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).

DreamWorks TV and producer Steven Spielberg are hoping their latest entry into prime time television lives up to its name. Smash is about the making of a Broadway musical play which involves the life of Marilyn Monroe. But personal conflicts among the cast members prove to be difficult to work with as they deal with the everyday demands of theater life and this musical in particular. Debra Messing stars as Julia Houston who is the co-writer as well as lyrist and song writer on Smash. Messing, formerly seen on Will & Grace, is an award winner with a musical background. Angelica Huston (Prizzi's Honor, The Adams Family) plays Eileen Rand the musical's producer who has to juggle handling a messy divorce along with the difficulty that goes with producing a Broadway musical. Frank Huston, Julia's husband is played by Brian d'Arcy James (Broadway's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) is jealous of Tom Levett (Christian Borle from Broadway's Jesus Christ Superstar), Julia's partner and co-writer of Smash. The actress who finally gets the role of Marilyn is Ivy Lynn played by Megan Hilty from the Broadway production of 9 to 5: The Musical. Plenty of behind the scenes back biting helps keep this production on a bumpy road.

"Barry" is an American dark comedy television series that premiered on HBO in March 2018. The show follows the life of Barry Berkman, a former Marine turned hitman who travels to Los Angeles for a job and ends up becoming involved in the local theater scene. While in LA, Barry discovers a passion for acting and wants to leave his violent past behind, but struggles to do so as he is continually drawn back into the world of crime.

"Outsourced" TV Show tries hard to entertain while never offending. Employees in a call center situated in Mumbai, India must learn about American culture at least to familiarize themselves with the odd and sometimes embarrassing items they offer for sale through a U.S. business catalog. Mid America Novelties is one of those catalog mail order call centers that provide "flatulence" cushions, exploding cigarettes, bizarre party favors, and many other eccentric items for those who have a broad sense of humor. A shaky economy has forced the business to head to India where the outsourced jobs are most welcome. However Todd Dempsey (Ben Rappaport) has a lot to learn about Indian culture in order to lead his team of employees to success in sales. He attempts to teach them about American culture while he learns all he can about India and its cultural differences. Todd has an assistant manager who wants to move up the ladder and eager to learn employees who have difficulty understanding why American humor is so vastly different from their own. The NBC program is a hilarious sitcom that also shows that we aren't that much different no matter where we live.

Does "Californication" have an audience outside Los Angeles? "X-Files" hero and heart-throb David Duchovny plays a novelist who's addicted to both sex and drugs but takes a shot at raising his teenage daughter on his own. For the real Hollywood housewives, this Showtime staple may seem at least as ripped-from-everyday-life as their own weekly melodrama, but how does it play Omaha and Schenectady? If blocked writers really were seductive, a million part-time bloggers would feel empowered to rewrite Lady Chatterley's Lover. Two salient features keep premier cable viewers tuning in for their weekly dose of SoCal self-pity: First, son of a playwright and alumnus of Princeton, Duchovny has enough empathy for his ostensibly tortured character that he can invest "Californication's" uninspired screenwriting with a little angst, a lot of sex appeal, and a soupcon of roguish charm. Second, whatever "Californication" lacks in substance and depth, it more than makes-up in graphic sex. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of relevant family drama woven-in there somewhere?

"The Other Two" is an American comedy series that premiered on Comedy Central in 2019. It follows the lives of two siblings, Brooke and Cary, whose younger brother becomes an overnight sensation thanks to a viral music video. The series depicts the siblings' attempts to navigate their own lives while also dealing with the newfound fame of their brother, Chase.