US Navy submarine in the Arctic.

** The show's spiritual predecessor, ''Series/YesMinister'', was also equally realistic of its portrayal of Whitehall and Civil Service machinations, due to the fact that they actually had inside information and anecdotes from senior civil servants. A good example is the episode "The Moral Dimension", where the main plot point - smuggling in alcohol to a diplomatic conference in [[{{Qurac}} Qumran]] - is based on an actual event. Even most of the minor characters were [[{{NoCelebritiesWereHarmed}} recognisable pastiches]] of real people or groups.

** Also a minor case of sloppy research...the first series had things like Pure Blonde beer and Coke Zero, in 1995. A Tale of Two Cities got it much better.
* ''Series/TheWestWing'', although not without its errors, was a surprisingly candid and realistic portrayal as the sorts of conflicts and obstacles any presidential administration must run into on a daily basis, no doubt due to the fact that former Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan were advisers to the show. Some episodes were based on one character having to teach another character (and, by extension, the audience) about certain aspects of the federal government (e.g. Sam teaching C.J. everything she needs to know about the U.S. Census).\\
\\
The show actually got a lot more politically accurate after Aaron Sorkin left - in particular, the final couple of seasons consist of a VERY meticulous election cycle, with polling numbers and electoral college projections tracked with stunning accuracy. Sorkin didn't care much for the minutiae of elections, to the detriment of the first full campaign depicted on the show.
* ''Series/TheWire'' is known for its accurate portrayal of Baltimore, police procedure, slang, and based many of its characters on actual police and criminals of the Baltimore area. Furthermore, its portrayal of a newsroom has been touted as the most accurate ever shown on television. And this says nothing of its portrayal of politics, schools, and unions.
** The fourth season in particular, it's most critically acclaimed season, is noted for a [[TearJerker heartbreakingly]] honest and accurate portrayal of inner city schools and how difficult it is for kids to get out of the cycle of drugs, poverty, and violence.
** The series is currently being taught in a number of universities in a variety of fields, from law to sociology to film studies. A sociologist has described it as the best sociological text ever written.
** In the fifth season, Pearlman was quoting 18 USC chapter 47 section 1014. It pertained to wire fraud.

* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' was very good about being accurate about details in even the most absurd sketches, for instance, Laurie walks into a model shop in the "Dalliard/Models" sketch and asks for a Messerschmitt 109E, whereupon the clerk hands him... a fully assembled 109E. In the same episode, Fry begins to complain about the show TopGear trying to be funny, while you never see comedy shows reviewing Nissan Micras, whereupon Laurie immediately gets up and begins reviewing a Nissan Micra parked in the studio, accurately listing the powertrain options and door layouts available. In the "Major Donaldson" sketch, Fry reads out Laurie's character's rank as "Hauptsturmfuhrer (Captain) Freidrich von Stilch," which accurately reflects the rank on Laurie's collar tab. Also, Laurie wears the field-gray SS uniform, correct as the black Allgemaine uniform had been phased out in 1939.

* According to [=LeVar=] Burton, one of the key reasons why ''Series/{{Roots}}'' [[Series/{{Roots|2016}} was remade in 2016]] was that the intervening four decades' worth of historical scholarship have greatly refined understanding of the story's time periods (much of this scholarship was outright inspired by the original miniseries). Among these refinements:

