Nitpicking the Roku Screensaver (Updated 1/27/2026)

225 Comments

Debuting in 2018, the Roku screensaver depicts a slowly looping city street in the foreground, composed of businesses, a diner, a movie theater, and a city hall. Across a body of water in the background sits a silhouette of skyscrapers and buildings, with unusual amounts of chaos: volcanoes, a spaceship, a robot monster, and more. The complementary color scheme is prominently composed of pink and purple hues. The scene changes with the seasons; in the autumn months, trees change colors. The illustration contains easter eggs of various films and TV shows and pop culture references. It is arguably the most popular offering on Roku, reaching 90 million American households as of February 2025.

Easter Eggs from the “2022 Fall Stroll Through the Park” Roku City screensaver
Easter Eggs from the “2022 Winter Stroll Through the Park” Roku City screensaver
Easter Eggs from the “2023 Spring Stroll Through the Park” Roku City screensaver
Easter Eggs from the “2023 Summer Stroll Through the Park” Roku City screensaver
Easter Eggs from the 2025 Wicked remake of Roku City (11/13 – 11/16 2025) & (12/30 – 1/3/2026)
Easter Eggs from Wal-Mart WhoKnewVille (11/22-26/2025)

Channel 6 Deep Dive

Roku City 2025 Archive
Roku City pre-2025 Archive

The official still from the Roku website

The illustrations were created by Kyle Jones, a freelance graphic artist, who took inspiration from Art Deco architecture to design the city. The name of the background is known internally at Roku as City Scroll: Movie Magic, and it debuted in 2018. My family and friends have tried to find all the Easter Eggs. Here’s our list.

Please Note: Due to the increasing length of this article, we are archiving 2025 changes and additions and pre-2025 changes and additions. This article will focus on the permanent buildings and track 2026 additions ad buildings will be tacked on in chronological order at the tail end.

The Far Side of the Bay

Let’s list these L-R

The Golden Gate Bridge with the Northern Lights flickering overhead
The Black Pearl being attacked by a Kraken from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Headquarters of the Tyrell Corporation from Blade Runner
King Kong on the Empire State Building being attacked by airplanes
Johanson points out that the building just under the first plane looks like Trump Plaza Hotel from Home Alone 2
The Orca being trailed by the shark from Jaws
The London Eye Ferris Wheel
The Elizabeth Tower (home of Big Ben) being attacked by a UFO (similar to Mars Attacks!)
Mary Poppins flying over Roku City’s take on the Hollywood Sign

A Mississippi Riverboat similar to the Mark Twain at Disney World. Though Miguel G. thinks it could also be a reference to Showboat. Angela N. thinks it could be the Lauren Belle from Maverick. Denise M. suggests the river boat from Death on the Nile. BJ S. suggests it’s from Mark Twain & Me.
I’m told that the heart on the building is from Sleepless in Seattle
The Death Star (Star Wars) hovers overhead.
Miguel G. speculates the five spiked building is from Metropolis
Smaug the Dragon flies around Mt. Doom (Lord of the Rings)
The Radio Tower in front of Mount Doom looks familiar…
A nuclear power plant that looks like Three Mile Island, though Solidussabre thinks it could be the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant from the Simpsons. T. Fleming wonders if it might be a reference to The China Syndrome.
That blimp flying overhead, had stumped me, Miguel G. thinks it’s from Island at the Top of the World. T. Fleming suggests The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Not sure what the building with the target at the top is. This one is driving me crazy. Mads thinks it’s OCP Headquarters from Robocop.
Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz.
A deserted island with Wilson the Volleyball (Castaway). Though Daniel M. suggests it’s a treasure chest in honor of Treasure Island
Spider-Man swings from the Chrysler Building.

Next to the Chrysler Building is a building that looks familiar… Anyone know what it is? Angelique thinks it might be Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated from Phineas and Ferb. (I’m not seeing the resemblance)
The Mecha is most likely an homage to Pacific Rim. His chestplate is remarkably similar to a first generation Nintendo controller or the Roku controller. T. Fleming has suggested it’s an homage to The Iron Giant.
The Red October from The Hunt for Red October surfaces in the water. Or as T. Fleming suggests it could be from Crimson Tide
The Roku Remote signal is an homage to the Bat Signal.
What is the building in front of the Roku Signal? Jason S. thinks it looks like Wayne Tower from Batman Begins.
The Daily Planet Building from Superman
Stark Tower.. I mean Avengers Tower.. Wait, Watchtower from Thunderbolts.
Alcatraz Island seems to be back in operating mode. It could reference The Rock, Escape from Alcatraz, or The Birdman of Alcatraz. Mark B. offers the possibility that it is in fact Shutter Island.
Devil’s Tower from Close Encounters of Third Kind is there on the coast.
A Godzilla-like Kaiju is attacking.
Which brings us back to the Golden Gate Bridge.

And the mobile truck and weather info for NBC affiliate Channel 6 WTVJ out of South Florida. (at least I thought so until 1/15/2026 but they do use that font for their logo) Thank you Dan H. for the above two images.

What other local additions have you seen in Roku City?

Channel 6 popped up with Springfield’s weather. This is reported to be a new permanent feature. However as nice as this is, Springfield does NOT have a Channel 6. Who does? We’re collecting as many Channel 6s Nationwide that use this particular font. We need your help.

