WASHINGTON — It’s a hobby among District of Columbia locals: Picking apart glaring geographic and architectural inaccuracies in movies and television shows set in Washington.

One of the most famous is the 1987 film “No Way Out,” where Kevin Costner escapes pursuers by taking a subway from Georgetown. No subway station has ever existed in the tony neighborhood. The opening credits of the new Amazon show “Jack Ryan” show the title character biking to work via a route that makes no geographic sense.

The reason for this disconnect is simple: Few TV shows or movies actually film in Washington. That’s something district officials are trying to change. They scored one success last summer with the filming of the Wonder Woman sequel in the district. And they have a high-profile ally in author George Pelecanos, who has set all 20 of his crime novels in the Washington area and is on a personal mission to turn the nation’s capital into a film hub.

But they have difficulties overcome.  Other cities offer more generous tax incentives. Filmmakers say Washington can be a difficult place for them —the entire district is a no-fly zone for helicopters and drones. Those seeking film permits must sometimes contend with several overlapping police forces: the district’s Metropolitan Police, National Parks Service police, the United States Capitol Police and the Secret Service.

So Washington-centric series like “House of Cards” or “Veep” typically come to the District just to shoot what locals call the “postcard shots” of the monuments or the White House, then do their principal filming elsewhere. “The Americans” was set in Washington, but filmed in Brooklyn; “NCIS” has been set in Washington for 16 seasons, but fakes the district in southern California. “The Post” was filmed in Brooklyn and “Lincoln” was filmed in Richmond, Virginia — the capital of the Confederacy.