The 10 Best Sketches from ‘Portlandia’s Final Season

Season 8, Episode 1 “Riot Spray”

The perfect Portlandia sketch is equal parts annoyingly hipster, pointedly self aware, and unabashedly stupid. That’s exactly how I would describe “NPR Podcast.” As the title implies, the sketch follows two NPR podcasters as they try to record their story. The only problem is they’re covering a murder investigation in real time. The more you watch these hipsters fake phone calls and bang on chimes in an attempt to make the police station more podcast friendly, the more you want to punch them. Also, Armisen’s spot-on Ira Glass impression is in full force here.

Season 8, Episode 2 “Shared Workspace”

Silicon Valley has already disrupted the television and ride sharing industries; what’s next? Sandwiches. Framed against a white background and dressed in minimalist clothes, the Valley versions of Fred and Carrie argue about why ordinary sandwiches are too floppy. Funneling liquidized food through a sprinkler is clearly a better option. This sketch feels stylistically related to Portlandia’s many bizarre milk advisory board sketches as the duo try to sell something insanely unnecessary and a clueless Fred constantly tries to undermine his partner. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less funny.

Season 8, Episode 2 “Shared Workspace”

Not only is this the best sketch of Season 8; this is possibly one of the best sketches in Portlandia‘s history. Brownstein plays a confident businesswoman in a conference room surrounded by men. After Armisen’s businessman congratulates her on becoming the law firm’s first female partner, Brownstein stands up to give what’s supposed to be a speech about her accomplishments. Instead her victory turns into three minutes of reassuring all of her male colleagues that no, they’re not sexist. Showing a group mansplaining sexism to a woman is about as pointed as Portlandia gets, and thanks to Brownstein’s ability to channel controlled frustration, it works beautifully.

Season 8, Episode 3 “No Thank You”

The best part about Portlandia’s use of celebrities is that the sketch show rarely feels like it’s starstruck. It’s just as happy to force big names into its weird, progressive-to-the-point-of-toxicity world as it is anyone else. “Command Center” sees Bloom starring as herself as she figures out the wild world of dating apps. Thanks to Fred and Carrie, her casual swipes transform into a well-oiled operation complete with a dick pic reaction plan. If love is war, then online dating is the nuclear option.

Season 8, Episode 6 “You Do You”

Out of all of Season 8’s episodes, “You Do You” is the most consistently funny. But there’s something special about the never-ending ridiculousness of this real estate sketch. Brownstein plays a young single woman looking for a house, and Armisen is the real estate agent dead set on selling her one that’s comically too large. Throughout the course of the tour, he tells her to let the house decider her sexuality, hire a receptionist for the production company she doesn’t have, and to adopt a child from Greenland named Phillip. It’s very silly but painfully relatable for anyone who has purchased something they shouldn’t have thanks to a pushy salesperson.

Season 8, Episode 6 “Most Pro City”

While in a meeting, three businesspeople keep getting distressing texts. One is forced to deal with extensive and expensive home repairs; one has a dog who’s been hurt; and one has just learned that his wife is leaving him. But instead of excusing themselves from the meeting and given their respective disasters the full attention they deserve, all three decide to text under the table. The premise alone is hilarious, but what elevates the sketch to the next level is pausing to read sad message. Oh the horrifying trials of a workaholic.

Season 8, Episode 7 “Most Pro City”

This storyline is one of the most Portland-centric of Portlandia‘s final season, so you better bet the Mayor (played by Kyle Mclaughlin) makes an appearance. An article names Portland the least diverse city in America, and obviously the Tilikum Crossing-adoring Mayor isn’t OK with that. To prove the article wrong, he orders the entire city to take ancestry tests. Everyone’s reactions to learning that they’re distantly American Indian or African American is as problematic and intensive as you would expect. South Park centered an episode around this joke, but seeing the genetic testing bit play out among the optimistic, aggressively progressive, and try-hard citizens of this fictional Portland feels more authentic and funnier.

Season 8, Episode 8 “Peter Follows P!nk”

It’s the sketch comedy crossover we never knew we needed. The constantly wrong Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland (Nick Kroll and John Mulaney) finally met the feminist-to-a-fault Candace and Toni (Armisen and Brownstein). The sketch itself is good, not excellent. But the real fun comes from seeing how these four very strong and very weird characters interact with each other.

Season 8, Episode 9 “Long Way Back”

Portlandia started with a simple anthem — there was a place where the dream of the ’90s was alive and well, and that place was called Portland. So it seems fitting that in 2018 that Portlandia would start to end on a markedly less optimistic anthem. “Let’s Give Up!” is exactly that. After being bombarded with terrible news and their own helplessness in the face of America’s current political state, Fred and Carrie vow to just give up. It’s a catchy, pop-infused song about wearing your same clothes, napping, and turning off the news that lets Brownstein’s excellent voice shine.

Season 8, Episode 10 “Rose Route”

Fred and Carrie decide to run the Portland Marathon to fight off their stress. But before they do that, they need help from a trainer who seems to have a thing for Carrie. Tessa Thompson’s scooter-riding trainer combines the flippant attitude of Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok with her complicated yet flirty demeanor that has made her such a fan favorite on Westworld. Basically, both Tessa Thompson and Carrie Brownstein are wonderful, and if they ever dated in real life, I would be endlessly happy.

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