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).

NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly features musical performers, interviews with well known celebrities, plus some topical documentary style programming, all within a half hour format. It has been delegated to super late night (actually early early morning viewing) and follows after a strong lineup which includes The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. This is Daly's 11th season of late night entertainment and some recent guests include Make Believe The Black Angels, Adam Blackstone, Adam Pally, and Ben Schwartz. While Leno and O'Brien have switched their time slots Carson Daly has been solidly in place and earning even more ratings points thanks to discourse between other late night hosts. The documentary segments take Daly out of the studio and on the road to places like Tom Green's home in the Hollywood Hills or on a motorcycle road trip along historic Route 66. Musically and documentary style is a visit to the famous Whiskey Bar and visit with Kings of Leon (Grammy award winning band).

Maddie and Ben have been dating (and living together as a couple) for the past nine years and appear to be content with their living arrangements. Neither is quite ready to take the next obvious step which would be marriage. Several relationships are involved and this family, while close knit find their world turned upside down by the announcement that Maddie's younger sister Mia is pregnant and even though she has only known her boyfriend seven weeks, is making plans to marry him. Maddie is stunned when she sees that her parents approve of the news. Now it's time for Ben and Maddie to wonder if they should advance their own relationship or simply allow it to remain stagnant. Maddie Putney is played by Jennifer Finnigan (The Bold and the Beautiful), Mia Putney is portrayed by Joanna Garcia (Reba), Ben Coles is played by Josh Cooke (Without A Trace). Rounding out the cast are Kurt Fuller as Joel Putney the father and Debra Jo Rupp as mom Vicky Putney. This thoroughly entertaining situation comedy is always filled with light hearted fun and romantic involvements.

The three main characters involved in "Traffic Light" apparently represent the three colors involved on a light that directs traffic. Mike (David Denman), Adam (Nelson Franklin), and Ethan (Kris Marshall) have been best friends ever since their days in college and even though they've chosen different paths in life, still remain close now that they are in their thirties. Mike might be compared to a red light because he is married, has a small son, and settled in comfortably with his life and lifestyle. Adam is then the yellow or caution light. He recently moved in with a girlfriend and is cautiously optimistic about their relationship. Ethan, a British bachelor, has no plans for future commitments and hopes to remain "footloose and fancy free" with his life. This highly entertaining sit-com is popular in part due to good writing, interesting characters, and the fact it has no irritating "laugh track" does not hurt. This show is to be appreciated for its candor between friends as they each deal with life and balancing romance and relationships.

The CBS lineup on Monday nights is HOT! Putting on a new television sit-com can be an "iffy" prospect and many have failed due to the competition involved. But 2 Broke Girls seems to have all the right stuff! It has talent and chemistry and it has timing. Timing involves where it premieres which is right after Two and a Half Men (now starring Aston Kutcher instead of the controversial Charlie Sheen), then moving into its regular slot an hour earlier following How I Met Your Mother. The chemistry involves a stellar cast and great writing, making 2 Broke Girls a refreshing alternative to comedy on our TVs. The talent comes in the form of some new refreshing faces like Kat Dennings (The Forty Year Old Virgin, Charlie Bartlett) as Max Black, the gal from a working class, perpetually poor family. She knows her way around however, and hopes to fulfill her dreams. Beth Behrs (Serial Buddies, Size Zero Heroes) is the wealthy Caroline who learns her family is broke due to her father being caught using a Ponzi scheme and faces the prospect of going away to prison. She is "book smart" while Max is the one who has "street smarts". Together they might succeed. Life as a waitress is stressful and they must deal with the cook who likes to sexually harass them and a boss who more resembles a Kung Fu competitor than a Brooklyn diner owner. From the folks who brought us Sex in the City how can it go wrong?

"Doom Patrol" is a TV series that premiered on DC Universe in February 2019. It was later picked up by HBO Max for its second and third seasons. The show is based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name and follows a group of misfits who have been transformed by tragic events and given unique abilities.