It would have been so easy for the creators of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ” to get it all wrong. We’ve all seen New York through the eyes of the Hollywood dream machine in a way that could not fool us, the native New Yorkers. We’ve scowled at streets that were supposed to be Harlem but were clearly a backlot in Burbank, Calif. We’ve shook our heads at shimmering skyscrapers that were meant to be the financial district but were obviously Toronto or Vancouver. And perhaps the worst: We’ve watched characters who are not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe hop on a subway in TriBeCa and arrive, moments later, in Washington Heights.

Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Daniel Palladino, the show’s creators, are both California natives, but they know and love New York. “We grew up separately in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and have spent most of our lives there,” said Mr. Palladino, “but always had this fascination with New York and just really needed a good excuse to be out here permanently. Which we are now — we live in Brooklyn.”

Ms. Sherman-Palladino explained, “The big thing about a show like ours is, any network or studio is going to want to not do it in New York, because it’s expensive. We had a long talk with Amazon about the fact that this show cannot become a show that becomes people talking in rooms, because it’s not that show. It needs breath and air, and it needs to live out on the streets.”

The streets of New York come to life in both Seasons 1 and 2 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Even those of us who weren’t born during the era the show portrays watched with delight as the show depicted places and spaces of New York lore — the Gaslight Cafe nightclub, Kettle of Fish bar and the Carnegie Deli among them. As the second season debuted on Dec. 5 , we asked the creators to look at photos from our archives and to share their thoughts about the New York as shot by Times photographers and the New York of their show.