** The show started out as an educational program, and hence there would be historical stories where a lot of research was done. There is a myth about "The Aztecs" that for the sake of decency the costumes weren't accurate, when in fact they were thoroughly researched.
** After being refused permission to film in the London Underground, due to safety concerns, the production team had David Myerscough-Jones design sets for ''The Web of Fear'' based on photos of the Tube tunnels. The result was so good the BBC received legal threats from the London public transport authorities, who assumed they'd done a bit of illegal location filming.
** Many of the smarter Tom Baker era stories really went out of their way to explain real principles being used in the plots, be they linguistics (Grimm's Law is used in both "The Face of Evil" and "State of Decay" and namechecked in the latter), physics ("The Robots of Death" explains the buoyancy physics of the Storm Mine and has the Doctor explain to Leela how HeliumSpeech works), biology ("The Ark in Space" holds the distinction of being the first ever broadcast media about endoparasitology with the Doctor spouting off then cutting-edge research), robotics ("The Robots of Death" uses [[RippedFromTheHeadlines then-new]] science about the UncannyValley), philosophy ("City of Death" goes into reasonable detail here and it's PlayedForLaughs) and occasionally even hermeticism ("Image of the Fendahl" and arguably "Logopolis"). This was especially common in Season 18, edited by a former science editor who wanted to use science that 'wasn't laughed at by actual scientists' (though, in practice, he mostly used it as a jumping off point for MagicFromTechnology).
** "Pyramids of Mars" is based around the myth of Set/Sutekh from Myth/EgyptianMythology, but in the broadest possible strokes (for the sake of fitting it into a ''Doctor Who'' plot), incorporating plenty of influence from Christian {{Satan}} mythology and CosmicHorror. However, Robert Holmes was a keen researcher and snuck in several GeniusBonus references to the original myth. For instance, Set in mythology was the god of 'deserts and storms', and when the Doctor takes Sarah to Sutekh's version of 1980, the planet is a stormy desert. Later, Sutekh growls that his brother Horus condemned him to 'a life of darkness and impotence', when in the original myth Set was believed to be impotent, and Horus had ripped off one of Sutekh's testicles.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Other than the neural implant, all the ColdBloodedTorture practices Gul Madred uses on Captain Picard in "Chain of Command: Part II" are taken directly from Amnesty International archives. Creator/PatrickStewart, who is a strong supporter of Amnesty International, was pleased by this.
** For the episode, "The First Duty," the trope is displayed in a more philosophical sense with it being screened for the US Air Force Academy to illustrate how its honour code is to be followed.

** For the episode, "The First Duty," the trope is displayed in a more philosophical sense with it being screened for the US Air Force Academy to illustrate how its honor code is to be followed.

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'''s research and accuracy became better through the years the show was running, though inaccuracies could always be found. Having a [[SemperFi Marine Corps]] veteran as its [[DonaldPBellisario creator, executive producer, and show runner]] probably helped. Being BackedByThePentagon probably helped a great deal too. They did sometimes cite real military case law.

** Another example is ''WKRPInCincinnati'', in its depiction of the (pre-Clear Channel) radio-broadcast industry.

** It should be noted that none of the starring characters who are military lawyers became that without having prior military service: Harm started out as an aviator, Mac was an administrative officer, and Bud was from the beginning a public affairs officer. AJ started out as a [[UsefulNotes/NavySEALS Navy SEAL]], served in TheVietnamWar in that capacity, and was transferred later to surface warfare. Sturgis began his career as a submariner. This makes for interesting characters, as opposed to MildlyMilitary straight-out-of-law-school-graduates, as they can relate to and interact differently with the various communities in the Naval Services. This is not completely unrealistic as the Department of the Navy has a law degree program which allows officers in the Navy & Marine Corps to earn a law degree at an accredited law school on Uncle Sam’s dime, conditioned that they fulfill service obligation following graduation, which must be within three years. Suffice to say, this program is quite sought after and competitive to enter.

** The show's spiritual predecessor, ''Series/YesMinister'', was also equally realistic of its portrayal of Whitehall and Civil Service machinations, due to the fact that they actually had inside information and anecdotes from senior civil servants. A good example is the episode "The Moral Dimension", where the main plot point - smuggling in alcohol to a diplomatic conference in [[{{Qurac}} Qumran]] - is based on an actual event.

** While the physics in Stargate are a bit wonky they clearly put work into keep consistency. For instance ordinary Stargates can only dial within a galaxy so their limits are probably in the tens of thousands of light-years. When they build the McKay-Carter Gate Bridge to join the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies they use with 34 Stargates, which matches perfectly since the distance between the two galaxies is 3 million light years which means, 34 times the diameter of the Milky Way.

