Confirming what Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein told us way back in 2015, IFC has renewed Portlandia for what will be the show’s eighth and final season. The long-running sketch series—currently airing its seventh season—will go off the air in 2018, forcing viewers to bid farewell to Toni and Candace, Nina and Lance, Claire and Doug, and all the other Northwestern weirdo duos that Armisen and Brownstein have invented over the years.
Making the announcement, IFC president Jennifer Caserta praised the series, saying, “There are very few shows that can be credited with both establishing and helping to define a television network, and that’s exactly what Portlandia has done for IFC.” The show’s success prodded IFC into a more-comedy focused direction; it’s currently the home of Armisen’s Documentary Now! and Dana Gould’s Stan Against Evil.
Co-creator Jonathan Krisel—who also developed FX’s Baskets with Zach Galifianakis and Louis CK—issued his own praise for the show, which has been nominated for 17 Primetime Emmys over its six-year run. “I am so proud to have worked with Fred, Carrie and the entire cast and crew-family of Portlandia to make something so funny and so special,” Krisel said, resisting the urge to tack a gratuitous “put a bird on it” onto the end of his sweet and sincere statement, a strength of character that we ourselves apparently lack.