50 best television shows set across the United States
By Sundi Rose
Alabama: Heart of Dixie
The premise: Hart of Dixie is about a fancy New York City doctor who travels to a small town in Alabama after a series of professional disappointments. A father she never knew she had left her is practice, and she plans to stay a year to add to her resume, but winds of really enjoying it there — mostly because there are a lot of hunky guys hanging around.
The setting: Zoe Hart, the doctor in question and subject of the hokey title pun, flies all the way from NYC to settle in Bluebell, Alabama. It’s quirky and whimsical, and has a lot more eligible folks than you would think is possible for such a small town. Think Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls but with more grits and twang.
The most Alabama thing about it: The show steered clear of addressing anything too serious about the South or Alabama, but it certainly capitalized on its local color. The grocery store is called the Dixie Stop, and the proprietor also doubles as the town’s only private investigator. The one and only town bar is called the Rammer Jammer, which college football fans will recognize from the University of Alabama’s fight song.