Best tv shows like Portlandia
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Satirical sketch comedy set and filmed in Portland, Oregon that explores the eccentric misfits who embody the foibles of modern culture.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, not serious, realistic, parody, hilarious, dark comedy, funny, sitcom, creepy
Best tv shows and movies like Portlandia (2011):
Similar in 75%
Super Dave (1987)
Plot Summary:
Super Dave is a Canadian/American variety show starring and hosted by the fictional character Super Dave Osborne. It ran from 1987 to 1991 on Showtime in the US and the Global Television Network in Canada. Super Dave was spun off from the sketch comedy series Bizarre, which featured Bob Einstein in recurring roles, including Super Dave. Super Dave made his first appearance on the 1972 TV series The John Byner Comedy Hour. Einstein then regularly played the character on the short-lived 1976 variety show Van Dyke and Company starring Dick Van Dyke.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 717
Genere: Comedy
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: parody, humorous, realistic, not serious, sitcom, spoof, sketch comedy
Similar in 86%
Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday (2008)
Plot Summary:
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday is an American limited-run series broadcast on NBC. It is a political satire news show spin-off from Saturday Night Live, featuring that show's "Weekend Update" segment. It initially ran for three 30-minute episodes in October 2008, during the lead-up to the 2008 United States presidential election.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 960
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: parody, humorous, not serious, clever, witty, talky, realistic, biting, spoof, sketch comedy
Similar in 84%
The Ben Stiller Show (1992)
Plot Summary:
The Ben Stiller Show is the name of two sketch comedy television shows that aired on MTV from 1990 to 1991, and then on Fox from September 1992 to January 1993. The Fox show stars Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk. Character actor John F. O'Donohue also appeared in every episode. It featured numerous filmed comedy segments, many of which parodied mid-1980s to early 1990s pop-culture. Despite mostly positive reviews, Fox canceled the series after only 12 episodes, due to low ratings. Unlike most sketch comedy shows, The Ben Stiller Show did not use a studio audience or a laugh track. This was the only Fox sketch comedy program not to use a laugh track. The semi-spinoff, The Andy Dick Show, used the same format. After cancellation, the series won the 1993 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Series.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 306 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, sitcom, parody, spoof, slapstick comedy, alternative comedy, fake documentary, cult film
Similar in 77%
Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979)
Plot Summary:
Attention, comedy fans: NOT THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS is the real thing. This is scathing, no-holds-barred Brit humor at its best. Rapid-fire skits starring Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) are as politically incorrect as they are side-bustingly funny, sparing no one as they take on the British Royal Family, Margaret Thatcher, Scotland Yard, country music, Christianity, devil worship, punk rock and bathroom etiquette. NOT THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS is so irreverent that when the pilot was due to air in April 1979, the BBC cancelled it due to its incendiary political content. When at last it aired, the greatest comedy group to hit England since Monty Python's Flying Circus stormed the airwaves and revolutionized British and American television alike. Discover the show that set the standard for the anarchic cynicism that defined the alternative comedy of the 80's.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, political, sitcom, parody, realistic, witty, not serious, spoof, vintage
Similar in 88%
The Big Gay Sketch Show (2006)
Plot Summary:
A sketch-comedy series featuring a cast of up-and-coming comics performing live skits, musical numbers and political satire.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 458
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: parody, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, sketch comedy, offbeat, spoof, live comedy, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Z Rock (2008)
Plot Summary:
