There’s “Downton Abbey.”
And then there’s “Renton Abbey.”
A trailer park spoof of the PBS British series was a highlight of the weekend’s premiere of “The 206.”
The new show by “Almost Live!” celebs Pat Cashman and John Keister didn’t get 8 million lords and ladies watching, but it garnered lots of looks.
“It performed on a par with ‘Saturday Night Live,’” said Rick Swanson, KING-TV program director. “It did quite well.”
Weekly episodes of “The 206” will run through January after “Saturday Night Live” on KING-TV and repeated at 7:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Sundays on KONG-TV.
However, whether the locally grown sketch comedy sticks around depends on … us.
“The ratings are key to this,” Swanson said. “We decided to start small to see if we can get something going.”
He is optimistic for its continued success in the crucial weeks to come.
“It could come back as a permanent show sometime in April,” he said.
That’s right. Even if the show is a hit, viewers will have to go several months without their “Renton Abbey” fix while new episodes are taped at the studio in a former Bellevue fire station.
The response was overwhelmingly positive on the show’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/the206tv.
As one fan wrote: “Thank you for bringing laughter back to Washington state!!!!”
Many echoed similar sentiments.
Still, there were some dissenters. Example: “Are you all insane? That was the most unfunny thing I have ever seen. I didn’t realize that ‘206’ was the age demographic that they were going for.”
If you missed it or didn’t DVR or tape it: www.king5.com/on-tv/the-206.
Andrea Brown; 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com.
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