Springfield MO, does not have a Channel 6 (we have KYTV 3 – NBC, KOLR 10 – CBS, KOZL 27 – IND, KSPR 33 – ABC and KRBK 49 – FOX )

The Apartment Building:
In front is Forrest Gump’s park bench with his box of chocolates.
That’s the streetlamp and umbrella from Singing in the Rain.
Salem the Cat from Sabrina the Teenage Witch is sitting on the garbage. Though Kendall suspects it’s the cat from Pet Semetary. Brian M. suggests it’s the cat from 2024’s A Quiet Place: Day One.
Is that Garfield the cat silhouetted in the second floor window?
That’s the Leg Lamp from A Christmas Story on the Third floor.
Nick B-C wonders if the water tower on top of the apartment complex is the Warner Bros. Studio Water Tower. Gary N. thinks it looks like the water tower in Wakita, OK from Twister. To me it looks like the ubiquitous water towers that dot nearly every New York city building. Are there any prominent movie scenes featuring a New York City water tower?

Anthony’s Barbershop from the 2002 film Barbershop
A Peeping Tom ala Jimmy Stewart’s character in Rear Window is on the second floor.
Mecha and King Kong Movers advertises on the billboard.

Hill Valley’s Courthouse from Back to the Future
Doc Brown’s plug and wires are hanging from the lightning rod. (notice the time on the clock)
Marty’s hoverboard from Back to the Future part 2 is on the steps.
Dr. Who’s TARDIS is parked out front.

The Diner reminds me of the Moondance Diner as seen in the first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man film. Though it could also be Mickey’s Diner from Jingle All the Way and The Mighty Ducks series.
Parked out front are Danny’s Greased Lightning from Grease and the Wagon Queen Family Truckster from National Lampoon’s Vacation is next to it.
Prince’s Purple Rain motorcycle is also out front.
That’s the Last Starfighter video game from The Last Starfighter on the left. Mark B. sees Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still
What I thought was Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. is on the right. Though Veronica proposes that it is a Raptor from Jurassic Park instead. (now I see both). Kirisimp thinks it looks like Derpy from K-Pop Demon Hunters. All that said, Dan H. points out that a raptor appeared in the 2023 Summer Stroll and looks exactly like our friend in the window. Mark B. thinks it might be either Kang or Kodos from The Simpson’s. JT would like to add that he sees the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
Behind the Diner where I’ve always seen trees, T. Fleming instead wonders if it’s The Nothing from Neverending Story.

The Firehouse HQ of the Ghostbusters

Ecto-1 is getting ready to leave on a call to catch ghosts. Jan thinks she spotted a Jack O’ Lantern in the update. The Firehouse hasn’t changed with the update. The figure in the arch looks like a representation of The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Though I can see Jack-o-Lantern.

The Haunted House, my family is torn on this one. Is it the Addams family mansion? Is it the Bates Motel from Psycho? Is it Disney’s Haunted Mansion? In the comments Ladyjanis provides compelling evidence that this is indeed the Bates Motel from Psycho, BJ S. agrees with her. Rick wonders if it’s the house from the Amityville Horror.
The Wicked Witch’s hat is floating in the puddle of water that Dorothy threw on her from The Wizard of Oz. Veronica thinks that is instead Georgie’s paper boat from It. Though wouldn’t it be white in front of storm sewer grate to be that reference?
I thought that could be the Tree Monster from A Monster Calls, Bills Fan and BJ S. have rightly pointed out that Poltergeist is the more likely reference.
My son thinks that’s Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast on the second floor, I disagree, I think it’s floating candelabra from Disney’s Haunted Mansion.
Alfred Hitchcock’s silhouette is on the third floor. Naomi H. suggests that it’s Nanny McPhee’s silhouette. Temporarily removed in the 9/2025 update, D. V. Damsel was VERY upset about it missing.

The Power Plant, reminds me of the Ravenswood Generating Station as seen prominently in Conspiracy Theory.
Three of the four Ninja Turtles peek out of the shadows. The open man hole cover to their dojo is on the street.
Elliot’s bike from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is parked out front.
The guard shack looks like the entrance to Springfield’s Nuclear Power Plant in The Simpsons.
Willy Wonka has left his hat and cane on the steps to the door.
Dan S. wonders if the block and tackle hanging inside across two stories is a call back to the block and tackle Judge Doom hung Roger and Jessica Rabbit from in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Kendall is convinced that the chain and hook are from Terminator 2.
Vo5 wonders if the TV set in the guard shack is tuned to The Truman Show

The Restaurant.
In the alley is Lady and the Tramp’s spaghetti dinner.
The fire escape looks like the iconic one used in West Side Story.
I think that’s Coco’s guitar from the Pixar film on the third floor, though JennO has a better suggestion. She thinks that is Holly Golightly’s (Audrey Hepburn) guitar from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Michelle adds it could possibly be Elliot’s guitar from “The Goodbye Girl”.
The silhouette on the fourth floor is from The Graduate.
Parnia points out that the restaurant’s logo is a direct riff on the logo for the 1972 film The Godfather.

The Movie Theater looks like the theater Marty McFly crashed the DeLorean into. Though Nick B-C thinks it more closely resembles The Majestic from Jim Carey’s 2001 film.
Cameron’s Ferrari from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is jacked up out front trying to remove the milage.
One of the first six Star Trek movies is playing at the theater as evidenced by the USS Enterprise movie poster.
Coming soon is a Star Wars film as evidenced by the lightsaber.

