Portlandia worth watching

Published 2:24 pm Tuesday, February 1, 2011

By now you’ve probably heard about “Portlandia,” the new IFC sketch-comedy series set in Portland.

I’ve only caught bits and pieces of the show starring Saturday Night L

ive‘s Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, who made her fame in the rock group Sleater-Kinney. But from what I’ve seen, I couldn’t stop laughing.

Part SNL, part “Strangers with Candy,” part “Mad TV,” and a bit of “Curb Your Enthusiam,” all with a definite Pacific Northwest flavor. Be prepared, the show’s humor is off-color, a bit raunchy and definitely not PC, but that’s part of what makes it fun.

The butt of many of the jokes are the sometimes awkward, often liberal, off color and offbeat inhabitants of this non-fictional fleece clad city.

William Yardley wonders in the New York Times if a city this serious can laugh at itself.

Nick Hernandez has a nice round-up on OregonLive.com, the Oregonian’s Website, capturing what critics nationwide are saying about the new six-part show.

The Vine’s Clembastow has a fun take on the show, and it’s love of birds.

You’ll probably recognize a lot of familiar folks in the characters portrayed on the show, although I think there are bits that are distinctly PDX. The show also has several guest stars. The episode I caught included Klye McLaughlin as the fictional mayor of Portland and Sam Adams, the real mayor of Portland as his assistant.

It’s the first new show in a while that’s really caught my attention. It’s also creating quite a buzz. Check it out and let me know what you think.