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Portlandia

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Portlandia
An image of a city skyline in daytime. White text reads "Portlandia".
GenreComedy
Satire
Sketch
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 seasons4
No. of episodes37 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersLorne Michaels
Jonathan Krisel
Andrew Singer
Production locationsPortland, Oregon
Camera setupSingle camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesBroadway Video
IFC Original Productions
Original release
NetworkIFC
ReleaseJanuary 21, 2011 (2011-01-21) –
present

Portlandia is a satirical sketch comedy television series, set and filmed in and around Portland, Oregon; it stars Carrie Brownstein (lead guitarist/singer for Wild Flag and Sleater-Kinney) and former Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen.[1] The show is produced by Andrew Singer, Lorne Michaels and David Allen Cress for Broadway Video Television and IFC Original Productions. It was created by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, along with Jonathan Krisel, who directs it. It debuted on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) on January 21, 2011.[2] The series is currently in its fourth season and has been signed on for a fifth season.[3] The show is scripted, but also heavily improvised.

The show shares its title with the sculpture of the same name that sits above the entrance of the Portland Building on Fifth Avenue in downtown Portland,[4] which appears in the show's title sequence. The show has won a Peabody Award.

Production

Conception and development

Brownstein and Armisen first met in 2003 and began collaborating on a series of comedy 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.[5]

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.[5]

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.[6] The budget for the first season was set at less than $1 million (US).[5] 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.[7]

Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen, stars of the show.

The series stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein in various roles. Guest stars include Olivia Wilde, Selma Blair, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Aimee Mann, Sarah McLachlan, Heather Graham, Michael Nesmith Aubrey Plaza, Kumail Nanjiani, Jason Sudeikis, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.,Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age[8] Gus Van Sant, Tim Robbins, Martina Navratilova, Jeff Goldblum, Jack White and Kyle MacLachlan as the mayor of Portland. Portland mayor Sam Adams is also featured as an assistant to MacLachlan's fictional mayor.[2][9] 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, Brownstein's former Sleater-Kinney bandmate Corin Tucker, Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, and Decemberist Jenny Conlee.[10]

On February 14, 2011, a second season of ten episodes was ordered; it began airing in January 2012.[11] On March 21, 2012, it was officially announced by IFC that the series had been renewed for a third season.[12] On June 12, 2013, IFC announced that Portlandia was renewed for fourth and fifth season of 10-episodes each, to be aired in early 2014 and 2015.[13]

Episodes

Main article: List of Portlandia episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
16January 21, 2011 (2011-01-21)February 25, 2011 (2011-02-25)
210January 6, 2012 (2012-01-06)March 9, 2012 (2012-03-09)
311December 14, 2012 (2012-12-14)March 1, 2013 (2013-03-01)
410February 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)May 1, 2014 (2014-05-01)
510January 8, 2015 (2015-01-08)March 12, 2015 (2015-03-12)
610January 21, 2016 (2016-01-21)March 24, 2016 (2016-03-24)
710January 5, 2017 (2017-01-05)March 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
810January 18, 2018 (2018-01-18)March 22, 2018 (2018-03-22)

28 episodes of Portlandia have been produced and aired for the show's first three seasons, as well as a one hour-long special.

Reception

Jonathan Krisel, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Lorne Michaels at the Peabody Awards.

Portlandia debuted on IFC on January 21, 2011.[14] 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 does not include an estimated 500,000 online preview viewings on IFC.com, Hulu and YouTube during the days before the official IFC premiere.[15] As of May 1, 2012 the series was available to watch on Netflix in Ireland and the UK.[16]

The show has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. Review aggregator site Metacritic has given the first season a rating of 71 out of 100, and the second season a rating of 75 out of 100. Both of these ratings fall within in the site's range of "generally favorable reviews".[17][18] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times called the show "funny and charming."[19] Verne Gay of Newsday awarded the series an "A" grade and called it "hilarious". He noted that "Brownstein and Armisen move so effortlessly between characters, then execute their riffs, tics, styles and voices with such skilled abandon that before long this doesn't seem like satire any longer but a fun house mirror reflection of intensely real people."[20] Contrarily, Brian Lowry, writing for Variety, noted that the show was "clearly on a shoestring budget," and said that 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."[21]

In 2012, Broadway Video and IFC were recognized as winners for the 71st Annual Peabody Awards; Portlandia was praised for its "funhouse mirror reflection of Portland" and "satire [that] is fresh, organic and cage-free."[22] Portlandia won an Emmy Award in 2011 for Outstanding Costumes for a Variety Program or Special, and was also nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards.[23] Portland mayor Sam Adams, who also appeared on the show, proclaimed January 21, 2011 Portlandia Day. The proclamation included a decorative bird, referring to a joke in the TV series.[24] A bicycle tour company began offering Portlandia tours.[25]