Z Rock is an American television series, which airs on the IFC in the United States. The show is a semi-scripted comedy and is based on the double life of a Brooklyn band, ZO2. By night, they are a hard rock band but to pay the bills, they are the Z Brothers by day, playing kiddie parties. ZO2 consists of brothers Paulie Z, David Z and their childhood friend Joey Cassata. The series is filmed and produced in New York City by Mark Mark Productions.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 414
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, not serious, sitcom, offbeat
Similar in 87%
The Richard Pryor Show (1977)
Plot Summary:
The Richard Pryor Show is an American comedy variety series starring Richard Pryor. It premiered on NBC on Tuesday, September 13, 1977 at 8 p.m. opposite ABC's popular television shows Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. The show was produced by Rocco Urbisci for Burt Sugarman Productions. It was conceived out of a special that Pryor did for NBC in May 1977. Because the special was a major hit, both critically and commercially, Pryor was given a chance to host and star in his own television show. TV Guide included the series in their 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 446
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, exciting, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, biting, parody, spoof, black comedy
Similar in 79%
Little Britain (2003)
Plot Summary:
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas. The show's title is an amalgamation of the terms 'Little England' and 'Great Britain', and is also the name of a Victorian neighbourhood and modern street in London. The show comprises sketches involving exaggerated parodies of British people from all walks of life in various situations familiar to the British. These sketches are presented to the viewer together with narration in a manner which suggests that the programme is a guide—aimed at non-British people—to the ways of life of various classes of British society. Despite the narrator's description of great British institutions, the comedy is derived from the British audience's self-deprecating understanding of either themselves or people known to them.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, parody, humorous, witty, cynical, not serious, sitcom, funny, political, controversial
Similar in 80%
A Bit of Fry and Laurie (1987)
Plot Summary:
A Bit of Fry & Laurie is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series and totalled 26 episodes, including a 35 minute pilot episode in 1987. As in The Two Ronnies, elaborate wordplay and innuendo were staples of its material. It frequently broke the fourth wall; characters would revert into their real-life actors mid-sketch, or the camera would often pan off set into the studio. In addition, the show was punctuated with non-sequitur vox pops in a similar style to those of Monty Python's Flying Circus, often making irrelevant statements, heavily based on wordplay. Laurie was also seen playing piano and a wide variety of other instruments and singing comical numbers.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, sketch comedy, clever, witty, funny, multicultural, hilarious, mind blowing, realistic, not serious
Similar in 78%
Saturday Night Live (1975)
Plot Summary:
A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 52000
Genere: Comedy, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, parody, not serious, witty, talky, sitcom, skit, hilarious, epic
Similar in 90%
Da Ali G Show (2000)
Plot Summary:
BAFTA Award-winning Da Ali G Show is back, and this time Ali G gets to take on America. Ali G In Da USAiii, nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys, stars Sacha Baron-Cohen. The series, filmed in the USA for HBO and Channel 4, brings to life three unique characters: Ali G; Borat, the naive television reporter from Kazakhstan; and Bruno, a camp Austrian fashion reporter.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, cynical, not serious, sitcom, funny, parody, controversial, sketch comedy, political
Similar in 82%
Important Things with Demetri Martin (2009)
Plot Summary:
Important Things with Demetri Martin is a sketch-variety show that aired on Comedy Central starring comedian Demetri Martin. Each episode examined a single theme, the "important thing", such as timing, power, control and money. All sketches, short vignettes, animated segments and stand-up comedy were loosely related to the theme of the episode. The show was produced by Jon Stewart's Busboy Productions, and contains stand-up, prop comedy and musical comedy by Martin, as well as taped sketches. Jon Stewart took an active role in editing the first few episodes.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, witty, clever, not serious, sketch comedy, parody, offbeat, talky, independent film
Similar in 87%
Mind of Mencia (2005)
Plot Summary:
Mind of Mencia was an American television comedy series on the cable channel Comedy Central. Hosted by Carlos Mencia, it aired from 2005 to 2008.
