So, I was rewatching Portlandia the other night. You know how it is. You start with one clip of the "Dream of the 90s" and three hours later you’re deep into the lore of the feminist bookstore. But then I hit Season 4, Episode 4. The one with the Portlandia Pull Out King. Honestly? It might be the most uncomfortable, hilarious, and strangely profound twenty minutes of television from the mid-2010s.
If you haven’t seen it in a while, let me set the stage. Lance (Fred Armisen) is having a minor existential crisis. Well, a major one. Nina (Carrie Brownstein) thinks she’s pregnant. Now, Lance is a guy whose entire personality is built on being a "tough guy" in a very Portland, subcultural way. He’s got the mustache, the bike, the attitude. And his biggest point of pride? His supposed mastery of... well, the pull-out method. He literally calls himself the Pull Out King.
The Battle for the Throne
It’s a classic Portlandia setup. They take a private, slightly taboo conversation and turn it into a public badge of honor. Lance isn't just a guy who’s being irresponsible; he’s a "king" with a reputation. He thinks he’s invincible.
But then, the twist happens. They go to a furniture store. And who is waiting there? Jeff Goldblum.
Now, Goldblum is the actual Pull Out King. But not in the way Lance means. Goldblum plays the owner of a store that exclusively sells pull-out couches. Sectionals, loveseats, modern classics—if it transforms from a seating arrangement into a bed, he’s got it.
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The tension in that showroom is palpable. You’ve got Lance, trying to defend his "sexual prowess" title, and Goldblum, leaning into that weird, staccato, rhythmic delivery he does so well, defending his retail empire. It’s a collision of two completely different worlds that happen to share the same ridiculous name.
Why Jeff Goldblum Was the Perfect Choice
Honestly, who else could have played this? Goldblum has this way of making the most mundane sales pitch sound like a philosophical treatise on the nature of existence. He tells Lance and Nina that they’re across from a cemetery. He says it’s "enlightening" because it reminds you that you’re going to end up there anyway, so you might as well have a big pull-out bed.
It’s dark. It’s weird. It’s peak Goldblum.
The sketch works because it highlights the absurdity of "niche" expertise. In the world of Portlandia, everyone wants to be the "king" of something, no matter how small or specific or, in Lance's case, legally and biologically questionable.
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The Realism of the "Bad Burrito"
The payoff is where the "human-quality" writing of the show really shines. After all the panic about a baby—the nursery planning, the life-changing decisions, the furniture shopping—it turns out Nina isn't pregnant.
She just had a bad burrito.
We’ve all been there. Maybe not "thinking we’re starting a family" there, but definitely "my life is over because of a lunch decision" there. It grounds the surrealism of the Portlandia Pull Out King in something so relatable it almost hurts.
Beyond the Laughs: Growing Up in Portlandia
The AV Club once noted that this episode was one of the first times Portlandia really tackled the idea of its characters growing up. Usually, Fred and Carrie’s characters are stuck in a sort of permanent adolescence. They work part-time jobs, go to concerts, and obsess over artisanal lightbulbs.
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But the specter of parenthood changes things. Even after the pregnancy scare is debunked, Lance admits he doesn't want to be the "Pull Out King" anymore. He likes the idea of a kid in a "little band shirt." It’s a tiny, flickering moment of maturity in a show that usually avoids it like the plague.
Where Was It Filmed?
If you're a filming location nerd, the furniture store scenes weren't some Hollywood set. They were filmed right in Portland. Most of the show stayed true to its namesake city, using local spots like Zupan's Markets and In Other Words (the actual feminist bookstore). While the specific furniture store for the Portlandia Pull Out King sketch was a bit more of a generic warehouse setup, the "vibe" is 100% Eastside Portland—somewhere near that intersection of industrial and "we sell $4,000 sofas."
What We Can Learn From the King
Looking back at the Portlandia Pull Out King in 2026, it feels like a time capsule. It’s from an era of TV that wasn't afraid to be messy and niche. It didn't need to explain the joke. It just let Jeff Goldblum riff about cemeteries and sofa beds for five minutes.
Actionable Takeaways from the Pull Out King Episode:
- Check the expiration date on your burritos. Seriously. It saves you a lot of medical (and existential) drama.
- Invest in multi-purpose furniture. Goldblum wasn't wrong. A good pull-out couch is a lifesaver when your friend from out of town stays over because they "miss the 90s."
- Don't tie your identity to a "title." Whether you're the king of a specific birth control method or the king of a furniture niche, someone with more charisma (and probably a better mustache) is always around the corner.
- Embrace the "scare." Sometimes, a false alarm is exactly what you need to realize what you actually want in life.
If you're feeling nostalgic, go back and watch the "Pull Out King" clip on YouTube. Watch the way Goldblum's assistant, Jason, has "LAVABO" written on his arm in marker. It’s a joke that was supposedly cut for time, but it just adds to the weird, layered texture of the show.
The next time you're shopping for a sofa, just remember: you're not just buying a place to sit. You're entering a kingdom.