New York State of Mind

By Gemma Jacob

Part of the appeal of Anyone But Me is that it could happen anywhere. You don’t have to be a teenage girl who’s just moved into the suburbs or a former New York Fire Fighter who no longer has that job to know what it is to be unsure of who you are. However, having ABM tied to a city such as New York, where the identity of the city and its inhabitants is so strong, heightens the self-doubt each of the characters struggles with. In the city they know who they are, and it is when they return there that they feel most comfortable. When Gabe is with his friends back in the fire station in Season 2 he has never looked more comfortable. There is no doubt in Vivian’s mind that any plans about her future will involve going to college in the city she had to leave prematurely.

New York is always one of my favourite characters, and quite often can be the deciding factor on whether I will watch a movie or pick up a book. It can be charming and beautiful when you catch it on a good day, or harsh and unforgiving should it chose to be. It provides the perfect company on a sunny afternoon and an urban playground on a snow-filled day. It will sit quietly next to you on a park bench as you watch the world and it will keep you hidden when you no longer wish to be a part of it. No other character is as versatile.

NY’s locations are used from the very beginning to provide viewers with an immediate reference point. The New York Times Building, the steps of The Met, Central Park, these iconic NY landmarks have all made appearances in the show, as well as places closer to Tina Cesa Ward and Susan Miller’s hearts, such as the Public Theatre.  The look and feel of NY is used to tell a story we can all relate to in a city we are all familiar with, no matter where we are watching.

ABM’s ridiculously talent rich cast and crew profits from the high talent ratio per square mile. This abundance of expertise in every possible field  makes NY both magical and surreal. Everyone you meet is secretly, or sometimes not so secretly, also someone else. Your servers look familiar because they are on an advert on the side of the bus you took this morning. The usher at the cinema has a dozen screenplays near completion. The person next to you possibly was, is, or has the potential to be the “next big thing.” It is this city, filled with opportunity and talent, which allows you to believe that amazing stories can happen within it. ABM is no exception. NY has given it a setting in which we believe these lives could exist, and also a cast of characters as diverse as its audience.

For me, NY feels like home. After half a dozen trips there are some city blocks that I am more familiar with than streets in my own city. I know where to stand on the platform to be near the exit when the subway doors open, I have a favourite place to sit, and I know a good place to go when you’re awake at 3am and need something to eat. When I watch ABM I am reminded of that place I have spent hours wandering, and I fall in love with the city all over again.

(Gallery images property of AnyoneButMeFans.com)