IMDB Rating: 3.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, realistic, witty, not serious, parody, funny, humorous, sitcom, spoof, hispanic
Similar in 86%
Flight of the Conchords (2007)
Plot Summary:
The trials and tribulations of a two man, digi-folk band who have moved from New Zealand to New York in the hope of forging a successful music career. So far they've managed to find a manager (whose "other" job is at the New Zealand Consulate), one fan (a married obsessive) and one friend (who owns the local pawn shop) -- but not much else.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 65000
Genere: Comedy, Music, Musical
Country: USA, New Zealand
Duration: 28 min
Plot tags: surreal, sitcom, humorous, funny, atmospheric, hilarious, mystical, light, thought provoking, epic
Similar in 87%
The Kids in the Hall (1988)
Plot Summary:
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States. The theme song for the show was the instrumental "Having an Average Weekend" by the Canadian band Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. The troupe made one movie, Brain Candy, which was released in 1996. The troupe reformed for various tours and comedy festivals in 2000. They released an eight-part miniseries, Death Comes to Town in January, 2010. The name of the group came from Sid Caesar, who, if a joke didn't go over, or played worse than expected, would attribute it to "the kids in the hall", referring to a group of young writers hanging around the studio.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy
Country: Canada
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, not serious, surreal, witty, funny, clever, offbeat, realistic, biting
Similar in 90%
Funny or Die Presents (2007)
Plot Summary:
Funny or Die Presents is a half-hour sketch comedy show that spawned from the comedy website Funny or Die, created by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay. It premiered on HBO on February 19, 2010. It is also currently being broadcast in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, not serious, parody, light, slapstick, offbeat, independent film, spoof, slapstick comedy
Similar in 79%
MADtv (1995)
Plot Summary:
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series based on Mad, and contained animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts as well as images of Alfred E. Neuman. Its first TV broadcast was on October 14, 1995. The one-hour show aired Saturday nights on Fox, and was in syndication on Comedy Central. In Australia the show screens on satellite and cable TV channel The Comedy Channel and in late-night timeslots on free-to-air broadcaster the Nine Network and its affiliates.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, not serious, realistic, spoof, light, feel good, cult classic, game show, parody
Similar in 76%
Key & Peele (2012)
Plot Summary:
Key & Peele is an American sketch comedy television show. It stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, both former cast members of MADtv. Each episode of the show consists of several pre-taped sketches starring the two actors, introduced by Key and Peele in front of a live studio audience.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, feel good, humorous, not serious, realistic, talky, sitcom, light, funny, epic
Similar in 85%
Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995)
Plot Summary:
Mr. Show with Bob and David is an American sketch comedy series starring and hosted by Saturday Night Live writer/actor Bob Odenkirk and stand up comedian/actor David Cross. It aired on HBO from November 3, 1995 to December 28, 1998. Cross and Odenkirk introduced most episodes as heightened versions of themselves, before transitioning to a mixture of live sketches and pre-taped segments. The show featured a number of alternative comedians as both cast members and writers, including Sarah Silverman, Paul F. Tompkins, Jack Black, Tom Kenny, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Brian Posehn, Jerry Minor, Scott Aukerman, and Dino Stamatopoulos. It was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as a Golden Satellite Award.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 27 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, sitcom, surreal, funny, absurd, cult classic, parody, offbeat, humorous, witty
Similar in 88%
The Birthday Boys (2013)
Plot Summary:
"The Birthday Boys" is a scripted original sketch comedy, executive produced by Bob Odenkirk ("Breaking Bad", "Mr. Show") and Ben Stiller ("The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", "Zoolander"). The series features the Los Angeles comedy group of the same name (UCB Theatre Los Angeles, Just for Laughs Festival) along with Odenkirk and is in the classic vein of absurd/silly/smart/funny variety shows ("Mr. Show", Monty Python), featuring sketches that twist real-life moments and cultural touchstones.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, realistic, surreal, not serious, dark comedy, skit, offbeat, independent film, slapstick comedy
Similar in 76%
Upright Citizens Brigade (1998)
Plot Summary:
The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Besser, Ali Farahnakian, Drew Franklin, Adam McKay, Roberts, Rick Roman, and Horatio Sanz. Other early members included Neil Flynn, Armando Diaz, and Rich Fulcher.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, funny, surreal, offbeat, humorous, not serious, independent film, parody, spoof, odd
Similar in 89%
Kroll Show (2013)
Plot Summary:
Kroll Show is an American sketch comedy television series created by and starring comedian Nick Kroll. Kroll, John Levenstein, and Jonathan Krisel serve as the show's executive producers. The series premiered on January 16, 2013, on the American cable television network Comedy Central.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, parody, feel good, light, captivating, skit, offbeat, realistic, not serious
Similar in 84%
Nick Swardson's Pretend Time (2010)
Plot Summary:
Nick Swardson's Pretend Time was a TV sketch comedy show created by and starring comedian and actor Nick Swardson. The show premiered on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, at 10 p.m. EST on Comedy Central and ran for two seasons, with the final first-run episode airing November 16, 2011.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 905