Internet consensus seems to be this a reference to the AppleTV show Plurbius

Times Square Advertisements.
The old TV set ad is reminiscent of the vintage MTV logo and ads.
That’s Adam’s hand from Michelangelo’s (thank you JT for the correction) Creation of Adam painting in the Sistine Chapel. Sarah thinks the hand is referencing E.T. while Cesar M points out the similarities to the holographic ad from Blade Runner 2049.
My grandson is convinced that bottom middle ad is a reference to the Need for Speed video game franchise.
T. Fleming wonders if the smiley face emoticon is really the 3D Pac-Man from Pixels

The Train Station
Miguel G. wants to know if that’s Del Griffith’s trunk from Planes, Trains and Automobiles? BJ S. thinks it might be Uncle Fester’s trunk.
Harry Potter has left his luggage trolley (and Hedwig) on the platform.
That means the Hogwart’s Express has pulled into the station.
The clock hanging from the ceiling reminds me of something… Guild member Ki reminded me in the comments that the hanging clock was featured prominently in the 2011 film Hugo.
*NOTE* If either the trunk or Hedwig are missing from the station, keep a watch on the street for the Weasley’s car and/or the rental Chrysler from Planes, Train, and Automobiles

Train Station update 11/22/2025 I’m keeping this here because it seems to be a random occurrence in 2026 as well
Hedwig is missing as well as the steamer trunk from out front. Where did they go? Check the automobiles.

Driving on the main street we find.

Dom’s Charger from the Fast and the Furious
Cruella De Vil’s car (complete with a dalmatian) from 101 Dalmatians
Ramone from Cars
James Bond’s Astin Martin DB5
and the pick up van from The Squid Game
Arthur Weasley’s Ford Anglia arrived 11/21/2025 This is staying in the main article because it has shown up randomly in 2026
(it’s hard to make out in this screenshot but Hedwig is in the back seat)
Arthur Weasley’s Ford Anglia after it’s been Whomped by the Whomping Willow
That’s the Chrysler LeBaron rented by Neal Page and Del Griffith as they try to get to Chicago. Del’s trunk is on strapped to the back.
Interesting bit of trivia, the LeBaron was purposefully decorated to look like the Truckster Station Wagon from Vacation (seen behind parked at the diner).
Olive Garden delivery hit the street 1/27/2026

The advertiser buildings are unobtrusive (IMHO) and provide some fresh things to find. Here are the ones that have popped up in 2026. If you’ve got one we don’t have, drop us a comment.

Fanduel is doing some tailgating outside of a football stadium as of 1/6/2026
Whole Foods, a Nationwide grocery store chain serving Texas and primarily the Gulf States. According to Dan H there are also stores in California and the East Coast. 1/14/2026
Olive Garden arrived on 1/27/2026 (Thank you Dan H. for the head’s up)

Are the any we missed? Drop a comment with the ones you’ve found.
(Updated 01/27/2026)

All images are TV screencaps and are copyright Roku (except Channel 6 Studios).

Channel 6 Studios is borrowed from the Simpson’s Wiki and is copyright 20th Century Television Animation

These are fair use. I make no claim on any of the images.

225 Comments

  1. the clock in the train station reminds me Hugo, from 2011.

    I also think the mansion is the haunted mansion

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  4. also, the movie theater looks a lot like the Majestic (with Jim Carrey) ✌🏻😊

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  6. what’s the big guy on the bench in the park seems like that just popped up yesterday ?

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  9. I don’t think it’s a witch hat in front of the mansion, I think it’s the paper boat from “It”. In the diner is a dinosaur from Jurassic Park, not Mike from Monster’s Inc

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  10. Ok, I can see the possibility of that being a Raptor from Jurassic Park in the Diner.

    Agree to disagree on the Hat / Boat in front of the haunted house, Wouldn’t the the object be white in front of a storm drain if it was Georgie’s boat?

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  11. Definitely Georgie’s boat and it’s white. The dark spots are just shadows to further outline the folds in the paper boat. It’s heading for the storm drain just not there yet. Doesn’t resemble a witches hat…artist would have made it taller with a little bend at the top

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  14. The creepy house is not the Disney haunted mansion. We are looking for a movie reference here. It’s the house from Psycho. That’s Alfred Hitchcock in the window.  Most of the shape of the house is there. See it here:  https://www.thestudiotour.com/wp/studios/universal-studios-hollywood/backlot/current-backlot-sets/psycho-house/

    See Disney Haunted mansion here:

    https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/haunted-mansion/gallery/25apr2023-haunted-mansion-overview.htm

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  16. ok the movie theatre has mask logos that give “Phantom of the Opera” vibes, maybe a small Easter egg?

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  18. I always thought the guitar was from Breakfast at Tiffany’s-Audrey Hepburn signing Moon river on the fire escape.

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  24. The ad you say your son is referencing Need for Speed is actually Christine from Steven King’s Christine. Need for Speed isn’t a movie and would be the only video game reference if it was for that.

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  26. The 2 cooling towers looks like the ones on The Simpsons. Left tower has an isotope on it.

    The 2 masks on the theater are happy and tragedy.

    Anyone see the 3 X’s on the lower left ad board under the soccer player?

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  28. We believe that the guitar in the window is from “The good bye girl” that Elliot left to be restrung by Paula.

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  30. That open area where the Big Financial Friend is located, is gone. I think it was replaced by the Exxon/ Mobil gas station.

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  32. In front of the train station is a trunk. Probably a reference to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

    Slightly above the Sleepless in Seattle Building is the Death Star.

    The building with the five spikes might be a reference to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis

    Somebody mentioned on another platform the blimp might be a reference to Island at the Top of the World

    The symbols on the chest of the mech are a reference to the Roku controller

    The riverboat could be a reference to Showboat

    Alcatraz could be a reference to The Rock, Escape From Alcatraz, or Birdman of Alcatraz

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  34. There’s a new building on there next to the Ghostbusters firehouse that has a neon coat hanger on the front and a saying on the wall outside: “the classics live forever”

    Not sure what that’s from but there are 3 windows with different objects in each of them that I am sure are symbolic of something. It’s driving me crazy!

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  38. The shirt in the window of Classics Live Forever is for Malcom Jamal-Warner from an episode of Cosby Show, “A Shirt Story”

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  46. In the three story building next to Anthony’s, on the second floor, right window, is the silhouette of the old man from Up.