* According to [=LeVar=] Burton, one of the key reasons why''Series/{{Roots}}'' [[Series/{{Roots|2016}} was remade in 2016]] was that the intervening four decades' worth of historical scholarship have greatly refined understanding of the story's time periods (much of this scholarship was outright inspired by the original miniseries). Among these refinements:

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'', similarly, has a reputation for HollywoodScience, but in a snippet of ''CSINewYork'' a tech taking out a hard drive for evaluation was shown switching the jumper before putting it in the external enclosure, a small detail anyone not in the know would not likely catch. Especially surprising given the sad prevalence of HollywoodHacking on the show.

* ''FoylesWar'' creator Creator/AnthonyHorowitz ensured that all the WWII period details in this show were thoroughly researched. Most episodes are inspired or directly based off actual people, events, or wartime organizations.

* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' is frequently praised as one of the more accurate portrayals of police work, with a good eye and ear for details and dialogue often found within the Baltimore Homicide Unit as well as the cases they worked and the chain of command in the police department. Similar to ''TheWire'', many lines of dialogue are taken word for word from David Simon's book.

* ''{{Underbelly}}'', based on the book series and newspaper article, actually worked with members of Task Force Purana to get the story right, [[RuleOfDrama except when it wasn't]].

* ''TheWestWing'', although not without its errors, was a surprisingly candid and realistic portrayal as the sorts of conflicts and obstacles any presidential administration must run into on a daily basis, no doubt due to the fact that former Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan were advisers to the show. Some episodes were based on one character having to teach another character (and, by extension, the audience) about certain aspects of the federal government (e.g. Sam teaching C.J. everything she needs to know about the U.S. Census).\\

* ''TheWire'' is known for its accurate portrayal of Baltimore, police procedure, slang, and based many of its characters on actual police and criminals of the Baltimore area. Furthermore, its portrayal of a newsroom has been touted as the most accurate ever shown on television. And this says nothing of its portrayal of politics, schools, and unions.

** ''TheWire'' is currently being taught in a number of universities in a variety of fields, from law to sociology to film studies. A sociologist has described ''TheWire'' as the best sociological text ever written.

** On the audio commentary for the DVD set, writer Terence Winter recalls how during the filming of the first episode he had to ask Creator/MartinScorsese to reshoot a scene because one of the male characters was wearing a cap in a room full of women. In the 1920s a man who entered a room with women present would take off his cap.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'' pays careful attention to the authenticity of its Albuquerque setting, often to the level only a resident would notice. The geography is accurate, and the stores mentioned (save the fictional ''Los Pollos Hermanos'') all exist in Albuquerque. In one good example, the 5th season opens inside a Denny's, then cuts to the exterior. Although the exterior shot never actually shows the Denny's, viewers familiar with the University area will recognize that it truly is in front of a Denny's.

* ''Series/MadMen'' appears to take pride in this. Given that the show is about an advertising agency in the 1960s with scads of ProductPlacement using past ad campaigns, they are remarkably free of major errors. One notable example: An early episode (set in 1962) shows the secretarial pool all gushing over a new office machine: a Xerox photocopier. The episode noted the month, so with a little digging, you'll discover it's the right machine, at the right time and place. (How they got their hands on that specific ancient device is beyond us.)

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' has an InUniverse example in the episode ''Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding''. After Monk had to take Natalie with him to a mud spa due to it becoming a crime scene from a body being discovered in one of the stalls, he also took a male stripper with him, having mistook him for an actual cop. When telling the cop of the situation via police terms, the stripper responded with "That bad, huh?", implying that the stripper in question knew enough about police terms to understand the situation (presumably to allow him to play the role of a cop as realistically as possible).

* ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'' ends its final episode with Mike and the bots watching television in an apartment in Milwaukee, WI. The TV announcer refers to the station as WTMJ channel 4. [[http://www.todaystmj4.com/ This is a real TV station in Milwaukee]].
* ''TheOffice'' often shows Utz brand potato chips and pretzel snacks can be seen in its breakroom vending machines. Utz is a Lancover, PA product widely distributed in the northeastern United States, and would indeed be seen in a Scranton, PA workplace.

