10 Best Sketch Comedy Series Of All Time

4. Portlandia

Portlandia is one of the most specific sketch comedy shows ever made.

Named after the sculpture that sits above the entrance to the Portland Building, Portlandia skewers the proto-hipster, stuck in the 1990s grunge vibe of Portland, Oregon. Alongside Jonathan Krisel, the series was created and produced by SNL alum Fred Armisen and musician Carrie Brownstein. Armisen and Brownstein also star in the vast majority of the sketches.

Portlandia is brilliantly funny and inventive with its comedy, getting a surprising amount of mileage out of its premise. The series ran for eight seasons on IFC and produced 77 episodes during that time. They built a solid group of recurring sketches and characters that provide the backbone to an amazing show.

Their greatest achievement might have been bringing in Jeff Goldblum to star as the owner of an artisanal knot store. The premise is insane, but you can actually believe the store would exist in Portland. If you've ever been there, you quickly realize that many of the jokes are more realistic than some might think.

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Ian Goodwillie is a freelance writer based out of Saskatoon, SK, Canada. He has a BA in English Literature from the University of Saskatchewan and completed the Writing Program at Vancouver Film School. More importantly, Ian is also a wrestling fan, comic book reader, video game player and photographer. He loves to write and writes about what he loves. Ian's also an unrepentant, unapologetic Cougar Town fan, a show he will defend until the day he dies.