Here are the TV shows that defined each presidential era, from Parks and Rec and Obama to Diff'rent Strokes and Reagan

Rolling Stone

The recent A Parks and Recreation Special got Alan Sepinwall to thinking how other TV shows have been tied to presidential administrations. "Few series in recent memory have been as clearly tied to a moment — and, specifically, a presidential administration — as Parks and Rec," he says. "The show’s belief in the power of government to make people’s lives better — and, more broadly, in the obligation members of a community (be they friends, family, or, as Ron Swanson once put it, 'workplace proximity associates') have to help one another in times of need — made it the standard-bearer for the hopefulness of the Obama era." Sepinwall found the best shows reflective of the Donald Trump era, so far, to be Watchmen and The Good Place. Barack Obama is not only tied to Parks and Recreation, he found, but also Breaking Bad, Veep and Empire. Arrested Development, 24, 30 Rock and The Wire best encapsulate the George W. Bush era. Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, Sex and the City and The West Wing are a reminder of Bill Clinton's time in the Oval Office. "The majority of The West Wing ran during the George W. Bush years — including a clumsy, patronizing episode about the origins of Islamic-fundamentalist terrorism, produced in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 — but it’s not a coincidence that the show’s two best seasons by far were largely produced and aired while its inspiration was working out of the titular portion of the White House," says Sepinwall.