# Portlandia (2011)

> A satirical sketch comedy set in Portland, Oregon that lampoons the eccentric misfits and foibles of modern culture.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/31222

## Facts

- Seasons: 8
- Episodes: 77
- Episode runtime: 22 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein
- Network: IFC
- Cast: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Chris Ihlenfeldt, Peter Giles, Justin Long, Gretchen Corbett, Greta Gerwig, Anna Gunn
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1780441/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: deadpan, wry, absurd, affectionate, irreverent

## What critics say

Audiences broadly regard the early seasons as a sharp, offbeat sketch show that skewers Portland hipster culture, with quality dipping in the later seasons.

## Synopsis

Portlandia (2011-2018) is a US sketch comedy series created by Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein for IFC. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein star across the run, playing a rotating gallery of eccentric Portland misfits, earnest service workers, activists, and self-styled artisans whose everyday routines curdle into absurdity. Rather than following one protagonist toward a goal, each short sketch sets a modern cultural foible under a magnifying glass, whether a restaurant that obsesses over provenance, a couple negotiating an overly principled lifestyle, or a local institution that takes its own identity far too seriously. The show runs eight seasons of roughly ten-episode installments, and each episode is a stack of self-contained vignettes rather than a continuing story. Its tone is deadpan, wry and affectionately mocking, with a straight-faced delivery that lets ridiculous premises land. Set in present-day Portland, Oregon, it is a satire of hipster culture, consumerism and urban self-regard, with the city itself serving as a recurring comic target. Fans of Documentary Now!, Parks and Recreation and Key and Peele will find resonance in its sketch rhythm and offbeat local humor.

## Shows like Portlandia

- [I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/75310)
- [Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995)](https://ember.film/tv/576)
- [The Kids in the Hall (1989)](https://ember.film/tv/1462)
- [Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/63503)
- [In De Gloria (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/12112)
- [The Trial (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/1105206)
- [The Fast Show (1994)](https://ember.film/tv/2410)
- [The Ben Stiller Show (1992)](https://ember.film/tv/699)
- [Documentary Now! (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/56427)
- [Broad City (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54282)

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