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The Best TV Show Bars You Can Visit Like Ole Red On 'Barmageddon'
There's no shortage of shows like "Barmageddon" that are centered around America's bar culture.
With “Barmageddon” on the horizon, fans are looking forward to seeing what wild antics Blake Shelton, Nikki Bella and Carson Daly get up to with their celebrity friends in Nashville. However, the game show is hardly the first series to center itself around bar culture.
For decades, fictional shows have used the backdrop of a local watering hole for its best scenes to give characters who might not live together an excuse to meet up to socialize and laugh.
Like some of these other TV bars, Ole Red in Nashville is an actual location fans of “Barmageddon" can meet up at, have a drink and listen to some music together. While the show hopes to make Ole Red America’s favorite place to be, we thought it might be fun to look back at some of the other shows centered around bars that you can go to right now.
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“Cheers” - The Bull & Finch Pub
“Cheers” remains one of the most popular sitcoms in history. After ending its impressive 11-season run in 1993, the appeal of the show continues to this day. As a result, the real-life pub that inspired "Cheers" and was used for outside establishing shots, The Bull & Finch in Boston, is a popular tourist attraction.
However, if you go expecting to sit in Norm’s spot, you’ll be disappointed as the interior looks nothing like the set of the popular NBC sitcom. Fortunately, not too far away, there is a replica “Cheers” pub where fans can get a drink while they reminisce about the series, according to Forbes.
“New Girl” - The Prince
In the show, Nick owns a bar called The Griffin where the gang hangs out all the time. The exterior is a real-life place in Los Angeles that’s also called The Griffin. However, those who go inside will be bummed to see it looks nothing like the show. That’s because, according to Curbed, the interior is the Los Angeles staple, The Prince.
In addition to seeing it regularly on “New Girl,” viewers of “Mad Men” and the movie “Chinatown” will recognize the interior of the restaurant and bar as well.
“Friends” - Little Owl
Unlike the other entries on this list, the characters on “Friends” opted to have their regular get-togethers at the fictional Central Perk cafe. It was the coffee house located on the street level of the apartment building Monica lived in (as well as pretty much every other character on the show at some point during its run).
Unfortunately for those hoping to get a cup of Joe there, we’re sad to report that Central Perk doesn’t exist and was merely a set built on a studio in Los Angeles. However, the building used for establishing shots of Monica’s place actually exists in New York City. Below it is not Central Perk, but the quaint bar and restaurant Little Owl, which has indoor and outdoor dining for both “Friends” fans and hungry New Yorkers alike.
“How I Met Your Mother” - McGee’s
Many of the scenes on the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” took place at McLaren’s pub, located downstairs from Ted and Marshall’s apartment in New York City. While that was merely a set both inside and out, it’s based on the series’ creators' real-life experiences in their early 20s, most of which took place at McGee’s in the Theater District of Manhattan.
Today, fans of the show can go to McGees and, while they won’t see a bar that looks similar to what appeared on the show, they can definitely soak up the same atmosphere and sip on some cocktails inspired by some of the funnier moments in the series.
“The Simpsons” - Moe’s Tavern
You wouldn’t think an animated series would have a real-life bar you can visit, but Moe’s Tavern has become too legendary over the years to not have broken into the live-action world.
Unlike all the other bars on this list, the real Moe’s came after it was depicted as Homer Simpson’s favorite place to escape his family. The replica bar can be found as an attraction at Universal Studios in Orlando.
Those who visit can quench their thirst with a Duff Beer or gaze as a Flaming Moe is made on the bar right in front of you and a life-sized Barney Gumble statue.
“Barmageddon” premieres on Dec. 5, 2022 on USA Network. You can catch more game show content on Peacock right now.