* ''MadMen'' appears to take pride in this. Given that the show is about an advertising agency in the 1960s with scads of ProductPlacement using past ad campaigns, they are remarkably free of major errors. One notable example: An early episode (set in 1962) shows the secretarial pool all gushing over a new office machine: a Xerox photocopier. The episode noted the month, so with a little digging, you'll discover it's the right machine, at the right time and place. (How they got their hands on that specific ancient device is beyond us.)

* ''{{Monk}}'' has an InUniverse example in the episode ''Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding''. After Monk had to take Natalie with him to a mud spa due to it becoming a crime scene from a body being discovered in one of the stalls, he also took a male stripper with him, having mistook him for an actual cop. When telling the cop of the situation via police terms, the stripper responded with "That bad, huh?", implying that the stripper in question knew enough about police terms to understand the situation (presumably to allow him to play the role of a cop as realistically as possible).

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' started out as an educational program, and hence there would be historical stories where a lot of research was done. There is a myth about "The Aztecs" that for the sake of decency the costumes weren't accurate, when in fact they were thoroughly researched.

* ''Series/AdamTwelve'': Produced by Jack Webb's company, depicted police procedures so accurately that episodes were used as instructional films in police academies.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': Being a show about three extremely nerdy scientists ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and an engineer]]), pays unusual amounts of attention to getting scientific jargon and such correct. All of the equations seen in the background are accurate and scientifically provable and written up by a professor of physics and astronomy who makes sure everything's scientifically accurate.
* ''Series/TheBill'': Early episodes were extremely accurate in their depiction of the various aspects of police work. One in particular, featuring by-the-book DS Alistair Greig questioning a local hard case with a reputation for being uncrackable and getting him to crack without a threat or a harsh word spoken, was so accurate with regard to suspect questioning techniques that for many years it was used to ''teach'' them.
* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'': This show was very good about being accurate about details in even the most absurd sketches, for instance, Laurie walks into a model shop in the "Dalliard/Models" sketch and asks for a Messerschmitt 109E, whereupon the clerk hands him... a fully assembled 109E. In the same episode, Fry begins to complain about the show TopGear trying to be funny, while you never see comedy shows reviewing Nissan Micras, whereupon Laurie immediately gets up and begins reviewing a Nissan Micra parked in the studio, accurately listing the powertrain options and door layouts available. In the "Major Donaldson" sketch, Fry reads out Laurie's character's rank as "Hauptsturmfuhrer (Captain) Freidrich von Stilch," which accurately reflects the rank on Laurie's collar tab. Also, Laurie wears the field-gray SS uniform, correct as the black Allgemaine uniform had been phased out in 1939.
* ''Series/BlueHeelers'': Does this to an impressive degree, from procedure in the event of a shooting to the actors playing the role of an officer go through the academy.
* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'': Does a painstaking job of accurately recreating the look of 1920's Atlantic City with the sets and costumes designed to reflect the time period. The creators have also done thorough research on their subjects and make sure that the personalities seen onscreen reflect the ones in real life, most notably with Arnold Rothstein. Many of the automobiles used on the show are actually vintage 1920 cars that were bought and restored for use on the show.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Pays careful attention to the authenticity of its Albuquerque setting, often to the level only a resident would notice. The geography is accurate, and the stores mentioned (save the fictional ''Los Pollos Hermanos'') all exist in Albuquerque. In one good example, the 5th season opens inside a Denny's, then cuts to the exterior. Although the exterior shot never actually shows the Denny's, viewers familiar with the University area will recognize that it truly is in front of a Denny's.

