‘Vancouvria,” the Web-based comedy series that makes fun of life in Vancouver, has returned for a second season.
The show, a spoof of the Independent Film Channel comedy “Portlandia,” posted the first new episode this week.
“Big City Survival Class” looks at a group of Clark College students as they discuss their concerns about hippies, supporters of President Obama, homeless people and monsters from TV’s “Grimm” lurking on the streets of the Rose City. The five-episode season was filmed from August through November, and new episodes will come out every two to three weeks, said Brighton West, the Portland filmmaker who directs the show.
“We’ve got more writers for the second season,” West said. “The first season was all written by me and my wife, so this season I think will be more creative. And there’s less direct connection with ‘Portlandia.'”
The new episode has already gained some fans in Portland at the Curious Comedy Theater. It won first place in the monthly Attack of the Flix competition for local filmmakers, West said.
West launched the first season of the series in December 2011.
He paid for this season after a successful $3,500 Kickstarter campaign in April designed to pay for equipment, props and travel expenses.
“We reached our goal on the final day,” West said.
If Season 2 is successful, West may work on a third season, but that’s up in the air right now.
“I’m not sure how we’re going to fund a season three or if a season three will happen,” he said. “We’re going to see how it goes.”
One plan is to try to get advertising revenue from YouTube, he added. The show so far has about 71,000 views and 645 subscribers. If those numbers continue to grow, it could create enough revenue to sustain the show, which is filmed in Portland and Vancouver, West said.
“If we could get about 5,000 views per episode, that would be perfect,” West said.
— Sue Vorenberg
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