Jerry Seinfeld is no stranger to comedy, without which his show would just be scenes of cars getting coffee. (Funny, but not funny ha-ha.) In addition to his long, still insanely lucrative stand-up career, he also starred in one of television’s most enduring sitcoms—which means when he calls another show TV’s “best comedy” and “one of the best comedies of all time,” people immediately take notice, then return to whatever it was they were doing. And that’s exactly what happened when Seinfeld offered praise for Portlandia, right before you got back to your sandwich.
“I’m kind of obsessed with Portlandia right now,” Seinfeld told Vulture at the CLIO Awards, where he was on hand to accept an advertising award while also insulting advertising with mock praise. He was presumably more sincere in his lauding of Portlandia, however. “I mean, wow, it’s just too beyond brilliant,” he said. “I was just in Portland, and everywhere you go, it’s like, is this a sketch, or is this the real show?”
In addition to that deal and wondering what was with it, Seinfeld also compared Portlandia to his own show and its use of “extremely mean waiters, and random people who are really mean for no reason. I love it when people are difficult and hostile for absolutely no reason. I don’t know why, but that’s really funny.” And while your own being difficult for no reason only earned the laughter and applause of everyone at Starbucks, for Portlandia, it garnered Seinfeld’s highest compliment: “I think that’s the best comedy on TV right now, and it’s easily one of the best comedies of all time.”
According to local press, Seinfeld was seen hitting up various Portland food carts with Fred Armisen to film an episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, presumably while being shouted at by angry people on bikes.