    At least, that’s what I see.

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  51. @Hannah My best guess is to avoid potential copyright infringement. Watch the screen saver closely, although you definitely get the intent of what each thing represents, nothing is so spot on that it’s a definitive match. Roku is able to make the screen saver based on fair use for “parody” or “homage”. By having only three ninjas, Paramount can’t sue for copyright infringement.

    Why homage and parody are treated differently
    The “fair use” defense in intellectual property law is more easily applied to parody than to homage, though neither has a numerical rule.
    Parody is a critical commentary on the original work. A successful parody must mimic the original well enough to be recognizable, but alter it enough to be humorous or satirical. Courts recognize that a parody must reference the original to be effective, and this is generally protected by free speech.
    Homage, by contrast, is not a critique but a tribute. Since it honors the original, it lacks the critical and transformative purpose that strengthens a parody’s fair use claim. A tribute is more likely to be mistaken for an official product or a sponsored collaboration, which is the core concern of trademark law.

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  57. I’m thought what you said was Alfred Hitchcock’s silhouette looked like Nanny McPhee. She’s even standing how she does in the doorway – but that’s just my opinion:)

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  58. I thought the island is from treasure Island look like a treasure chest not a ball.

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  60. there’s this new mansion, is it from Wednesday?, a sub sandwich billboard now on top of Anthony’s barbers shop, and a broken down clown van in front of the field, the theater is now holding an awards ceremony, and I think this is the last one but the ❤ rc building with all the neon signs has a bunch of bears all over it

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  61. oh but wait there more, some new sports car has been seen driving around on the streets of Roku city

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  62. 2:00am ET, 9/12/25, SO many changes!!! Park near diner with clown van getting tire changed. New fancy castle with large deer with antlers sculptures out front. Roku City Theater features “AND THE AWARD GOES TO…” with golf cart out front and something circular on the back. Anthony’s Barbershop features new billboard of some type of sandwich (meatball or rib?), colored windows on building with Forrest Gump bench out front, weird appendages on warehouse building and some winged like creature spray painted on garage door. I have pictures I can send!!!

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  63. It looks like they’ve added a few new things: a castle, a new castaway island, the Lumon water tower, a golf cart in front of the movie theater, the Twisted Metal van, some weird stuff on the factory, a new building with what looks like a 7 lit up in window lights, something flying over the Golden Gate Bridge, the windows in the apartment bulidng before the barber shop have new items (maybe for Murders in the Building?)

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  64. the new spray painting on the factory is from The Last of Us, there’s also what looks like the cordyceps from the show/game growing up the side.

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  66. There’s two new cars driving the street, one has its trunk open and the other one looks to appear as a Tesla, but unsure what they’re from. Curious about the flying object above the bridge though, alongside the bowl shaped structure next to the bridge. I think the van in the park could be in correlation to John Wayne Gacy, maybe? There’s also an update to the little island in the center. There’s a man figure holding a torch surrounded by a few other torches.

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  67. I want to say the golf cart in front of the theater is for Happy Gilmore and maybe in reference to all the awards he’s won for movies?

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  68. The movie poster on the left could be White Lotus reference. The TMNturtle is peering out of the bottom of the opened garage with a Firefly painting on it. Is the Castaway Island now the Survivor island? Also who is the glamorously dressed woman on the Times Square signs?

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  71. The sandwich above the Barbershop looks like a McRib….. Now I want a McRib. I actually want 2 of them.

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  72. I think the 7 tower is a reference to the Prime Show “The Boys” and the Vought Tower/Seven Tower. The design is very similar if not the same.

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  73. ”winged like creature spray painted on garage door” is the Fireflies logo from The Last of Us.

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  74. the haunted house isn’t the bates motel or from Disney, it’s the stranger things house!!💯✌️

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  75. I’m enjoying the new Kinetic Sand billboard, speaking of, could the sandwich billboard be a McRib reference? It is getting close to that time of year!

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  76. i think there’s also a jack-o-lantern above the ghost busters car in the garage. getting ready for the spooky season ig?

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  77. the purple astion Martin is definitely DC penguins car for the new show on HBO max, same colores and it references the body in the trunk when open.

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  78. Thank you, Bobby, for The Rehearsal reference for the van…I don’t know why I thought it was the Twisted Metal one…they’re so very different!

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  79. I’m new here and here are my thoughts:

    1. I think the cat (which has since wandered off) isn’t Salem but rather the cat from Pet Semetary. The stance and ominous aura seem more apt.
    2. The clown van could be a reference to It: Welcome to Derry which is coming out soon.
    3. the sandwich could be a reference to the Bear
    4. The apartment color windows I think is almost certainly Only Murders since those colors are used in the opening theme to correspond to the 3 main character’s apartment windows. Also, Steve Martin’s character wears a similar hat.
    5. The castle with the stags is 100% Ardross Castle, the filming location for The Traitors show. It has the right look and the 2 stags.
    6. the hanging hook and chain in the Factory is from the end of Terminator 2!

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  80. came here to whine and cry about the haunted house being gone and replaced with castle. The French Second Empire Italianate complete with mansard roof was my comfort zone. Everything changes ….but why! Boohoo. Even tried finding complaints form on Roku forums. Alas, I could advertise and pay to have it reinstalled.

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  81. Given that all these new additions are TV rather than movie references, and the Emmys tonight, they are likely all nominees. That would link the U-wing to Andor and the woman’s silhouette on the electronic billboard building is probably RuPaul.

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  83. One more… Mansion with deer sculptures is “Traitors”. I don’t know this show, but I knew it didn’t look like the Addams house so I checked other nominees.

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  84. The new poster on the right of the theater is definitely for the show Shrinking.

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  85. The billboard with the blonde in the pink dress is not RuPaul, but Trixie Mattel! She is the second most popular and influencial drag queen, RuPaul reigning #1 of course. I even found a promo photo of her that matches almost perfectly from a competition show she judge on called Queens of the Universe. I am 100% percent certain that it is her. Prior to finding this picture, the silhouette and style had her essence.https://share.google/images/tEmhxU9TiETZj77uH

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  86. All changes from 9/12 are gone — everything’s back to normal on my tv. Except, there’s a new van riding around with “AGZzz” on it, with a moon and clouds on top! I guess everything changed for the Emmy’s (thanks to whoever’s comment that was that pulled everything together). Boooo! I want new buildings and cars and references!

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  88. Just woke up and everything is back to normal! I liked the Emmy’s changes. Booo! There’s a new van riding around that say “AGZzz”

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  89. The reason I went with RuPaul is because I know Drag Race was a nominee. Trixie was a presenter at the Creative Arts Emmys, but not nominated. I don’t know if that counts. As far as I could see, all 9/12 eggs were Emmy nominees.

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  91. The park and clown van have been replaced by Nani/Lilo’s house with Stitch and his crashed stolen spaceship in front. Most everything else has been returned to “standard” settings. Movie posters, NY billboards, Gates/Addams/Munster house, etc are all back to “normal”.

    Liked by 1 person

  92. Anna beat me to it! Woke up this morning to Stitch crashed landed in front of Nani and Lilo’s house! Everything went back to normal a few days ago, but definitely enjoying Stitch while he’s there. My absolute favorite Disney character of all time!

    Liked by 1 person

  94. I got a really good photo of Stitch, but it won’t let me attach it to the forum. I can send it over via email if needed!

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  96. I just realized that the ham hock in the window for the Only Murders nod was from the fourth season, where some of the characters have this giant ham hanging in their bathroom

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  97. the building that the roku bat signal is in front of could be Wayne Tower from Batman, furthering the reference

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  102. I think the starred chair in the Robert Redford tribute represents his career as a director (and he was a great one!)

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  104. the Haunted looking house is 💯 unequivocally the Bates Motel from Psycho. The trunk in front of the train station is Uncle Fester’s from the 90’s Addams Family movie. The spooky tree is from Poltergeist. The paddleboat, for lack of a better guess, is from Mark Twain and Me

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  106. I bet there are only three ninja turtles at the factory because Rafeal the hot head got angry, stormed off, went to fight the bad guys himself and got in trouble, and now the rest of the team has to go dig him out of his proverbial hole.

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  107. I believe the tuxedo cat to be a parody representation of the cat from 2024’s A Quiet Place: Day One. Thoughts?

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  109. My mom and I were looking at it today (10/10/25) and I noticed something that wasn’t on your list. Inside the diner in the far right window there is what looks like Derpy from K-Pop Demon Hunters to be staring out at you. I didn’t get a very good look cause one of the ad screens kept blocking it just as it appeared on the screen but I recognized the eyes. Plus it makes sense for them to add something from K-Pop Demon Hunters after all the records it’s been making.

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  110. After looking at a picture of Derpy, I agree it’s just as likely as Mike from Monsters Inc. or a raptor from Jurassic Park. I’ll add your observation.

    I did delete your identical comment.

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  111. The dinosaur is a carryover from the Summer Stroll screensaver, where it is seen poking it’s head above the wall on the Jurassic Park island. In addition, the image in the diner predates the release of KPDH. I used to think it was Mike W until I looked at the seasonals. – Dan H (just in case the site gives another random gibberish name)

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  113. Yea, not sure how that happened . The first time I joined the conversation my name was right. When I came to make a comment on 9/15 it renamed me. Not a WordPress guy, so not sure how to fix it.

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  115. I came to comment Arby’s, but I see you’re on top of it! Always so quick haha! I love this! It’s like a little game that we’re all apart of!

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  117. The theater says “Guess who’s coming to Roku City” with DL posters on it. There’s also a hot air balloon and a new billboard in regards to DL. The date says October 14, but I’m not exactly sure what DL stands for or represents. I’m going to do some research and see if I can find it!

    Liked by 1 person

  119. I actually JUST caught that and snapped pics. Sunday is my day off. Images will be up tomorrow (10/13) morning.

    THANK YOU for the heads up.

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  120. The hot air balloon changes between “DL” and Demi in spaced out lettering, as if it’s rotating!

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  121. Of course! I got excited and immediately ran to the site! Thank you for creating this space for all of us! It’s so fun!

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  122. Sitting here watching it, the red lips are also on the water tower on top of the building! I want to know what Demi is doing! I can’t find anything about October 14th for her!

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  123. Found this blog when I was trying find out what the DL on the hot air balloon and the billboard was about. Still haven’t found anything, but I did notice that if you look closely at the basket of the air balloon it looks like there is a woman singing into a microphone!!

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  124. I just found this site, thanks for all the info! My daughter was telling abt all the references recently, then today I saw the DL and was trying to figure out what it meant, somehow I completely missed the D e m i , on the hot air balloon!

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  125. The theater is a close match to the North Bend movie theater (perhaps from Twin Peaks).

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  126. I am so sad one of the Ninja Turtles got left out 😦 I wonder why they didn’t put four.

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  129. Dino – As Steve said, there are things that can’t be exactly represented due to copyright. Personally, I like to think Mikey went back home for some pizza, down the open manhole.

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  134. The image on the right hand side of the diner is The Blob from the same named movie.

