This New TV Show Is All About Milwaukee

Originally published in Milwaukee Magazine 2/14/23

"Good Things Brewing" was a phrase the Visit Milwaukee team started using early on in the pandemic to uplift the city in a difficult time, Communications Director Claire Koenig says. They didn’t expect it to transform into something bigger-- the tourism bureau’s first TV show.

Local event planner David Caruso hosts the show, traveling around the city with some of Milwaukee’s biggest ambassadors including DJ Shawna, Judge Derek Mosley and restaurateur Paul Bartolotta. These famed locals show Caruso to their favorite spots around town.

“The guests are some of the people who care the most about Milwaukee,” says Caruso. “They’re the people who believe in everything this city is about, and the people who are doing what they love to do, within our city, with the desire to make it a better place.”

The show stops by iconic landmarks like the Pabst Theater, small unassuming restaurants that pack in big flavor and important spaces like America’s Black Holocaust Museum. But not all of the spots are so obvious – some might even surprise even a knowledgeable local.

The first episode will air on TMJ4 in Milwaukee on February 18 and across 11 other midwest markets including Chicago, Minneapolis, South Bend and Cedar Rapids as a way to bring new visitors to the city. 

Caruso believes the show has a unique way of showing off the best of the cream city, through the eyes of its residents. “We always say Milwaukeeans are our best ambassadors,” says Koenig. “No one has more pride in the city than a local.”