The Portland metro area will get another moment in the TV spotlight with the Feb. 20 premiere of “Documentary Now!” Season 3. The clever series, co-created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers and Rhys Thomas and executive produced by Lorne Michaels, did much of the filming for the third season in Portland and environs in June 2018.

The season begins with a cult-themed episode that parodies both “Wild Wild Country,” the Netflix documentary about the bizarre saga of the Rajneeshees in Oregon, and “The Source Family,” about a supposedly utopian community.

The episode title, “Batsh*t Valley,” should offer a hint of the show’s take on the original material. Written by Meyers and directed by Alex Buono, who’s also an executive producer of “Documentary Now!,” the “Batsh*t Valley” episode follows, as IFC says, Father Ra-Shawbard (played by guest star Owen Wilson), “a self-proclaimed spiritual leader who, with the help of his loyal and strong-willed assistant Ra-Sharir” (played by Necar Zadegan, who also appeared in the partially Portland-shot HBO series “Here and Now”), “creates a commune of devoted followers in the small town of Chinook, Oregon in the 1980s. When the activities of the Shawbardite commune become public, FBI agent Bill Doss (guest star Michael Keaton) takes it upon himself to reveal the truth about their peculiar leader.”

Well, that sounds pretty juicy. Another episode, inspired by “Original Cast Album: Company,” the 1970 D.A. Pennebaker documentary chronicling the overnight cast recording of Stephen Sondheim’s musical, is titled “Original Cast Album: Co-op.”

That episode did much of its filming on location at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City. Judging from a set visit and conversation with cast members including Taran Killam, Richard Kind, Paula Pell and Renee Elise Goldsberry, this should be a dream for theater geeks. John Mulaney, who also guest stars, wrote the episode with Meyers.

As the teaser for Season 3 (they pretend the show has been on much longer than that) indicates, other guest stars include Cate Blanchett, Bobby Moynihan, Michael C. Hall, Natasha Lyonne, and Armisen. Helen Mirren returns for her terribly dignified, deadpan, introductory duties.

“Documentary Now!” Season 3 premieres at 11 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20 on IFC.

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

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