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  135. as i’m laying here, watching the quiet city ( aka no updates ) while listing all the easter eggs in my head, it occurred to me… who decides to put which movie or show in the city? most of them are classics, legendary even, but some i’ve never even heard of. is it based on popularity? high ratings? and how do they decide on what object or person that will represent said movie/show. not really looking for a real answer just super curious. anyways that’s my 3am thought at 10pm 💭

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  136. According to a Google search…

    The original design work for Roku City was done by freelance graphic artist Kyle Jones, who was commissioned by Roku to create the screensaver. He drew inspiration from Art Deco architecture and incorporated numerous film and TV references into the design, which is known internally as “City Scroll: Movie Magic”. A visual quality design team at Roku now continues to work on the city’s integrations and updates.
    Original designer: Kyle Jones created the initial concept and illustrations for the screensaver, which was later nicknamed Roku City by users.
    Inspiration: Jones was inspired by Art Deco architecture, film noir, and pulp cartoons, and he embedded dozens of references to movies and TV shows within the cityscape.
    Current work: Roku’s in-house visual quality design team now manages brand integrations within Roku City, working with partners to incorporate new elements organically into the cityscape, as noted in The Hollywood Reporter.

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  137. the giant robot in the background could possibly be a Pacific rim reference but I believe it to be the iron giant

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  138. i think that the fancy castle with the deer statues out front is elsa and Anna’s castle from disney and the deer represent the familys connection to rain deer because of Christ off and Sven the rain deer

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  139. the ppuddle with the thing you thought is a wictches hat is actually the puddle and georgeys paper boat and I noticed you said you couldn’t see a storm drain so you brushed it off as a hat but if you look closely the storm drain is there ismts just a little hidden on the left of the puddle a ways it just looks like a shadow cuz it a small rectangular shape but it’s not a shadow it is the storm drain it’s just not very detailed but it is there it’s on the curb

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  140. wondering what they will use for Christmas…..Nakatomi Plaza, house from home alone, uncle Eddies RV, St Louis arch, ballon’s from thanksgiving day parade, gremlins,elf, grinch, polar express,

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  141. 2022 had a full-on Christmas/winter theme. I hoping to see some new content for Christmas this year and was surprised nothing for Halloween seemed to be on the street.

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  142. I have always thought the sailboat in the puddle was from Stewart Little. Also, the island that seems like Alcatraz I believe is from the movie Shutter Island.

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  147. well Roku city is pretty much back to normal with just a few elements from Zootopia 2 thrown in, the Zootopia central station, marsh market, and a donut shop

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  149. There’s a new vehicle in Roku city, I believe it’s for Landman on Paramount+

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  150. The “Godzilla kaiju” looks to be specifically Anguirus, Godzilla’s first ever opponent from 1955’s Godzilla Raids Again. He’s designed after the ankylosaurus dinosaur species, with a spiky turtle-like shell on his back.

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  151. The Weasley’s car from Chamber of Secrets is definitely my new favorite item. Love how one way it’s beaten by the womping willow, then the other direction is good condition with Hedwig in her cage in the back seat. Also they removed her cage from the train station.

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  153. There is a big donut on top of a little building now too. That is from an iron man movie.

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  154. I think the Ferris Wheel might be from “The Third Man.” There’s an important confrontation on a Ferris Wheel between Joseph Cotten and someone else (I won’t tell you who with, in case you haven’t seen it).

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  155. I am wondering what the new van is. It has a goat on top with a bunch of small circles going around the outside of a larger circle with a design in the middle. Does anyone know what it is from?

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  157. There’s a van with a goat on top. Please tell me what this is referenced with. I’ve gone reddit rabbit holes and no one can figure it out.

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  158. This is a bit long-winded because it started as a rant to my Facebook page. I left it intact as I think it might be appreciated here.

    Thursday, for the first time in a while, they added some holiday related Easter eggs that weren’t (or don’t appear to be) paid advertising. We got Ron Weasley’s flying Anglia (pre and post Whomp), and the Le Baron from Planes,Trains, & Automobiles (would have been great if they had included the fried version), each loaded with items previously at the train station. We also got an RV with a goat on the roof that I THINK is from a movie called Half Brothers. We had to do some searching on that one and it is billed as a holiday movie.

    This lasted one day, because tonight the screensaver kicks in and what do I see? Wally World (not the good one with the moose out front) has taken over the whole thing with what they’re trying to pass off as Whoville. They weren’t content with maybe putting a Walmart delivery van on the street among the other vehicles or even replacing the movie theater with a Supercenter. No, they had to obliterate the whole darned city and tear down the Whos at the same time. And I won’t even get into the whole “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet” argument because that’s just beating a dead turkey.

    Paid content as part of the City Scroll is understandable and necessary. Destroying the city and replacing it with one big ad is not. Walmart and Roku need to read the freakin’ story!
    “What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

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  160. I’m still formatting the photos of the Anglia and Le Baron from PTaA. I hadn’t seen the Goat RV. I’ll be working on documenting the WhoMart. I actually didn’t mind the Wicked Week.

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  161. @Kay, Rose, and Amanda. Alas, I haven’t seen the Goat RV. WhoMart replaced the neighborhood this morning. If anyone has a good screenshot of the Goat RV, I’ll see what I can find.

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  164. Wicked didn’t bother me as much because it was still for a movie. Turning our city into a Walmart add was a bit too much.

    Here’s a link to a pic of the “Goat van”.

    https://photo.bgw.myds.me/mo/sharing/YK2IySRqP

    I’ve never shared this way from my NAS so I hope you can retrieve it. The driver looks like he’s wearing a turban, and the guy in Half Brothers is wearing a headband which could look pretty much the same in profile.

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  166. What is this new Walmart Whoville knock off? I kind of like it, but they could have waited another week or two for it!

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  168. I just woke up to a Macy’s store on screen in Roku City, in reference to today’s, Thanksgiving Day Parade! There’s also two new vehicles driving in the city, but I haven’t pinpointed where they are from yet!

