• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Yesterday

A new animated series that takes place in Astoria, Queens, had me very optimistic.

Some time ago, I lived in Astoria for 10 years. It was a quaint, old-fashioned community in those days.

Located in the westernmost part of Queens, New York, Astoria is just across the East River from Manhattan. It was an easy commute to Grand Central Station.

The area was predominantly Greek in those days, and in second place, Italian-American. There was great food and cheap rents for more space. It was a great place to live.

Actress Aubrey Plaza apparently lived there too (not when I was there), and she liked it so much that she decided to base her new animated series -- “Kevin,” about a cat named Kevin -- in Astoria.

To my knowledge, “Kevin” is the first-ever animated TV show to be based in Astoria. Many trivia buffs are aware that Archie Bunker lived in Astoria in “All in the Family,” at the fictional address of 704 Hauser Street (the street does not exist).

If memory serves, at least two movies were filmed at least partly on the streets of Astoria -- “A Bronx Tale” (ironically) and “GoodFellas.” 

The neighborhood is also famous for being the birthplace of Tony Bennett. But to my knowledge, no cartoons.

In the eight-part “Kevin,” the titular feline is traumatized by the breakup of his owners -- Dana (voiced by Plaza, who created the series) and her boyfriend.

Deeply hurt by the breakup, Kevin runs away and takes up residence in a local animal-rescue facility. 

That’s the premise, but is it sustainable to make an eight-episode TV show out of it? The guess here is yes, but I will never likely know.

Why? Because I bailed on the show before 10 minutes had elapsed in the first episode. 

As the show opened, I was thrilled to see the 36th Avenue elevated subway stop, the one I used for most of the time I lived in Astoria.

I thought: This is great that this series is so true to its Astoria setting that it includes real-world landmarks rendered in cartoon form.

But I soon discovered that this show was not for me. It comes down to vulgarity -- an old subject for the TV Blog, and one on which I have softened over the years.

But not this time. In the show, a recurring theme is soon established around the activities and condition of this cat’s anus or “butthole,” if you will. Both words are applied in the show.

In the approximately 10 minutes I spent watching the show, I regret that I did not count the number of times that this subject came up, but the issue was raised again and again and again.

It all comes down to taste, I suppose. Some people enjoy hearing conversations about cat buttholes and some do not. Classify me in the latter category.

The theme seemed gratuitous, and “Kevin” would have been just fine without it, just like numerous other cartoon cats throughout the history of animation, including Felix, Fritz, Krazy Kat, Tom (of “Tom and Jerry”), Ren (of “Ren and Stimpy”), Scratchy (of “Itchy & Scratchy”), Sylvester, Top Cat, Courageous Cat and many more.

If any of these classic cats ever disclosed anything to the rest of us about their health, then I must have missed it. 

“Kevin” starts streaming Monday, April 20, on Amazon Prime.