History Main / InformedSmallTown

* In ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', the town of Pawnee is said to be a small Indiana town, yet it has the headquarters of a major candy corporation, its own news stations and periodicals, a zoo, an annual beauty pageant, decent nightlife, and by season 7 [[spoiler: the headquarters of the Midwest branch of the National Parks Service]].

* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' is established by the first season to be set in a small town, which is at odds with many of its features and the events that take place there:

* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' is, as established by the first season, set in a small town, yet it's evident that none of the writers are actually from one. To wit:

* Vacation towns can be this. For example: Jackson, Wyoming is estimated to have just over ten thousand permanent residents and it certainly looks like a small town when you walk it's streets. However, it's serviced by the largest airport in the whole state and has conveniences such as multiple ski resorts, spas, and an indoor heated water park. There will also be well in excess of those ten thousand people in town at any given time thanks to all the vacationers and "adventure workers" who aren't counted as permanent population.

* Vacation towns can be this. For example: Jackson Wyoming is estimated to have just over ten thousand permanent residents and it certainly looks like a small town when you walk it's streets. However, it's serviced by the largest airport in the whole state and has conveniences such as multiple ski resorts, spas, and an indoor heated water park. There will also be well in excess of those ten thousand people in town at any given time thanks to all the vacationers and "adventure workers" who aren't counted as permanent population.

* While its status as a city or a town varies [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the episode]], Springfield in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is sometimes stated to be a "typical American small town"... with an international airport, major TV studio, nuclear power plant, baseball and football teams, and several radio stations. In [=S13E22=], Springfield is stated to have a population of 50,720, which while enough to qualify it as a city, is still kind of a stretch, mostly because of the airport.

* While its status as a city or a town varies [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the episode]], Springfield in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is sometimes stated to be a "typical American small town"... with an international airport, major TV studio, nuclear power plant, baseball and football teams, and several radio stations.
* The eponymous location in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', besieged by all kinds of supernatural events in the earlier episodes [[note]]though this has largely been toned down in the later seasons in favor of [[RippedFromTheHeadlines current events]][[/note]], was described as a small town in the original episodes, but has been portrayed as considerably larger in the show's later years. Most notably, it went from Officer Barbrady [[OddlySmallOrganization policing the whole town by himself]] to having a police department that took up a whole office building. RuleOfFunny is probably the best explanation, but still worth noting.

* The eponymous location in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', besieged by all kinds of supernatural events in the earlier episodes [[note]]though this has largely been toned down in the later seasons in favor of [[RippedFromTheHeadlines current events]][[/note]], was described as a small town in the original episodes, but has been portrayed as considerably larger in the show's later years. Most notably, it went from Officer Barbrady [[OddlySmallOrganization policing the whole town by himself]] to having a police department that took up a whole office building.

* The eponymous location in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', besieged by all kinds of supernatural events in the earlier seasons [[note]]though this has largely been toned down in the later seasons in favor of [[RippedFromTheHeadlines current events]][[/note]], was described as a small town in the early episodes, but has been portrayed as considerably larger in the show's later years. Most notably, it went from Officer Barbrady [[OddlySmallOrganization policing the whole town by himself]] to having a police department that took up a whole office building.

* The eponymous location in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', besieged by all kinds of supernatural events in the earlier seasons [[note]]though this has largely been toned down in the later seasons in favor of [[RippedFromTheHeadlines current events]][[/note]], was described as a small town in the early episodes, but has been portrayed as considerably larger in the show's later years. RuleOfFunny is the best explanation, but still worth noting.

[[/folder]]

Apart from EverytownAmerica, another semi-common setting in fiction is a small town. A small town itself, generally, is defined as having a population of around 10, 000 people - not quite a city, but not quite a village either. Usually in these settings (and in real life small towns), EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether, and everyone knows each other.

** The amount of major crimes is [[MoreCriminalsThanTargets absurdly high]] for a small population. A murder like that of Jason Blossom is still bound to happen, but everything else? We have a murder, a serial killer, a big criminal gang (and then ''several'' gangs), a mafioso taking over the town, a sinister cult, illegal drug trade networks, children burning down their homes, etc.

* Ponyville from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is small enough to have a one-room school, but has aspects more appropriate for a medium to large city such as having a hydro-electric dam and being a viable venue for a large pop concert. It's also, despite its supposed small size, politically important enough to get semi-regular visits from royalty and post-season 3 to be the seat of power for one of the Princesses.

But sometimes in fiction, small towns are portrayed as having a lot more going on for them than would be realistic, especially as crime is concerned, to the point the viewer is left wondering if this really is a small town.

** Small towns have low crime rates. A murder like that of Jason Blossom is still bound to happen, but everything else? We have a murder, a serial killer, a big criminal gang (and then ''several'' gangs), a mafioso taking over the town, a sinister cult, illegal drug trade networks, children burning down their homes, etc.

The most common setting for GeographicFlexibility. May sometimes relate to a CrapsackWorld setting, especially if (as is sometimes TruthInTelevision) the town lacks a lot of job potential. Sometimes a locational equivalent of YourSizeMayVary, as the small town setting is occasionally depicted as larger (at times referred to interchangeably as a town and/or a city) depending on the episode.

The most common setting for GeographicFlexibility. May sometimes relate to a CrapsackWorld setting, especially if (as is sometimes TruthInTelevision) the town lacks a lot of job potential. Sometimes a locational equivalent of YourSizeMayVary, as the small town setting is occasionally depicted as larger (sometime seven referred to interchangeably as a town and/or a city) depending on the episode.

The most common setting for GeographicFlexibility. May sometimes relate to a CrapsackWorld setting, especially if (as is sometimes TruthInTelevision) the town lacks a lot of job potential.

* Ponyville from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is small enough to have a one-room school, but has aspects more appropriate for a medium to large city such as having a hydro-electric dam and being a viable venue for a lerge pop concert. It's also, despite its supposed small size, politically important enough to get semi-regular visits from royalty and post-season 3 to be the seat of power for one of the Prencesses.

* The eponymous location in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', besieged by all kinds of supernatural events in the earlier seasons [[note]]though later seasons have somewhat toned these down in favor of [[RippedFromTheHeadlines current events]][[/note]], was described as a small town in the early episodes, but has been portrayed as considerably larger in the show's later years. RuleOfFunny is the best explanation, but still worth noting.

* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' is, as established by the first episode, set in a small town, yet it's evident that none of the writers are actually from one. To wit:

But sometimes, in fiction, small towns are portrayed as having a lot more going on for them than would be realistic, especially as crime is concerned, to the point the viewer is left wondering if this really is a small town.

* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' is, as established by the first episode, set in a small town, yet it's evident that none of the writers are actually from one. Small towns have low crime rates. A murder like that of Jason Blossom is still bound to happen, but everything else? We have a murder, a serial killer, a big criminal gang (and then ''several'' gangs), a mafioso taking over the town, a sinister cult, illegal drug trade networks, children burning down their homes, etc. In small towns, everyone knows everyone, and anything that happens to someone is bound to be known by everyone (more sooner than later). How could the Blossom and Cooper families keep their big secret under wraps? At one point it was public knowledge. It's unlikely that people would "forget" after a time, as the Blossoms and Coopers were still around everyday (with the Blossom as Riverdale's premier family, no less).