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  169. I just noticed that the Barbie van is driving around in the city as well! Still researching the two older vehicles. One has a suitcase box on the back and the other is a plain vehicle.

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  170. One of the cars is the flying car from Harry Potter! When it’s drive back from right to left, it’s all dented up as if they crashed into the tree. The suitcase car looks identical to the new John Candy documentary “John Candy: I like me”. I could be wrong, but it’s very similar! There’s a new Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade float that has been appearing every once in a while as well! Winner Winner Turkey Dinner!

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  172. @Morgyn – There aren’t all that many great Thanksgiving movies. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is right up there at the top. And I think it’s in Featured Free.

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  173. I didn’t see the parade today. Does anyone know if there is a Barbie tie-in for the van? It doesn’t seem to fit the other Thanksgiving-ish items. The goat van made more sense.

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  174. There’s a new vehicle in Roku City, a little Chewy ad, with ChewyClaus riding in his sleigh down the streets of RC!

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  177. The trunk and Harry Potters Owl have disappeared from the train station. I think the left image at the diner is the robot from The Day The Earth Stood Still, and the right is the alien from The Simpsons.

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  180. The trunk on the car, a Chysler LeBaron woodie, I’m pretty certain was a referencewooden, car on Planes Trains and Automobiles a Thanksgiving day movie.

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  182. The building near the Roku “bat signal” is the doctors building on Phineas and Ferb.

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  184. dude the guy jumping off 7″ building is john mclane and that’s the nakatomi building from diehard I’m positive

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  185. oh and the monster in diner I think is attack of the killer tomatoes not sure bout the game cabinet on right though

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  186. that is not the house from “Psycho”, the house that over looks the Bates motel is a Victorian wooden house, the house in Roku city has stone columns like that of the White House which are inspired by Greek and Roman columns.

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  187. Total Wireless has replaced Sephora as a store and the theater now reads “Hello, Carol”

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  188. In regards to “Hello, Carol” I believe it’s in reference to Howard Hamlin’s voice “Hello, Carol. This is a recording”

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  191. Here are some suggestions.

    Nuclear power plant: The China Syndrome
    Blimp: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
    The Mecha: The Iron Giant
    The submarine: Could also be from The Crimson Tide

    The Diner: The smoke behind may be The Nothing from The Neverending Story.

    Firehouse HQ: Might be Slimer in the arch.

    Times Square: Pac Man from Pixels

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  196. hi! New here on my search for the Easter eggs and found this blog! I have a picture of the hello Carol and a couple of opinions of my own! I think a lot of this really really is spot on and it answered some questions that I had for sure!

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  197. okay so I think that the creature in the diner is toothless from the new how to train your dragon

    is it just me or the fact that there’s only three turtles odd? My husband references that there was I guess a movie maybe I don’t know when but it was about one turtle being out on his own. But I also think he could be in that open sewer directly below.

    also I think the cat in the alley with the glowing eyes could possibly be Hedwig next to the diner.

    I have to say that I think the water with the paper boat or bad witch hat is more than likely the paper boat because the witches hat in wizard of Oz is way taller way pointier but I could see how it could just be either way.

    in front of the factory where it could be possibly from Charlie and the chocolate factory I also could almost say that it’s the penguins hat and cane but again this is a matter of perspective and it could be either but when you associate the times square billboards and there’s a soda bottle with bubbles that are floating it reminds me of Charlie and the chocolate factory floating drink I can’t remember what it was but that made you float for Charlie and his grandpa

    I also think the advertisement on the times square signs at the bottom that looks like it could definitely be for need for speed but with the floating F1 the movie it could be a reference to that as well

    I haven’t figured out how to upload pictures except for pasting a URL and not quite sure how to do that but the lady in the tramp scenery in the alley behind the table why does it look like a mirror like a bathroom mirror or a wall with a mirror? Any ideas

    and for the apartment peeping Tom reference I personally haven’t seen whatever show that’s from but it looks a lot like the screaming Man painting by Edvard Munch.

    And I was wondering where I thought it was a parrot in a cage but it’s not on my screen anymore since the update in the train station but now that the Harry Potter car is floating around with the owl in it I’m not quite as sure!

    and yeah it definitely looks like Alfred Hitchcock in the haunted house

    at the top floor of the apartment above the Italian restaurant there’s a man and a woman’s curvaceous leg sticking straight out what is that?

    oh and back to the times square reference I think it’s like the new FIFA video game reference or it could very well just be the FIFA cup games going on

    thanks for taking any time to consider question discuss any of these and if somebody could help me please figure out how to upload images without copying a URL!

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  198. all right I’m not sure why this just jumped out at me out of the 90 billion times I’ve seen this screen and tried to figure it out until I found this blog but next to the avengers Tower or whatever you want to call it and in between the Golden gate bridge starting by Godzilla it looks like devil’s peak from close encounters of the third kind!

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  200. Ariel, Glad you found us.

    The reason for three turtles in stead of four is probably for copyright purposes.

    The woman’s leg sticking straight out is a definite call out to the 1967 film “The Graduate”

    If you have any photos you want to send along, vulcanstev (shift 2) hotmail (dot) com

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  201. Looked at the screensaver today and noticed that the Barbie vehicle was re-added, which is probably the first time a sponsor has re-appeared (12/24/25)

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  203. Wicked For Good is back on my screen! I didn’t pay much attention to it last time, but there are an extraordinary amount of details in this advertisement. I wish they did stuff like this for older movies, not just newer ones. I’m enjoying the full screen takeovers!

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  204. first I think Cheshire Cat is in the diner, his eyes and shaped head kinda look like him.

    and creation of Adam was art by Michelangelo not Leonardo

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  206. First, we got a Whole Foods! Roku City can now eat healthy while being irradiated by the Springfield Nuclear Plant, and charred by the local dragon and kaiju team.

