Portlandia: Season Four

The cult sketch comedy series created by and starring Saturday Night Live alumnus Fred Armisen and former Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein has become IFC's most successful original series, carving a distinctive niche for itself in pop culture thanks to its hilarious yet affectionate satire of modern subcultures in the city of Portland, OR (which could stand in for many hip college towns). Their familiar characters are back—including feminist bookstore partners Toni and Candace (who take on the actual Portland Trailblazers and their cheer squad in one episode), and bike punk Spyke and his girlfriend, Iris—as well as Kyle MacLachlan as the enthusiastic mayor. And returning guest star Steve Buscemi takes the spotlight in an episode centering on a comic conspiracy in the cutthroat produce industry. With Armisen's comedy contacts and Brownstein's music industry connections, the pair are able to attract a great variety of guest stars (in this season: k.d. lang, Jello Biafra, Michael Nesmith, Maya Rudolph, and Kirsten Dunst, as well as Olivia Wilde as an exhibitionist eco-terrorist) who fit in well with the low-key humor and dead-on satire of Portland's collision of hipster, intellectual, yuppy, activist, foodie, and hypersensitive PC sensibilities. Presenting all 10 episodes from the 2014 fourth season, this is recommended. (S. Axmaker)