* ''Series/BurnNotice'': Based its main character Michael Westen on the technical advisor for the show, retired espionage expert Michael Wilson. All the MacGyvering gadgets and explosives are accurate as can reasonably be (They aren't going to give all the [[AndSomeOtherStuff ingredients and steps in making thermite]] on the show, 'cause everyone knows that one mixes rust and aluminum dust, the ratios are somewhat obscure though). And then when you get into items that might be outside Wilson's expertise they call in others. They consulted a radiology expert on how he could make a one-time use x-ray machine in the trunk of his car. Fans love that every [[StuffBlowingUp explosion]] comes with a line that justifies it: they taped acetone to a gas tank so it actually would explode when you shoot it; Michael used incendiary ammo on barrels with inflammable water sealant, etc.
* ''Series/CallTheMidwife'': Has drawn critical praise for its attention to detail in building the world of the 1950s' East End, and for their accuracy during birthing scenes. The latter in particular are closely supervised by a trained midwife who actually worked with Jennifer Worth, the author of the memoirs the programme was based on.
* ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'': Demonstrates extensive knowledge of Tarot as well as biblical mythology, and the plot tends to hinge on obscure symbolism that the viewer is supposed to [[ViewersAreGeniuses figure out themselves]] with little guidance.

* ''Series/TheCloser'': This show is a PoliceProcedural with a surprising number of accurate details. Established in the opening scene when the titular character, Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, insists on a separate search warrant for the garage as it is a "stand alone structure." She goes on to be careful about legal and procedural minutiae. Over the years, when her tactics slide into CowboyCop-y occasionally, she gets called out on it in a massive lawsuit--just like real life.

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'': Similarly, this show has a reputation for HollywoodScience, but in a snippet of ''CSINewYork'' a tech taking out a hard drive for evaluation was shown switching the jumper before putting it in the external enclosure, a small detail anyone not in the know would not likely catch. Especially surprising given the sad prevalence of HollywoodHacking on the show.

* ''Series/TheDevilsWhore'': This show is pretty good with these. It even features Prince Rupert of the Rhine's ''war poodle''.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': ** When "Doctor Who" started out it was intended as educational. Hence there would be historical stories where a lot of research was done. There is a myth about "The Aztecs" that for the sake of decency the costumes weren't accurate, when in fact they were thoroughly researched.

* ''Series/{{Emergency}}'': Webb's other well-known production is also recognized for the attention to detail it gave to emergency medical response, firefighting, and hospital emergency rooms. Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe (Gage and [=DeSoto=]) had actually received paramedic training prior to filming. You can tell that in many of the scenes there's no script and they're simply doing what a paramedic would do in that situation, including reminding each other of things that have to be done or checked. The captain of the station in season one was an actual Los Angeles County Fire Department captain, Mike Stoker basically played himself (he was also an LA County firefighter), and the dispatcher was Sam Lanier, an actual dispatcher for the department.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': This show is one of the few SciFi shows/movies that has no sound in space. This actually adds atmosphere to the show and does not lessen the action.

* ''FoylesWar'': Creator Creator/AnthonyHorowitz ensured that all the WWII period details in this show were thoroughly researched. Most episodes are inspired or directly based off actual people, events, or wartime organizations.

* ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'': Does this perfectly with both the time period (early '80s) and the location (anyone from southeast Michigan will enjoy the references to Faygo and the Auto Show, and the frequent use of "pop").
* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': This show is frequently praised as one of the more accurate portrayals of police work, with a good eye and ear for details and dialogue often found within the Baltimore Homicide Unit as well as the cases they worked and the chain of command in the police department. Similar to ''TheWire'', many lines of dialogue are taken word for word from David Simon's book.
* ''Series/TheITCrowd'': This show is ridiculously exaggerated slapstick. But the writers put in lots of little details and shout-outs that shows they Did The Research into what IT workers are actually like and into. As a result, actual IT workers love it.

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': The research and accuracy became better through the years the show was running, though inaccuracies could always be found. Having a [[SemperFi Marine Corps]] veteran as its [[DonaldPBellisario creator, executive producer, and show runner]] probably helped. Being BackedByThePentagon probably helped a great deal too. They did sometimes cite real military case law.