    Second, a TV station complete with news van and local weather widget on the front of the building. In my case it isn’t very local so it makes me wonder if everyone is seeing this, or if a station in my area paid for placement.

    I’m too busy to research it today so I’ll leave it in the capable hands of the hive mind, though the Pluribus reference is gone.

    Happy Tuesday!

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  207. Dan,

    I just checked my city scroll. Neither of those are showing up here. Can you send screen shots of both vulcanstev (at) hotmail (dot) com

    Also let me know what area of the country you’re in. It’ll help my research.

    STEVe

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  208. Sent pics. I’m in Southwest Florida, about 45 minutes south of the location in the temperature widget.

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  209. I find it odd that no one has mentioned the return of the FanDuel stadium (surely playoff/Superbowl related), and now it seems like not everyone may be seeing every change, so so I’ll add that it’s been back for several days now.

    Also, on an unrelated note, the way Hedwig and Del’s trunk returned to the train station after the holidays reminds me of an episode of Night Gallery where people spend a year trying to get rid of a trunk in their house (during which time it does terrible things). A dead relative finally comes to remove it and they think they’re free of it, only to have it show up again the next day.

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  212. Wow! I completely missed the Simpsons reference. There is a channel called 6 News Now here. It’s in Sarasota, but close enough to Punta Gorda that I figured it was them. There’s even a pic on the Simpsons Wiki that includes very similar news vans. I think it’s really funny that your weather just happens to be coming out of Springfield.

    BTW – Whole Foods is nationwide, not just Gulf Coast, though Florida does seem to have more than its share. California and the Northeast are crawling with them.

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  213. @Dan, Springfield is the largest metropolitan area from where I’m physically sitting, Queen City of the Ozarks. That said, there are 93 populated places named Springfield in the U.S., according to the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey), though counts vary with definitions, with 34 confirmed towns/cities in 25 states, while other sources cite around 41 cities/towns or more locations including townships and neighborhoods, debunking the myth that every state has one, as Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, etc., don’t have a Springfield.

    Now I’m curious if any other real life Springfields have a local Channel 6. I do plan to continue the deep dive and check what other Channel 6s use that font for their logo.

    Regarding Whole Foods, I briefly stopped by their website and took away that Whole Foods was a nation-wide company but used different store names outside of the Gulf Coast. Thank you for the clarification. I’ll update the article.

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  214. It gets crazier when you throw in the fact that these legacy stations are no longer on those low number VHF frequencies. We have an ABC affiliate here, ABC 7, that broadcasts on channel 26 but keeps the 7 for brand recognition, or maybe because there used to be a stigma associated with being on, God forbid, UHF. Good hunting to you.

    Back to the channel 6 in the city scroll – It eventually adjusted location and got our town. That could have been related to the Verizon outage. Also, we have 3 Roku TVs (2 Hisense, 1 TCL) and an Ultra. While Whole Foods has popped up on all of them, channel 6 has only appeared on the standalone Roku Ultra. What’s your device situation?

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  215. Yeah, TV stations keeping the old VHF channel numbers is definitely part of brand recognition even though they are no longer using those frequencies. Much like radio stations use their frequency as part of the ID over the call letters.

    We have one Roku TV and one Roku Stick. The TV is currently running the Space Scroll (getting ready for a new Roku post). The Stick still hasn’t showed Whole Foods, I’m crossing my fingers that Channel 6 is a permanent addition.

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  216. I’m thinking Channel 6 is a reference to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The character April O’Neil is a reporter for Channel 6 News, which is prominently featured in various TMNT media, and she drives a news van much like the one seen in Roku City. They even made toy of the Channel 6 News van. 

    The city shown on the building for my screen is a smallish town that sometimes shows as the location of my internet service provider. That town has no news stations of its own and is not within range of any Channel 6 stations. So I think that is just showing the city and weather for your own area via your ISP, rather than any real-life Channel 6 station.

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  217. Agreed, the new TV Station on the Street is a double reference. The “6” logo is the same is the Simpsons Channel 6 and that news van sure does look similar to April O’Neil’s

    Also agreed that the weather is for your local area as defined by your ISP. I’m just curious how many Channel 6s there are Nationwide that use that style 6 for their logo. (Check the Deep Dive article)

    Roku City Channel 6 (Deep Dive)

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  219. I’ve been missing out lately! I did see the Whole Foods on my screen recently. I’m now seeing the Channel 6 van for the first time and I’m in Central Florida on the east coast of the state! It shows my city and the temperature outside currently. Glad to read that it’ll be staying! I like it!

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  220. Well, the CordCutter’s article may have overstated things a little, at least for the time being, since I see no weather related changes outside the billboard itself, which is still a pretty cool feature to have.

    I see that Whole Foods has left us. New businesses don’t seem to last very long in Roku City. Maybe it’s because the same three customers are perfectly happy to stay at the diner 24/7 and no one else ever leaves their cars. Maybe it’s that creepy factory where no one ever enters or leaves.

    Perhaps I’m taking this a bit too seriously? It’s just a screensaver and I should just relax.

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  221. The Doctor visits town, just how stable do you THINK the interspatial relationships are in town? Especially since you never know what building we’ll be walking by next. I don’t think the businesses have left, we just haven’t been able to find them again.

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  222. That would tend to explain why even the core buildings keep changing position. I didn’t consider that we have evidence of at least two time travelers in the mix. 😂

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  223. Olive Garden ha come to the city, and they deliver. Normally, big chains arriving means the local business is history, but considering the Corleone connection, I’m thinkin’ this won’t end well for Olive Garden.

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