Austin, Texas — The first person in line for the audience Q&A at South by Southwestap panel earlier this month had come a long way to express his love for the IFC comedy series.
All the way from Hungary, to be exact.
“I came here just for you,” the man said before politely approaching the stage to have a poster signed by “PǰٱԻ徱” creators and co-stars Carrie Brownstein and .
“Portlandia,” which debuted its fourth season of snappy, character-based sketch comedy on IFC on Feb. 27, has inspired a cult that resembles the overeducated, underemployed hipsters, activists and daydreamers the show so lovingly mocks.
Granted, very few cities have bigger bull’s-eyes on them than Portland, Ore. As a progressive, creative, rapidly gentrifying hub town, itap also neck-and-neck with Brooklyn and San Francisco for the title of most-pretentious, self-obsessed city in the country.
But given that this “PǰٱԻ徱” super-fan had traveled from Europe just to get a glimpse of his nerd heroes, itap clear the show has also crossed over from inside-comedy joke about hipsters to broader observational humor that rings throughout the Western world.
“Itap not just about Portland,” Armisen said over the phone prior to South by Southwest. “Maybe I’ll notice something in New York or L.A. or Chicago, or I’ll remember something that happened to me in the music world. We try not to over-think anything.”
Armisen, whose “PǰٱԻ徱” live screening-and-Q&A tour , drummed in the Chicago punk band Trenchmouth before diving into comedy and gaining fame as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” He’s also the newly-minted bandleader on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
“PǰٱԻ徱” co-creator Brownstein also plays in acclaimed indie bands like Sleater-Kinney and Wild Flag, in addition to writing for Slate and NPR Music.
Their shared experiences and backgrounds grant “PǰٱԻ徱” a credibility that transcends underground music circles. It doesn’t hurt that they’ve recruited guest stars like Chloë Sevigny, Tim Robbins, Kirsten Dunst and Jeff Goldblum, or “SNL” vets Jason Sudeikis and Maya Rudolph.
“Some of it is people reaching out to us and saying ‘I want to be on your show,’ and some of it is us saying, ‘You know who would be great for this sketch?’ ” Armisen said. “But everyone’s been amazing. Itap not like we have this big budget and we can get just anybody.”
Part of the “PǰٱԻ徱” appeal is its homespun feel. The show films in (and portrays) real locations in downtown Portland, uses local actors and extras, and betrays an obvious affection for the alternately elitist and bobble-headed folks it represents.
Think Candace and Toni, the feminist bookstore owners at Women and Women First, or Peter and Nance, the aging, awkward couple who refuse to accept they’re not as cool as they used to be.
“I thought it was going to be all people who look and dress like me, maybe punk and music people or comedy nerds,” Armisen, 47, said of the audiences at his live tour. “But itap been surprising that there are so many families and parents with kids.”
The show has lasted four seasons and been able to balance its satire and sentiment for a reason: The characters are, ultimately, funhouse-mirror versions of its co-creators.
“There is no ‘they.’ Itap all us,” Armisen said. “I would never play a character that wasn’t true. Itap not a moral thing, itap just that itap more convincing if itap a little bit like me.”
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John Wenzel is an A&E reporter and critic for . Follow him .
