portlandia-cancelled-renewed-season-two-ifcWe are reviewing all the cancelled shows and renewed shows of 2011

And the year came out in its first week already giving way to a couple renewals.

IFC renews Portlandia for a second season; and it is somewhat a surprise since the show has only aired three episodes of its freshman run.

What is Portlandia About? Plot

The 6-part IFC Original short-based comedy series PORTLANDIA, created, written by and starring Fred Armisen (SNL) and Carrie Brownstein (vocalist/guitarist, WILD FLAG, Sleater-Kinney), premiered on IFC Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM ET/PT. Each episode’s character-based shorts draw viewers into “Portlandia,” the creators’ dreamy and absurd rendering of Portland, Oregon.

“I love Portlandia. It really represents so much of what I love culturally, musically and in so many other ways,” said Fred Armisen. “This started as just a fun summer activity for Carrie and me. We’d be hanging out in Portland and shooting whatever made us laugh, and that evolved into Portlandia.”

PORTLANDIA’s inhabitants include but are not limited to: the owners of a feminist book store; a militant bike messenger; an artsy couple who attach cut-outs of birds to everything (“put a bird on it!”); an organic farmer who turns out to be a cult leader; an adult hide and seek league; and a punk rock couple negotiating a “safe word” to help govern their love life.  The first episode depicts Armisen and Brownstein meeting with the Mayor of Portland (Kyle MacLachlan) who solicits the duo to write a new theme song for the city. This segment features a cameo from the real mayor of Portland (Sam Adams) playing the assistant to MacLachlan’s “mayor.” Much of the series’ original music is written and performed by Armisen and Brownstein.

An assortment of guest stars inhabit PORTLANDIA, including Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Sex & The City), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Selma Blair (Legally Blonde, Hellboy), Heather Graham (The Hangover), Edie McClurg (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Kumail Nanjiani (Michael & Michael Have Issues), Jason Sudeikis (SNL, The Cleveland Show), and Gus Van Sant (Milk). Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann also guest stars, alongside James Mercer (The Shins), and local Portland musicians Jenny Conlee and Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) and Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney).

Brownstein and Armisen spent years observing the joyous eccentricities of Portland, Oregon (when Fred was on hiatus from SNL), which spawned their “Thunderant” project, a compilation of online videos that combined their unique music styles and comedic sensibilities. Their artistic collaboration garnered an online cult following, as their “Thunderant” characters resonated with a young audience celebrating individuality, free spirit and weirdness.

Shot entirely on location in Portland, OR, the series was created and written by Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel (SNL, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!). Krisel also directs PORTLANDIA. The series is executive produced by Lorne Michaels; Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Jonathan Krisel and Broadway Video’s Andrew Singer are co-executive producers. The show is executive produced for IFC by Debbie DeMontreux, Dan Pasternack, Jennifer Caserta and Evan Shapiro.

What do you think? Are you happy that Portlandia gets renewed by IFC for a second season?

Will you watch it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

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