* ''Series/LawAndOrder'': Despite a lot of script-kludging, when a case is cited on this show it's a real case, and usually on point. Whether the judge's ruling or the defense counter-point is realistic is another matter, but the show does cite real case law.

* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': Has an actual pickpocket as a consultant so that all of Parker's FiveFingerDiscount maneuvers are pulled off as realistically subtle as possible--sometimes, it's not even clear that she's robbed someone until the scene is shown from her perspective in flashback. Sometimes it was not even clear to ''other people on the set''. During one blocking run-through, the director asked the actress to repeat a scene, but "really do the lift this time." She responded by holding up the item, which she'd already stolen on the last run.

* ''Series/LieToMe'': The show is based off of Paul Ekman's promising, but not-yet-complete, research. It doesn't acknowledge many of the shortcomings in the research (unlike Ekman himself), and doesn't have time to explain the intricacies of the findings, but the principles are quite sound. Anyone familiar with Paul Ekman's research will recognize things in this show lifted directly from the man's lectures and experiments.

* ''MadMen'': Appears to take pride in this. Given that the show is about an advertising agency in the 1960s with scads of ProductPlacement using past ad campaigns, they are remarkably free of major errors. One notable example: An early episode (set in 1962) shows the secretarial pool all gushing over a new office machine: a Xerox photocopier. The episode noted the month, so with a little digging, you'll discover it's the right machine, at the right time and place. (How they got their hands on that specific ancient device is beyond us.)

* ''{{Monk}}'': InUniverse example in the episode ''Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding''. After Monk had to take Natalie with him to a mud spa due to it becoming a crime scene from a body being discovered in one of the stalls, he also took a male stripper with him, having mistook him for an actual cop. When telling the cop of the situation via police terms, the stripper responded with "That bad, huh?", implying that the stripper in question knew enough about police terms to understand the situation (presumably to allow him to play the role of a cop as realistically as possible).
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': Owns this trope; as befits a show written by a group of {{Oxbridge}} graduates, it often parodies writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Marcel Proust, and frequently mentions philosophy. Even the Creator/MontyPython films show their workings; Holy Grail for example steers away from well-known legends such as the Sword in the Stone and concentrates on parodying lesser known Arthurian tales (for example Galahad's temptation in Castle Anthrax is based on actual legends of castles designed to cause knights to stray).

* ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'': The final episode has Mike and the bots watching television in an apartment in Milwaukee, WI. The TV announcer refers to the station as WTMJ channel 4. [[http://www.todaystmj4.com/ This is a real TV station in Milwaukee]].
* ''TheOffice'': Often Utz brand potato chips and pretzel snacks can be seen in this show's breakroom vending machines. Utz is a Lancover, PA product widely distributed in the northeastern United States, and would indeed be seen in a Scranton, PA workplace.

* ''Series/{{Portlandia}}'': Aspects of the hipster culture of {{UsefulNotes/Portland}}, Oregon in this show are all amazingly accurate. The show even gets details of the culture, look and attitude of individual ''streets'' correct.

* ''RobinOfSherwood'': Somewhat surprisingly considering its blatant 'sword-and-sorcery' elements and occasional new age mysticism, the 1980s TV series version is by far one of the most accurate depictions of the European middle ages ever to appear in a popular culture context, right down to citing obscure historical events and studying genealogies of particular noble families. Furthermore, most of the elements of the Robin Hood legend that it depicts are well-grounded in (at times obscure) earlier literature.
* ''Series/{{Rome}}'': Featured a rather odd case of this trope meeting RealityIsUnrealistic, at least according to the director's commentary. At least one reviewer took the time to complain about Atia's unrealistic bikini line, when apparently they'd gone to the trouble of finding out exactly ''how'' the Romans looked after that sort of thing. Apparently it involved sharp seashells....
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': Despite some of the more cartoony personalities that make up the staff of Sacred Heart Hospital, this show has been touted as being one of the most realistic portrayals of life as a medical intern compared to all the other medical shows on television. Not only do they have doctors on staff as medical advisers (including the "Real J.D."), but they frequently receive stories of odd medical instances from doctors that they then work into the show. People have gotten into medicine because of the show.

