With much humor derived from some cast members of Saturday Night Live and with approval from Lorne Michaels himself, Portlandia was born. The name Portlandia refers to a sculpture with that title found over the entrance doors of the Portland Building which is situated in downtown Portland on Fifth Avenue. The show has the fast paced comedy touch that SNL is well noted for and cast members Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein help keep it moving along. With Lorne Michaels as executive producer and creative writing from Fred Armisen, Jonathan Krisel, and Carrie Brownstein the show appears to have a bright future. We see how popular restaurants along the famous Hawthorne District in Portland handle irate dinner guests when they leave rather nasty reviews on a website titled Yelp! Another episode finds how badly a one man performance can actually be at the Hollywood Theatre, a local historic building in northeast Portland. If it happens in or around Portland it might end up on the show in some fashion, most likely comedic in tone. Portlandia currently runs on the IFC (Independent Film Channel).

Called an American documentary, the TV program is hosted by comedians/magicians Penn & Teller, best known for their show in Las Vegas. Not quite a program about politics and almost akin to the exploitation of paranormal events and pseudoscientific ideas, the "BS" show has captured a large audience since first airing in 2003. The application of some critical thought into various misconceptions, in other words "critical thinking" added into the concept of "BS" which is all around us constantly, attempts to clarify some of the confusion. Such subject matter as animal rights, environmentalism, gun control, organic food, and even the war on drugs are explored and debunked by (self proclaimed) experts on a wide variety of subjects in each episode. Penn & Teller: Bullshit is popular around the globe and viewed in Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico, Denmark, Iceland, Columbia, Canada, Brazil, and Australian each week. The hosts bring up subjects not merely to "expose the truth" but show some to be misleading, overemphasized, or even unnecessary interruptions in life.

If your family drama cannot be "Modern Family" or "Brothers and Sisters," then what can it be? It almost inevitably will be NBC's "Parenthood," a mid-season, post-Olympic experiment boldly launched in February, 2010. The "Parenthood" experiment tests the hypothesis that good writers and actors can find the middle ground between "Modern Family's" understated but outrageous satire and "Brothers and Sisters'" intensity. Producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are re-working the basic premise of Parenthood, the 1989 movie starring Steve Martin as a frazzled father trying with all his might to do the right thing for everyone he loves. The New York Times accurately observes, "'Parenthood,' with its polished scripts and beautifully shot exteriors, seems like a last gasp of television past," big-big production values and a cast of small-screen all-stars including Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, and Lauren Graham. "Parenthood's" plots and dialogue exploit the irony in everyday family life, winning empathetic laughs and wry smiles where other teams might push too hard for punchlines. Some of the dialogue has the same brilliant serrated edge that distinguished "Gilmore Girls," but, as Lauren Graham points out, "I do not have to talk so fast." Like all good comedy, the teasing and quirkiness are fundamentally good-natured, and every episode features at least one weep-worthy segment. Because "Parenthood" is not "Modern Family" or "Brothers and Sisters," it has become the rarest of rare productions at NBC"”a hit.

Virginia Madsen is Cheryl West, a loyal wife and mother who happens to be married to a career criminal called Wolf West (actor David James Elliott). This puts a crimp in their social life and their four kids futures may even be in jeopardy if they can't spring dad from prison soon. A New Zealand television series titled Outrageous Fortune is the origin for this fun and fast moving American TV comedy drama. Cheryl West has four children, a set of twins named Cal and Logan plus two younger daughters Heather and Hope. They have each participated in some "shady behavior" until Wolf land in prison for a five year sentence. Mom, Cheryl, decides they must all become honest citizens in spite of good old dad's interference from inside jail. What will that do to their image? Virginia Madsen (as Cheryl West) has been in Sideways & The Astronaut Farmer is sister to actor Michael Madsen. David James Elliott starred in Jag for 10 years before joining CSI: NY in 2010 and in between he played Wolfgang "Wolf" West. The children were played by Patrick Flueger (playing both twin boys), Leven Rambin as Heather West, and Vanessa Marano as Hope West.

few months. Babies may sleep 18 hours a day but the time they are awake is never when you want it to be. They are demanding little demons who don't want to see their parents slumber when they awaken starving or with wet diapers. So they do what comes naturally to them"¦ they scream and carry on until someone comes to their aid. New parents must know they cannot win, at least not for a few years. Emily Spivey (Parks & Recreation, Saturday Night Live) created Up All Night and she apparently knows all about the problems caused by newborns in the house. Christina Applegate (Married With Children, Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead) and her husband Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Blades of Glory) are Reagan and Chris, two new parents without a clue! They bring their sweet little bundle home from the hospital and the fun begins. Also starring Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) as Reagan's best friend Ava and Nick Cannon (America's Got Talent, The Nick Cannon Show) as Calvin.

A comedy based a book with the lengthy title like House of Lies: How Managements Consultants Will Steal Your Watch And Then Tell The Time exemplifies how well some management consultants can "pull the wool" over the eyes of businesses who hire them. Created by Matthew Carnahan (writer producer of Dirt, The Fugitive) House of Lies is a biting satire with devilishly good characters that are fun to watch each week if only to see who they will "screw" next! With a stellar cast including Don Cheadle (Ocean's Eleven, Traffic) as Marty Kaan a cutthroat and highly successful consultant that goes to any lengths to help his clients, Dawn Olivieri (Takedown, Drop Dead Gorgeous) as Marty's pill popping nutty ex-wife Monica, Ben Schwartz (Everybody's Fine, The Other Guys) is Clyde Oberholt a member of Marty's team of consultants. Also starring are Kristen Bell as Jeannie Van Der Hooven, another consultant and Richard Shiff as Marty's boss. Plenty of crazy antics as the "team" go about getting information for their clients by any means possible.