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, not serious, parody, light, feel good, sketch comedy, offbeat, independent film, alternative comedy
Similar in 82%
Human Giant (2007)
Plot Summary:
Human Giant is a sketch comedy show on MTV, starring writer/performers Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer and directed primarily by Jason Woliner. The show ran for two seasons. In interviews, the group has mentioned that they were offered a third season by MTV but were unable to complete it due to Ansari's commitments to the hit NBC show Parks and Recreation. However, the group has stated that MTV has left the door open for the group to complete a third season at a later date or to produce a special for the network. In 2010, Ansari, Huebel and Scheer reunited to do a skit for the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. In November 2008, The Hollywood Reporter noted the group is currently developing a feature film with Red Hour Productions, the production company run by Ben Stiller and producer Stuart Cornfeld.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, surreal, not serious, parody, funny, offbeat, independent film, fast, spoof
Similar in 85%
The Underground (2006)
Plot Summary:
The Underground was a sketch comedy series produced by and starring Damon Wayans. It aired on Showtime. Wayans describes the show as "In Living Color on steroids." In fact the show features raunchy, sexist, and racist behavior, and as Wayans states in his opening monologue, "We decided to test the limits." The description of the show information is "The future of comedy is here in Damon Wayan's hilarious and uninhibited comedy sketch show where no topic or taboo goes unturned." This mistakenly gives his last name as Wayan, rather than Wayans. Some of the notable continuing sketches and characters in the show are: ⁕Protest Stripper.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 224
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: parody, humorous, realistic, not serious, sketch comedy, offbeat, spoof, black comedy
Similar in 76%
Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969)
Plot Summary:
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a British sketch comedy series created by the comedy group Monty Python and broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines. It also featured animations by Terry Gilliam, often sequenced or merged with live action. The first episode was recorded on 7 September and broadcast on 5 October 1969 on BBC One, with 45 episodes airing over four series from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV. The show often targets the idiosyncrasies of British life, especially that of professionals, and is at times politically charged. The members of Monty Python were highly educated. Terry Jones and Michael Palin are Oxford University graduates; Eric Idle, John Cleese, and Graham Chapman attended Cambridge University; and American-born member Terry Gilliam is an Occidental College graduate. Their comedy is often pointedly intellectual, with numerous erudite references to philosophers and literary figures. The series followed and elaborated upon the style used by Spike Milligan in his ground breaking series Q5, rather than the traditional sketch show format. The team intended their humour to be impossible to categorise, and succeeded so completely that the adjective "Pythonesque" was invented to define it and, later, similar material.
IMDB Rating: 8.8
IMDB Votes: 78000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, surreal, sitcom, humorous, parody, funny, psychedelic, political, absurd, avant garde
Similar in 88%
CollegeHumor Originals (2006)
Plot Summary:
Funny sketches with crude, adult, and undeniably hilarious comedy.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: not serious, humorous, realistic, parody, light, feel good, sketch comedy, offbeat, independent film, spoof
Similar in 80%
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
Plot Summary:
The off-kilter, unscripted comic vision of Larry David, who plays himself in a parallel universe in which he can't seem to do anything right, and, by his standards, neither can anyone else.
IMDB Rating: 8.8
IMDB Votes: 139000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 28 min
Plot tags: sitcom, funny, humorous, dark comedy, witty, light, hilarious, thought provoking, feel good, epic
Similar in 84%
Stella (2005)
Plot Summary:
Stella was a short-lived television series that originally ran from June 28, 2005 to August 30, 2005 on the American television channel Comedy Central, created by and starring Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain, the three members of the sketch comedy troupe of the same name and former cast members of MTV's The State. Stella, as a comedy troupe, has existed since 1997. It has a cult following and plays to sold out shows across the USA. The show aired on Tuesdays at 10:30 PM, EST. In September, after 10 episodes, Stella's timeslot was filled by Mind of Mencia. On March 8, 2006, the following message was posted on Stella's official website: "The STELLA series was on Comedy Central last summer. The network has officially decided not to renew it for a second season," thus effectively cancelling the series. The first season DVD was released on September 12, 2006. Episodes have also been available on iTunes and Hulu and some episodes on Joost. Stella premiered in Australia on The Comedy Channel on May 3, 2007.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: parody, humorous, surreal, not serious, realistic, sketch comedy, sitcom, sexual, funny, offbeat
Similar in 89%
Documentary Now! (2015)
Plot Summary:
Loving parodies of some of the world's best-known documentaries. Each episode is shot in a different style of documentary filmmaking, and honors some of the most important stories that didn't actually happen.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: mockumentary, parody, spoof, humorous, satirical, funny, light, captivating, entertaining, anthology