Portlandia

I really, really did not want to watch this show.  My brother continually insisted that I try it, and I refused.

Ultimately, I had to give in.  Netflix kept putting it into my top 10, and if my brother and Netflix BOTH thought I'd like it, well they know me better than most people.

This show is HILARIOUS.  I don't want to go into too much detail, because I know from experience that describing the things that are so funny about the show falls flat in the ears of people who have never seen it.  That said, I laugh out loud at least once per episode, usually more than that.

Among other reasons, I did not want to watch the show because it is about Portland, which, to me, meant that it would be about hipsters.  Having lived in NYC for 10 years and continuing to read New York magazine on a regular basis, I'm completely over hearing, reading, or thinking about Brooklyn hipsters and their exhausting, micromanaged, microbrewed, and locally sourced lives.  The most dedicated Brooklyn hipsters ultimately give up city life, and move to Portland, where they live the dream into old age.  The last thing I would want to do would be to watch a show about them.

But a show making FUN of them?  Hold the phone, you might be onto something.

I love this show.  Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live) is delightful, but the best part of the show is Carrie Brownstein, whom I had never seen before, and who is HYSTERICALLY funny.  And the two of them together, I just love love love.  Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) is cute as the mayor.

Also look for hilarious cameos by such actors as Heather Graham, Selma Blair, Aimee Mann, Penny Marshall, Amber Tamblyn, and many others.

There are only 16 episodes (2 seasons) on Netflix, each of which is 22 minutes long, so it's doable in a weekend (I watched the whole lot of them in 24 hours, along with studying).

You HAVE to watch this show.

Availability: DVD and Streaming
First Aired: 2011
Can also be seen: IFC Channel