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Cory Matthews grew up in a Philadelphia suburb in the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World, but the show never explicitly stated which suburb. Showbiz Cheat Sheet spoke with Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong about where the show was set, but they didn’t have a definitive answer. Now, they want a Pennsylvania town to claim the show.

Will Friedle, Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Matthew Lawrence from 'Boy Meets World'
Will Friedle, Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Matthew Lawrence | Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

‘Boy Meets World’ is set in a Pennsylvania town

As Friedle explained, showrunners intentionally made the setting of Boy Meets World feel like “Anytown, USA.” 

“When you’re doing a show for younger people, you want kids from all across the country to be able to turn on the TV and imagine they live wherever those people live,” Friedle said. “Boy Meets World was very Anytown USA and other than occasionally putting Cory in a Phillies hat … or the Sixers, it was never Philly centric.” 

The show never confirms the town where the Matthews Family lives 

During our conversation about their new rewatch podcast Pod Meets World, Strong addressed how the show never mentions explicitly where the Matthews live. “We we’re just talking about how we never knew,” Strong said. He also addressed the various settings fans saw in Boy Meets World. 

“I know there’s one episode where Sean works for the mob and it’s a very urban space where there was docks and I was down working as a longshoreman,” he added. “Most of the episodes seem to be very suburban. It seems like we’re kind of outside of Philly in some suburb, but I have no idea. We never knew.” 

Will Friedle wants a Pennsylvania town to claim ‘Boy Meets World’ 

Friedle said he and his co-stars feel Boy Meets World‘s lack of Philly references was a missed opportunity for the show. “I think there was a lot of Philly stuff we could have thrown in, which could have given it another flavor,” Friedle elaborated. “But [TGIF, ABC, Disney] really wanted to keep it … Anytown, USA [so] you turn on your TV and this could be like walking out of your own home.” 

Despite the show never mentioning a specific town, Friedle hopes a Pennsylvania suburb will claim Boy Meets World as their own. “We’ll know we made it if they Star Trek it,” he told us. “They always say that Captain Kirk was born in Iowa, but then one town just claimed him. There’s now a statue there that says ‘Future birthplace of Captain James D. Kirk.'” 

That town is Riverside, Iowa. 

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“James T. Kirk, captain of the Starship Enterprise, will be born in Riverside, Iowa, on March 22, 2228,” Roadside America reports. The town also changed their slogan from “Where the best begins” to “Where the Trek beings.” 

“If there’s a town in Pennsylvania that’s like, ‘This is now the Boy Meets World town,’ we will come and cut the ribbon,” Friedle quipped. “We’ll come take the keys to the city,” Strong added. 

Bensalem, Pennsylvania — we’re looking at you. Ben Savage, Ben Salem? Makes sense to us. 

Hear more from the ‘Boy Meets World’ cast in their rewatch podcast 

Join Friedle, Fishel, and Strong every week in their podcast Pod Meets World. They’re taking fans on a journey through every episode of the hit sitcom with the help of iHeartRadio. 

Pod Meets World is available on iHeartRadio and everywhere podcasts are heard. 

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