8 Popular TV Shows That Mention Beirut

Beirut occupies an interesting position in popular culture, often romanticized and used as a metaphor while very rarely realistically portrayed. Because we all light up when we hear the name, we’ve gathered 8 instances where popular television shows mention the city.

1. Mad Men (S1E6)

The iconic 60s period drama about Madison Avenue marketers discusses Beirut while meeting with clients who want to “make Haifa the Rome of the Middle East.”

2. Succession (S2E6)

Chairman, CEO, and family patriarch Logan Roy’s third wife, Marcia, is said to be from Lebanon.

3. Derry Girls (S2E6)

With Bill Clinton visiting Northern Ireland, the family is in a jubilantly chaotic mood, prompting one of the characters to describe the mess in the room as “like Beirut.”

4. Gilmore Girls (S1E16)

For some inexplicable reason, Rory Gilmore thinks the scrap yard she’s visiting is Beirut.

5. GLOW (S1E9)

The assembled characters watch news footage of the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985. They have an amusing conversation regarding whether the city is called Beirut or Hezbollah.

6. Physical (S1E5)

A Lebanese immigrant family in 1980s San Diego, after having one of the worst attempts at speaking Arabic on screen, discuss a ceasefire in Beirut.

7. Brooklyn 99 (S5E2)

A character describes a disorganized library as Beirut.

8. Homeland (S2E2)

Homeland sets a whole episode in Beirut. Season 2 Episode 2 is titled “Back to Beirut” and has scenes supposedly set in Hamra.

The episode prompted then-Lebanese minister of Tourism Faddy Aboud to threaten(https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-20002148) to sue the makers of the show for their terrible representation of the city. To add insult to injury, the episode was filmed somewhere in Israel.