* ''Series/{{Southland}}'': Gets a lot of praise for this with former police officers saying it is exactly what their job was like.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': While it has created its own mythology, the writing staff started out researching actual folklore and urban legends. [[FanDumb Some people]] claim that this is a case of poor research because "everything's wrong," but folklore and urban legends are usually spread orally, so the details of each story change depending on who's telling it, but the writers kept the core elements the same. This is especially evident in the early episodes of the first season.

* ''Series/TheThickOfIt'': Displays a very extensive and realistic documentation of the inner workings of the offices of Whitehall, and has many fictional counterparts for real politicians. Politicians themselves have commented on the realism, noting that the only thing unrealistic about it is the show's infamous [[ClusterFBomb amount of profanity]]. In real life, it's [[UpToEleven worse]].

* ''{{Underbelly}}'': Based on the book series and newspaper article, actually worked with members of Task Force Purana to get the story right, [[RuleOfDrama except when it wasn't]].

* ''TheWestWing'': This show by Aaron Sorkin (in its first few seasons anyway) was a surprisingly candid and realistic portrayal as the sorts of conflicts and obstacles any presidential administration must run into on a daily basis, no doubt due to the fact that former Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan were advisers to the show. Some episodes were based on one character having to teach another character (and, by extension, the audience) about certain aspects of the federal government (e.g. Sam teaching C.J. everything she needs to know about the U.S. Census).
** Not without its errors, though.
** The show actually got a lot more politically accurate after Sorkin left - in particular, the final couple of seasons consist of a VERY meticulous election cycle, with polling numbers and electoral college projections tracked with stunning accuracy. Sorkin didn't care much for the minutiae of elections, to the detriment of the first full campaign depicted on the show.
*** Though they did the entire run-up to a brokered Democratic Convention, without mentioning "super-delegates" even once.
**** It's generally accepted that in the West Wing-verse, Ford (having not actually been elected as Vice President) managed to push for a special election in November 1974, permanently altering the electoral calendar (hence the Santos/Vinick contest in 2006), and therefore the people leading the parties. Because of this, it's possible that the Hunt Commission, even if it formed with the same membership (or indeed at all), did not propose the creation of superdelegates.
* ''TheWire'': This show is known for its accurate portrayal of Baltimore, police procedure, slang, and based many of its characters on actual police and criminals of the Baltimore area. Furthermore, its portrayal of a newsroom has been touted as the most accurate ever shown on television. And this says nothing of its portrayal of politics, schools, and unions.

** Fifth Season: Pearlman was quoting 18 USC chapter 47 section 1014. It pertained to wire fraud.

** Sometimes, the writers manage to Show Their Work on actual mythology by having the brothers ''dismiss'' the RealLife versions of the tales, claiming they're mistakes and/or disinformation.

* ''FreaksAndGeeks'': Does this perfectly with both the time period (early '80s) and the location (anyone from southeast Michigan will enjoy the references to Faygo and the Auto Show, and the frequent use of "pop").
* ''HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': This show is frequently praised as one of the more accurate portrayals of police work, with a good eye and ear for details and dialogue often found within the Baltimore Homicide Unit as well as the cases they worked and the chain of command in the police department. Similar to ''TheWire'', many lines of dialogue are taken word for word from David Simon's book.
* ''TheITCrowd'': This show is ridiculously exaggerated slapstick. But the writers put in lots of little details and shout-outs that shows they Did The Research into what IT workers are actually like and into. As a result, actual IT workers love it.

** The depiction of how computers, computer security, and [[AIIsACrapshoot artificial intelligence]] is extremely accurate.

*** In a flashback in "Lethe," a young Harold Finch hacks into ARPANET on October 27, 1980. On that day, the real-world ARPANET suffered a four-hour outage.

** The depiction of how computers, computer security, and {{AIIsACrapshoot artificial intelligence]] is extremely accurate.