Netflixing: Portlandia, Season 7

Are you building a custom vehicle to take to Burning Man?

Is your feminist bookstore going out of business?

Is your arranged marriage working out a little too well?

If your answer to any of the above questions was "yes", then you are looking for Portlandia, Season 7.

Revisiting the Show

If you remember my last review of the show, you will recall my position that it manages to be both funny and boring at the same time. And season 7 does not revolutionize this formula.

It does, however, bring a few laugh-out-loud moments, as well as tie up a few loose storylines, as the show winds down.

Because the eighth season will be the last. This has been confirmed by the IFC channel. And while Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein will undoubtedly still be seen in other things , we will lose the strangely Portland-specific brand of comedy they have birthed together.

And, speaking of birth, in season 7 you will encounter storylines like the following:

• A birth photographer with boundary issues.
• An adopted pitbull that teaches an important lesson about prejudice (that lesson being that the popular prejudices against pitbulls are all true).
• A hotel lobby clerk who explains all the features of your room---all of them.
• A cell phone company that limits itself to only ten customers.
• Concerned parents who worry the local schools aren't giving their children enough exposure to bullies.
• Carrie wants to improve her passenger ranking on the Über app.
• Peter may actually be popular graffiti artist, Banksy.
• Candace and Toni going into retirement.
• And Portland secedes from the United States.

It's all very hipster-y, but it goes to a few places where the show has not tread before. There is certainly an amount of polish to the show that has grown from season to season. Established characters like the goth couple are branching out, buying a vacuum for their house. The rats are looking for greater acceptance by humans, and are willing to update their look to make it happen. And the mayor of Portland wants more Guinness World Records in his town.

My Judgment

This has been a short review, I realize.

But the season itself is rather short, too, at only ten episodes. The brevity of the series is one of the things that keeps it digestible, as it is highly enjoyable in short bursts. And you can rest assured that season 7 brings the laughs, just like you remember them.

The only major difference, as I said above, is that there is a definite feeling of winding down, as the series begins to let go of some of its most beloved running segments, such as the feminist bookstore and even Kyle Maclachlan's mayor character.

All good things must come to an end, but Portlandia is not done yet. Season 7 is a highlight of the show, and season 8 awaits us in 2018. And every episode yet produced can be found right now on Netflix.

Watch it, for a giggle and a guffaw.

Previous entries in the Netflixing series:

Past Years

• 2016

TV Shows

InuYasha
The Good Place	The Defenders	Documentary Now
Samurai Gourmet	Castlevania	The Seven Deadly Sins
Sherlock, Series 4	The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Season 3	The Twilight Zone (1963)
The IT Crowd	Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return	Archer, Season 7
One-Punch Man	Iron Fist	Phineas and Ferb
Keeping Up Appearances	Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special	Hunter x Hunter (2011)
A Series of Unfortunate Events	Luke Cage	The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Movies

Death Note (2017)
Banking on Bitcoin	Pee-Wee's Big Adventure	The Third Man
Young Frankenstein	The Last Unicorn	Toys
Escape from New York	Sunset Boulevard	Silver Streak
Kubo and the Two Strings	Blazing Saddles	Metropolis (1927)
Big Trouble in Little China	Ratchet and Clank	The Angry Birds Movie