Tag Archives: Lorne Michaels

IFC Renews Armisen’s “Portlandia” for Two More Seasons

Posted on by
2

Fred Armisen will spend two more years in the Pacific Northwest…

IFC has picked up the 48-year-old half-Venezuelan actor’s short-based comedy series Portlandia.

Fred Armisen Portlandia

The an absurdist series that gently pokes fun at the laid-back city of Portland, Oregon, has been picked up for Seasons 6 and 7, with IFC ordering 10 half-hour episodes for each.

Armisen, a Saturday Night Live alum, and Carrie Brownstein, the show’s creators and stars, will remain at the helm for both seasons. Portlandia is executive produced by Lorne Michaels and produced by Broadway Video.

Season 5 of Portlandia airs Thursdays at 10 PM.

Vanessa Bayer, Ed Begley Jr., Steve Buscemi, Jeff Goldblum, Kyle MacLachlan, Kumail Nanjiani, Jason Sudeikis, Gus Van Sant and Olivia Wilde are among the recurring guest stars who’ve guest-starred on the show over the years.

Armisen to Guest Star on Maya Rudolph’s NBC Variety Special/Pilot

Posted on by
Reply

He’s already the bandleader for his former Saturday Night Light cast mate Seth Meyer’s band on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers… And, now Fred Armisen is about to reunite with another SNL alum.

The 45-year-old half-Venezuelan actor will guest star on Maya Rudolph’s upcoming variety special/pilot for NBC.

Fred Armisen

Revisiting the variety-show format, The Maya Rudolph Show special will air at 10:00 pm ET on Monday, May 19.

In addition to Armisen, the project will also feature appearences by Andy Samberg, Kristen Bell, Chris Parnell, Craig Robinson, Sean Hayes and Janelle Monae.

Raphael Saadiq will serve as the bandleader for the project, which is being produced by Rudolph, David Javerbaum, Erin David and Dave Becky, with Lorne Michaels serving as executive producer.

Rudolph and Armisen often collaborated together on SNL, including memorable skits as Beyonce and Prince in the recurring sketch “Prince Show.”

The pair also shared the stage on the SNL sketch “Bossa Nova” as a bossa nova band with host Alec Baldwin appearing as a sleaze bag.

Armisen to Produce and Appear on IFC’s “American Documentary”

Posted on by
Reply

Fred Armisen is about to document American history… Sort of!

The 45-year-old half-Venezuelan actor and former Saturday Night Live cast member, who has starred on IFC’s sketch comedy series Portlandia, will star in a new comedy project called American Documentary (working title).

Fred Armisen

Armisen created the docu-parody with his fellow Saturday Night Live vets Bill Hader and Seth Meyers.

American Documentary is hailed as a curated series of half-hour documentaries and biopics, each about a completely fictitious subject. Featuring a repertory-like ensemble cast, the episodes will explore important political figures, influential artists, titans of industry, and iconic cultural movements, all utterly fictional.

Produced by Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video Television and directed by SNL’s Rhys Thomas, American Documentary will be shot on location in the traditional documentary style.

IFC has ordered six half-hour episodes to premiere in 2015. Meyers will executive produce the series alongside Armisen and Hader, who’ll have recurring roles.

Production is scheduled to begin later this year.