HBO's latest single-gal show finally gives Philly a chance to show off its stuff.

With Sex and the City gearing up to film its last season on HBO, there's been a lot of buzz about what's waiting in the wings to take its place. The winner? Former Inquirer writer Jennifer Weiner's fractured fairy tale, Good in Bed. It's a done deal. Emmy-winning Sex and the City writer Jenny Bicks is adapting the best-selling book into a series for the same network that helped bring vibrators out into the open. Weiner is, of course, thrilled. She's experiencing other emotions too. "I'm a little overwhelmed. I didn't even know HBO was going public with this, and now it's all over. I don't have any complaints, other than it all happened so fast. I need a little warning these days."

And so, perhaps, do you. Heads up: Camera crews are coming to town. Nothing new, yes, but this time it'll be different. We've all seen Philly depicted on the big and small screens, and it's always been dark. From Rocky to The Sixth Sense to Philadelphia, and most recently Hack, it's always been the same muted grays and browns and creased foreheads. But we aren't all violent and creepy and running up steps. Not most of us, anyway.

Weiner says, "I think people visually think of Philly as a decaying eastern city." Here's our big chance to turn that around. Though, of course, there's some dark stuff that's too juicy to be ignored. "I had to explain Craig Rabinowitz, Rabbi Neulander, all these things that are lore if you want to set a show here," Weiner notes.

So, what photogenic Philly locations would Weiner's heroine, Cannie, frequent day to day? The girls on Sex and the City manage to visit several real-life locales over the course of an episode. Weiner hopes the entire series will be set and shot here, and was careful to show Bicks places Cannie would go, and locations to use in the establishing shots. Remember, Cannie is in her 20s, plus-sized, a wedding reporter and newly dumped. She's in turmoil, but still looking for a good time. We asked Weiner for her picks, and added some of our own.

Good Eats

Morning Glory Diner: "Yes! We went there for breakfast. Absolutely, there should be scenes in the Morning Glory, although you have to wait forever to get a table." Weiner thinks Sabrina's is becoming to Morning Glory what the New Wave Café is to Dmitri's. "You know, the place you go when you can't get in to the other. I quite enjoy Sabrina's cheddar cheese pancakes, too."

La Colombe: "I explained to Jenny that this is the beautiful people coffee hangout. She agreed."

Azafran: Has a prominent scene in the book. "It's a good place to have a date. You can sit in the window and have your girlfriend walk by and scope out the guy."

Reading Terminal Market: "I think that the Reading Terminal is going to be a place where she'll be walking and shopping and hanging out."

Vietnam Restaurant: "She'd go and have grilled grape leaves and justify it as being OK since it's Atkins-approved."

Weiner and Bicks also looked at Striped Bass, and had dinner at Buddakan. "I told her this would be the place to go if Cannie ever had a big date."

And, of course, the cheesesteak joint: Weiner refuses to pick her favorite between Pat's and Geno's, "in case we want to shoot there. We don't want to piss either of them off."

The Bar Scene

We suggested Bob and Barbara's as the perfect dark, comfy dive Cannie could drown her sorrows in. And how great would it be to see Nate Wiley and the Crowd Pleasers on TV? But Weiner likes Sugar Mom's and Tattooed Mom's for their visual appeal and homey qualities. "There weren't a lot of bars in the book," she says, but adds she would use the New Wave. "[Cannie] would go to play Quizzo and get very drunk, and her answers would get increasingly random."

Nights Out

"Uh-huh, she'd cruise and have to fake being interested in the artwork, like everyone else," Weiner says. "She'd probably try to get into WXPN fundraisers on the grounds that guys who like that kind of music might be interested in her. She'd go to shows at TLA, she'd go to Tin Angel, she'd go to North Star, and complain about being uncomfortable and have people spill drinks on her. She'd go to Electric Factory and feel old."

CP Adds: A show at The Khyber (maybe a Philly band?), Movie Mondays at The Balcony, The Trocadero.

City Living

Bicks stayed at the Rittenhouse Hotel, and got to see Rittenhouse Square. Weiner says the statue of the goat where all the trendy new mothers hang out interested Bicks. Weiner replied bluntly, "Cannie isn't one of them."

The Mütter Museum: The setting of Weiner's real-life wedding is a favorite. "The wall of skulls is very visual," she says. And creepy -- has M. Night Shyamalan put it on film yet? Talk about a lost opportunity.

Shopping on Walnut Street: Weiner likes all the bookstores. "It's bizarre thinking of a character that was like me in my 20s, shopping. Cannie wouldn't care about all the fancy stuff! She'd go to King of Prussia, or Franklin Mills."

Neighbors

The Italian Market has already been brought to life on screen, but that was a long time ago. Weiner would love to see the newly made-over market on HBO. Bicks was very impressed with Queen Village, "especially what we pay for rent," Weiner says. "I think you can get a corner of a shoebox in New York for the cost of my old apartment." You can also expect the ubiquitous South Street to make an appearance.

Pet Tricks

Weiner, a happy dog owner, also picked some doggie locales like the Chic Petique, the dog run at Mario Lanza Park and Old Swedes' Church. Weiner's mutt Wendell (and other Philly dogs) may even be in the series. Does Wendell have a SAG card? "No, but he has an attitude. That was the one stupid request I made. Can my dog be on the show? They said, Œokayy,' and I'm sure they were thinking, ŒOh my god, freak.'"

Modes of Transportation

"Cannie's going to ride her bike a lot, and have a cool bike. An old-fashioned bike with pedal brakes. Jenny was asking questions like, is it possible to get around Philly on a bike? And is it dangerous? I said yes, it is, and no, riding a bike isn't dangerous. Getting doored by a cab is dangerous."

CP Adds: SEPTA trolleys and the unglamorous buses and subways, plus at least one parking-in-Old-City scene resulting in a ticket.