First rule of making a television show set in San Francisco: Don’t be like “Charmed.”

Not only was the 1998-2006 WB network series about three demon-fighting witches shot outside the city limits, the Victorian house used in establishing shots was an imposter — actually the Halliwell Manor in Los Angeles. Even the “Full House” clan got to have a picnic in San Francisco before spending the rest of the year pretending their Los Angeles-produced show was happening in the city.

In a world where S.F. imposters including “Charmed,” “Dharma & Greg” and “Suddenly Susan” exist, it’s a refreshing sight to see a San Francisco-based TV show that feels like the region it’s attempting to depict. While there are dozens of movies that portray S.F. with some degree of thoughtfulness, TV shows with the same qualifications come around about once a decade.

“The OA: Part II,” which dropped eight new episodes on Friday, immediately joins the list. The Netflix series reaches San Francisco TV legendary status early, incorporating a Nob Hill mansion, the 16th Avenue tiled steps, a BART train ride and a homeless encampment — while shooting key interiors and exteriors on Treasure Island.

“This city seems like a very important city, in both a good way and a bad way, for understanding the world that we live in,” series co-creator Zal Batmanglij said, while visiting The Chronicle for a recent Datebook podcast. “Setting a story here, and as a result getting to be here, was crucial.”

With the arrival of “The OA,” here’s an updated list of TV shows set in San Francisco that got the city right:

(Note to “Tales of the City” fans. Except for 12 days on location in S.F., most of the original 1993 miniseries was shot in Los Angeles sound stages. It gets an honorable mention.)

“Looking” (2014-2015): The HBO series about gay men working and seeking love in San Francisco wasn’t a “Game of Thrones”-style zeitgeist hit, but for two seasons (plus a movie) between 2014 and 2016, the cast and crew embraced the city. “Looking” filmed its interiors in a warehouse in the Mission District, and set up hundreds of location shots — including the most Muni bus scenes-per-season in TV history.

Series creator Michael Lannan, who lived in San Francisco from 1999 to 2003, said all the right things in a 2014 Chronicle interview:

“I felt like I had never seen the city I lived in on camera, except for maybe rare occasions, so we wanted to show that,” Lannan said. “Just the really cool way you can ramble around San Francisco, and walk from neighborhood to neighborhood. And also the realities of living here — how hard it is to make the rent, and how you have to work, and you have to share apartments and scrimp for spaces.”

“Nash Bridges” (1996-2001): Yes, the Don Johnson/Cheech Marin cop drama was made for the mainstream, and the CBS series looks ancient in the era of peak TV.

But you know who doesn’t think “Nash Bridges” was a forgettable television program? Every local actor and crew member who got a ton of work from the series. In a 2010 Chronicle story about TV production, local actors reported appearing on the show up to six times, playing different characters each episode.

“(In three seasons) I played a different bad guy trying to kill Don Johnson,” Peter Quartaroli said in a 2010 interview. “I don’t know how they brought me back so many times, but they did. They’d give me a different accent or a different look, change it up just enough so people didn’t notice.”

With 122 episodes, “Nash Bridges” was in San Francisco even longer than “The Streets of San Francisco” (119). “The Lineup,” a favorite of Chronicle readers, filmed 190 episodes.

“MythBusters” (2003 to present): Reality-based television set in San Francisco has pretty consistently added to the stereotype that the city is filled with idiots. Even the contributions of the 1994 “The Real World” to the national AIDS discussion were muted by the histrionics of Puck the antagonistic fake bike messenger, and other sensational elements. (“Real World” still gets an honorable mention thanks to Pedro, Judd and Pam.)

But “MythBusters” has been a delight in all its incarnations, with nods to the Bay Area’s history in the special effects industry and maker movement. Bay Area residents, from bomb experts to reptile wranglers, have contributed to the show. Longtime host Adam Savage, now on “MythBusters Jr.,” credits the TV show’s dedicated local crew, which has remained stable in 15-plus years.

“When you have a bond, and it’s genuine, there’s a special magic that can occur,” Savage said. “There’s no formula for making a great show. It is an alchemy. But I think one of the key (ingredients) is that everyone who works on it feels the same amount of investment.”

“Streets of San Francisco” (1972-77): The ABC cop drama featured the best use of the entire city and had two great stars — Michael Douglas and Karl Malden — two L.A. actors whose names are now associated with San Francisco. And, no small thing here, the opening credits theme is the best in San Francisco history.

Watching this show in 2019 is a gift to San Franciscans who lived through the era, and newcomers who want a window into the past. Not only is “Streets” an entertaining example of 1970s television, each episode is a full-color time capsule of a city that doesn’t exist any more — and a tribute to the hard work that went into the series.

“Like any great thing, like a fine wine, it’s better off left alone,” Douglas said in 1997, when asked if he’d return for a “Streets” sequel. “But being here brings back memories — memories of how hard it was to work on that show. We worked 14-hour days on that show for eight months at a time.”

“Streets of San Francisco” is the greatest San Francisco television show in history.

“The OA: Part II.” (2016 to present): The first incarnation of “The OA” in 2016 was set in the Midwest. A dimension jump sent series star Prairie (Brit Marling) and other characters into San Francisco. In just eight episodes “The OA: Part II” vaults into the all-time list of TV shows set in the city. And the show itself, while an acquired taste for its many detours and narrative density, is terrific.

The Netflix series picks interesting locations, from the historic Treasure Island administration building to a road trip into a Point Reyes book store. But the show’s biggest location-based triumph is capturing an accurate 21st century vibe of San Francisco, the result of extra research from series creators Marling and Batmanglij. Even in an alternate reality science fiction S.F. (where Joe Biden is president), nods to the cost of housing, difficulty of dating and gentrification make their way into the plot lines.

“We were, when we were doing research, walking down a street in which there were many unhoused people in kind of a tent collective,” Marling told The Chronicle during a Datebook podcast. “And then you walk another block up a hill and suddenly you’re at the top of Nob Hill with these enormous houses that you know are worth millions and millions of dollars. That disparity … was very intense, and I think found its way into this narrative.”

Batmanglij added: “This city has a lot of stories in it. I wish we could tell more of them.”

Honorable mentions: “The Lineup” (1954-1960), “Ironside” (1967-1975), “McMillan & Wife” (1971-1977), “Midnight Caller” (1988-1991), “Tales of the City” (1993), “Real World: San Francisco” (1994), “Murder in the First” (2014-2016).