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Portlandia

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Portlandia
File:Portlandia.png
GenreSatire
Sketch comedy
Created byFred Armisen
Carrie Brownstein
Jonathan Krisel
StarringFred Armisen
Carrie Brownstein
Opening theme"Feel It All Around" by Washed Out
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes7 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersLorne Michaels[1]
Carrie Brownstein
Fred Armisen
Allison Silverman[2]
ProducersJonathan Krisel
Andrew Singer
Production locationsPortland, Oregon
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesBroadway Video Television
IFC Original Productions
Original release
NetworkIFC
ReleaseJanuary 21, 2011 (2011-01-21) –
present

Portlandia is a television series that debuted on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) on January 21, 2011.[3] The show, produced by Andrew Singer and Jonathan Krisel, is set and filmed both in and near Portland, Oregon and features Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, formerly of Sleater-Kinney[1] and current lead guitarist/singer for Wild Flag.[4]

The name Portlandia refers to the sculpture of the same name above the entrance of the Portland Building on Fifth Avenue in downtown Portland.[5] The statue also appears in the opening montage title sequence.

Episodes

Main article: List of Portlandia episodes

Production

Conception and development

Brownstein and Armisen first met in the early 2000s and began collaborating on a comedy series of sketches for the Internet in 2005, under the name Thunderant. The sketches became increasingly Portland-centric, with premises ranging from irate diners at a popular Hawthorne District restaurant registering ridiculous complaints on the review website Yelp!, to a character's disastrous one-man performance at the city's Hollywood Theatre.[6]

In July 2009, the duo pitched their idea for a full-fledged sketch comedy show to IFC and Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video production company, and the project was quickly approved.[6]

Filming and production

The series is set and filmed in Portland, Oregon. Production for the first season, consisting of six episodes, began in August 2010 and was completed in September 2010.[7] The budget for the first season was set at less than $1 million (US).[6] Along with Allison Silverman, a former head writer and executive producer for The Colbert Report and Portlandia director Jonathan Krisel, Armisen and Brownstein wrote the sketches that appear in the first six episodes. Lorne Michaels served as executive producer.[2]

The series stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein in various roles. Guest stars include Selma Blair, Steve Buscemi, Aimee Mann, Sarah McLachlan, Heather Graham, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Sudeikis, Gus Van Sant, and Kyle MacLachlan, as the mayor of Portland. Two episodes also feature real Portland mayor Sam Adams as an assistant to MacLachlan's fictional mayor.[3][8] Another episode including a music festival similar to Portland's MusicfestNW featured a rock band played by Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, James Mercer of The Shins, and Brownstein's former Sleater-Kinney bandmate Corin Tucker, as well as an indie guitarist played by Decemberist Jenny Conlee.[9]

On February 14, 2011, a second season of ten episodes was ordered and began airing in January 2012.[10]

A city skyline at day, with a bridge and river in the forefront and the cityscape and partly cloudy sky in the background.
Portland, Oregon, the city in which the series is set and filmed

Reception

The show has received mostly positive reviews, with Metacritic tallying a "generally favorable review" of 71 out of 100.[11] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times called the show "funny and charming".[12] Contrarily, Brian Lowry, writing for Variety, noted the show was "clearly on a shoestring budget", and said it featured an "array of tiresome characters" that provided "further proof not everyone deserves a sketch comedy showcase — especially when the premise cuts no deeper than vignettes inspired by the wheat-germy, hippie-ish environs of Portland, Ore."[13] IFC "cheered" the first episode's Nielsen ratings of 263,000 viewers (live plus same day); factoring in repeats and three days' worth of DVR viewings, the number grew to 725,000, a figure that doesn't include an estimated 500,000 online preview viewings on IFC.com, Hulu and YouTube during the days before the official IFC premiere.[14]

Portland mayor Sam Adams, who also appeared on the show, proclaimed January 21, 2011 Portlandia Day. The proclamation included a decorative bird, referencing a joke in the TV series.[15] A bicycle tour company began offering Portlandia tours.[16]

DVD release

Portlandia: Season One was released on Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray on December 6, 2011. The one disc set consists of all 6 episodes of season one. Special features include; Extended Scenes, Bloopers, An IFC Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, "Thunder Ant" Sketches and Audio Commentary by Armisen and Brownstein.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b Owen, Rob (August 6, 2010). "IFC announces new TV series 'Portlandia,' filmed and set in Portland". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "SNL Fans Prepare for 'Portlandia'". Independent Film Channel. August 6, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Turnquist, Kristi (September 9, 2010). "IFC's 'Portlandia' crew says joke won't be on our fair city". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  4. ^ "I Have a New Band". NPR: All Songs Considered. NPR. September 22, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  5. ^ "Portlandia, the TV Show". Portland, Oregon: KOIN. September 13, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Aaron, Mesh (3 November 2010). "Mock Star – Carrie Brownstein is Making Fun of You". Willamette Week. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  7. ^ "Portlandia, the TV Show". KOIN News. KOIN. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  8. ^ Mesh, Aaron (September 9, 2010). "Portlandia Shooting Fake MusicfestNW at MusicfestNW". Willamette Week. City of Roses Newspapers. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  9. ^ "News Slightly Less Insidery Than Portlandia". Willamette Week. City of Roses Newspapers. September 15, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  10. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (14 February 2011). "IFC Orders Second Season of 'Portlandia'". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  11. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/tv/portlandia/season-1
  12. ^ Lloyd, Robert; Critic, Television (January 21, 2011). "Television review: 'Portlandia'". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ Lowry, Brian (January 19, 2011). "Onion News Network, Portlandia". Variety. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  14. ^ "IFC Cheers Ratings, Views Of 'Onion' 'Portlandia'". Multichannel News. January 27, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  15. ^ Maerz, Melissa (30 January 2011). "For the birds? 'Portlandia' lovingly pokes fun at Portland, Ore". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  16. ^ Rose, Joseph (25 January 2011). "Portland company offers 'Portlandia bike rides'". The Oregonian. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  17. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Portlandia-Season-1/16032
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