Home video release

Portlandia: Season One was released on Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray on December 6, 2011, and Region 4 on August 1, 2012. The one disc set consists of all six episodes of its first season. Special features include; Extended Scenes, Bloopers, An IFC Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, "Thunder Ant" Sketches and Audio Commentary by Armisen and Brownstein.[26][27]

Portlandia: Season Two was released on Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray on September 25, 2012, and Region 4 on August 7, 2013. The two disc set consists of all ten episodes of season two. Special features include; "Portlandia: the Tour: Seattle" Featurette, "Inside Portlandia" Featurette, "Feminist Bookstore" Deleted Scene, "Brunch Village: the Director's Cut", Excerpt from the Portlandia book and Audio Commentary by Armisen, Brownstein and Krisel.[28]

There is also a combination set of both seasons available.[29] Portlandia was also distributed in some countries on the iTunes store, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.[30]

References

  1. ^ "I Have a New Band". NPR: All Songs Considered. NPR. September 22, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "'Portlandia' Gets Two More Seasons". Huffington Post. June 12, 2013.
  4. ^ "Portlandia, the TV Show". Portland, Oregon: KOIN. September 13, 2010. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2010. The series gets its name from the Raymond Kaskey sculpture above the entrance of the Portland Building on Fifth Avenue.
  5. ^ a b c Aaron, Mesh (November 3, 2010). "Mock Star – Carrie Brownstein is Making Fun of You". Willamette Week. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  6. ^ "Portlandia, the TV Show". KOIN News. KOIN. September 13, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  7. ^ "SNL Fans Prepare for 'Portlandia'". Independent Film Channel. August 6, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  8. ^ http://www.ifc.com/shows/portlandia/blog/2014/04/josh-homme-is-a-disappointing-gay-man-on-portlandia
  9. ^ Mesh, Aaron (September 9, 2010). "Portlandia Shooting Fake MusicfestNW at MusicfestNW". Willamette Week. Movies & Television. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  10. ^ "News Slightly Less Insidery Than Portlandia". Willamette Week. Scoop. September 15, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  11. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (February 14, 2011). "IFC Orders Second Season of 'Portlandia'". The New York Times. Arts Beat. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  12. ^ "'Portlandia' Renewed for Third Season". Rolling Stone. March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 12, 2013). "'Portlandia' Renewed For Seasons 4 & 5". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  14. ^ "Portlandia Season 1, Ep. 1 'Farm'". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  15. ^ "IFC Cheers Ratings, Views Of 'Onion' 'Portlandia'". Multichannel News. January 27, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  16. ^ "Portlandia Comes Only to Netflix in the UK and Ireland, and the first season is available in the US". Netflix. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  17. ^ "Portlandia – Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic.com. January 21, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  18. ^ "Portlandia – Season 2 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic.com. January 21, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  19. ^ Lloyd, Robert; Critic, Television (January 21, 2011). "Television review: 'Portlandia'". Los Angeles Times.
  20. ^ Gay, Verne (January 19, 2011). "'Portlandia' is a Hoot of Satire". Newsday. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  21. ^ Lowry, Brian (January 19, 2011). "Onion News Network, Portlandia". Variety. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  22. ^ "Complete List of Recipients of the 71st Annual Peabody Awards". The University of Georgia. April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012. A funhouse mirror reflection of Portland, Oregon, a city that takes its progressivism—and its diet—very seriously. The satire is fresh, organic and cage-free.
  23. ^ "IFC Original Comedy Series "Portlandia" Nominated for Two Emmy(TM) Awards". The Futon Critic. July 19, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  24. ^ Maerz, Melissa (January 30, 2011). "For the birds? 'Portlandia' lovingly pokes fun at Portland, Ore". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  25. ^ Rose, Joseph (January 25, 2011). "Portland company offers 'Portlandia bike rides'". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  26. ^ "Announcement for Portlandia – Season 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. May 25, 2007. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  27. ^ http://www.ezydvd.com.au/DVD/portlandia-series-1/dp/6116091
  28. ^ Lambert, David (June 27, 2012). "Portlandia – Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein in 'Season 2' for DVD and Blu". TVShowsOnDVD. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  29. ^ Lambert (September 19, 2012). "Portlandia - Official Press Release for 'Season 2' on DVD, Blu-ray (and Combo S1/S2 DVD)". TVShowsOnDVD. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  30. ^ See the search indexes of the iTunes store and of Amazon.com, accessed 2012 10 1
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