References to Duluth in Film/TV or Other Media Posts

Flight 3247 to Duluth

In what must be the most trivial Duluth reference ever reported on Perfect Duluth Day, we note that season 6, episode 4 of the animated television show Archer includes a scene at a Chicago airport where the flight information display system shows a scheduled Duluth departure as “on time.”

Frosted Flakes in Duluth

Duluth gets a quick and silly mention in the March 13 episode of Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!, a weekly radio show produced by WBEZ in Chicago and National Public Radio. At the tail end of the clip embedded above, the panel talks about the virtues of pizza for breakfast instead cereal and jokes that people never argue about which city has the best cereal, resulting in the crack, “You haven’t had Frosted Flakes until you’ve had Frosted Flakes in Duluth.”

Virtual Broadway murder mystery musical is set in Duluth

Detective Case is finally on the case. Sing along with Jessica Keenan Wynn in the video above. She plays the role of a meter maid “doling tickets out in Downtown Duluth” until a murder case takes her in a new direction.

Sam Elliott and Duluth’s Heavenly Air

Famed actor Sam Elliott plays the role of Wild West, the new mayor of Quahog on the animated Fox-TV comedy The Family Guy. Adam West played himself as the previous mayor on the show; he died in 2017.

In season 19, episode 7, which aired on Sunday, lead character Peter Griffin mentions to Wild West that his brother Adam has “gone on to a better place.” Wild West quickly cuts in to infer the better place must be Duluth. He extends the thought with, “Beautiful country Duluth. The air moves into your nostrils like a welcome guest.”

Michael, Jesus and the Dream Space Capsule from Duluth

The historical TV drama The Right Stuff mentions Duluth in episode 7, which premiered Nov. 13 on the video-on-demand service Disney+. The series is loosely based on the 1979 book by Tom Wolfe. There is also a critically acclaimed 1983 film adaptation of Wolfe’s story.

Duluth reference in Sarah Cooper’s “Everything’s Fine”

Fourteen minutes into the Netflix comedy special, Aubrey Plaza, playing a shopping channel host, takes a call from a QAnon follower in Duluth who wants to know what her naan order really means.

Mick Jagger digs Duluth Art Institute; Esko woman still missing

Duluth is mentioned six times in The Burnt Orange Heresy, a new movie starring Elizabeth Debicki, Donald Sutherland, Claes Bang and Mick Jagger. The fictional Duluth Star Ledger newspaper also appears, featuring the headline “Esko woman goes missing.”

Weekend Update: Dateline Duluth

Duluth made a brief appearance in Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update this week. The appearance is at the 2:54 mark.

Duluth references in Workaholics

The Comedy Central sitcom Workaholics, which ran from 2011-’17, featured two references to Duluth.

The 2005 Duluth Art Institute Riot

Academic and Critical Excerpts, collated and footnoted by the Richardson brothers (Jim and Allen Richardson)

The Richardson brothers in the book “Haunted Minnesota”

This post could also be called “Bigfoot and Us.”

Starting in 1998, my brother Allen and I wrote a “weird science” column called “Gonzo Science” for the alternative Duluth newsweekly Ripsaw.

Fargo Duluth Montage

The first season of the comedic crime-drama television series Fargo is peppered with references to Duluth, a few of which are collected in the montage above. No part of the series was shot in Duluth, though one scene has the Aerial Lift Bridge inserted into it and has a sort of Garfield Avenue feel.

Filmed in Duluth: Christmas Break-In

Filmed in Duluth in April 2018, Christmas Break-In is now on Netflix and Youtube Movies. Shot at Marshall School and other locations around town, it features Danny Glover, Denise Richards and Cameron Seely.

TV pilot for “The Dealership” set at Kari Toyota in Superior

“Iron Will” movie video with Duluth annotations

The adventure drama Iron Will premiered on Jan. 14, 1994. Much of the film was shot in Duluth and areas near Duluth from Jan. 11 to April 1, 1993. The annotations below are a guide to spotting familiar people and locations.