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" I look at a show like 'Roseanne.' That's super influential on me. It's very funny, very real, with real problems. That was a big influence, and I don't know if you see that all the time in the network world. "

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" I think when you work with people who are super exceptional, there's simplicity to it because everybody is on the same page in terms of tone. "

Jonathan Krisel

Work

People

Simplicity

" My brand of comedy is taking a serious approach to silliness. Small moments of modern life and human behavior make me laugh. At least that's where everything starts, and then my other through line would be a dry absurdity that exponentially spirals out of reality. "

" Louie Anderson thinks my thing is the absurdness of reality. That's what we do on 'Portlandia' all the time. I try to bring that absurdness of reality to everything. "

" Certain shows, when it's all comedy, it's like when you eat something that's too sweet and it just tastes gross. You need that salted caramel. "

" I know comedy; I know how to do crazy, off-the-wall stuff that makes me laugh out loud. "

Jonathan Krisel

Crazy

Know

" I want to work with extremely, genuinely charismatic people. "

" I love working with nonactors. "

" The end goal is to make a piece that everybody has ownership over and everybody's proud of because everybody contributed to it. I think there's a communist, socialist vibe to 'Portlandia' to make it work. "

" In Portland, it rains all the time - but who cares? That's not funny. That's not universal. "

" I definitely feel the pressure to keep things fresh and original. "

" I always look at 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail.' They talked about how they wrote this movie with horses, and then they realized that horses are super-expensive and time-consuming. 'Why don't we just change it to coconuts?' That's part of my process. "

" Nobody sets out to be evil. They're insecure, and they make bad decisions. "

" I always want to push myself. "

" As the director, you have it in your mind how you want the part done, how you want someone to do it, and so sometimes you just say, 'Why don't I do it myself?' So for a little role, I'll just do it. "

" You can use cheap technology to get a great look. "

" With comedy, I've always had a pretty good sense of what I like and how to execute it well, but drama has its own rules. "

" A huge part of making something work is getting along with people you work with. You want them to succeed; you want them to bring their ideas to life as much as possible. "

" You can tell a lot about a person by what comedians they like. "

" There's a good family of actors in 'Portlandia.' It's a small community with people who pop up again and again. The show's a little weird show, and you want to grow with the people who are in it, like Dana who plays the chicken waitress, and Ellen who was the adult babysitter. "

" In your twenties, you might want to be radical and change the world, but in your thirties, you might just want to be happy and ground yourself. "

" Bands on tour are very good cultivators of what's the avant-garde of comedy. "

" My whole thing is, you listen to the actor and help them bring out their best thing. "

" With all the outlets, if you have a strong comedic voice, there's a venue to do your thing. It's a bit of a meritocracy, where the best stuff rises to the top. "

" You see a lot of comedic content that's not funny, and you can tell that it's supposed to be funny, but it's actually not funny. "

" Everything on TV is perfect, and it's so boring. "

Jonathan Krisel

Perfect

Everything

" A lot of the 'Portlandia' characters and a lot of the moments aren't really TV-worthy, but that's what is so refreshing about seeing them. "

" Once the big lights come in, you can feel self-conscious. How can you capture the scene without ruining it and freezing people up? You keep it small and lean. "

" Everything else was snarky and high concept, while 'Roseanne' was just a normal family. "

" 'Portlandia' is 100 percent improvised, and I came into this business not knowing anything. "

" I am huge fan of Australian comedy. 'Strictly Ballroom' is one of my favorite movies. Definitely the British Commonwealth's sensibility is where I draw a lot of my influences. "