Today (Friday, Jan. 6) is a fine day for people who like cleverly off-center comedy: "Portlandia" and "The Increasiongly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret" start their second seaons.

Both are filled with perverse wit. Here's the story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

Something special seems to happen when
clever people are let loose.

For cable viewers, two pieces of good news arrived today: "Onion News Network" and "Southland" have both been renewed.

These shows have nothing in common except that they are different from most and are well-made. Details include:

In the previous blog, I grumbled about the state of Friday TV. Fortunately, there are also temporary solutions on cable.

Earlier, the Independent Film Channel gave eight Fridays to a fairly funny series from The Kids in the Hall. Now comes a new and better show from David Cross; "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret" debuts at 10 p.m. Friday (Oct. 1); here's a story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES