After 'Last of Us' nod to CSU, here's a list of TV shows with Fort Collins ties

Spoiler alert: This article contains information about episode six of "The Last of Us," which aired Feb. 19 on HBO.

Fort Collins? Famous?

Not quite. The city has, however, served as inspiration — or at least speculated inspiration — for some popular TV shows, from HBO's "The Last of Us," to NBC's "Parks and Recreation."

Here are the Fort Collins nods we could find on the small screen.

The Last of Us

Fans of the video game franchise "The Last of Us" have long speculated that the University of Eastern Colorado — a fictional university protagonists Joel and Ellie stop at in part one of the game — was loosely based on Colorado State University. Well, the game's HBO adaptation fully leaned into those rumors, with a spokesperson for the television network confirming through one of its production designers that it did indeed draw inspiration from the Fort Collins school for the show's Feb. 19 episode.

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Parks and Recreation

A rejected Fort Collins city logo apparently resurfaced back in 2009 with the debut of NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation." The TV network created a website for the show's fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana, boasting a Pawnee logo that featured two swooping lines that were virtually identical to those Fort Collins had once planned to use in its city logo, according to a 2009 Coloradoan report. The rejected Fort Collins city logo was introduced in 2008 as part of an economic stimulus effort to "brand" the city, but the redesigned logo instead ruffled some residents' feathers. After a largely negative reaction — with some residents saying they were underwhelmed by the design — the logo was ultimately changed to feature Horsetooth Rock instead of the Pawnee-esque swooping lines.

South Park

Fort Collins got the "South Park" treatment back in 2016 when the long-lived Comedy Central series featured the city on an episode appropriately titled "Fort Collins." The episode — part of the show's 20th season — showed a cartoon aerial shot of Fort Collins — featuring a little skyline with the Key Bank and First National Bank buildings and the "A" on a foothill in the background. It also featured a chaotic city scene with a building similar to New Belgium in the background.

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Saturday Night Live

Some eagle-eyed Fort Collins TV viewers spotted something familiar on the Dec. 3, 2022, episode of "Saturday Night Live." In a three-second shot introducing a skit featuring episode host Keke Palmer, fans noticed a building that looked identical to Colorado State University's medical and health center. The building's logos were removed in the shot, but CSU's Assistant Vice President of Strategic Communications Greg Harrison later confirmed the school's medical center was featured — surmising that it might have been used as an archived clip from a public website.

Coloradoan reporter Molly Bohannon contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: From 'Last of Us' to 'SNL,' these TV shows had Fort Collins ties