From 1984 to 1999, the Seattle area tuned in on weekends to Almost Live, a local sketch comedy and variety show broadcast by KING 5 television, which for most of its 15 years ran at 11:30pm on Saturday nights, pushing Saturday Night Live back to midnight (something entirely unique for the entire West Coast media market).

For most of its run, the show featured local comedian John Keister as its host (what native son or daughter doesn’t remember “The John Report”?). Another principal was Pat Cashman, whose uniquely resonant old-fashioned radio voice evoked an earlier era, and lent a quirky gravitas to many of the sketches. Most of us will remember with a chuckle how Almost Live made a name for itself by poking unabashed fun at Seattle-area neighborhoods and the surrounding suburbs (Kent and Ballard residents patiently endured their frequent status as the butt of many Almost Live jokes).

Amazingly, Almost Live was picked up in syndication by cable network Comedy Central and broadcast nationally for several years—a phenomenal feat for a comedy show with such a distinct and deliberate local flavor. This incredible development is testament to the universal humor of the show, its creators, writers and actors.

Whether or not you knew anything about old school Ballard (search for the famous “Ballard Driving School” sketches on YouTube for a bellyaching trip down memory lane), the jokes and sketch scenes were still funny to any aficionado of good comedy.

We Western Washingtonians can be eternally proud of this creative and hilarious export that made a name for itself at exactly the same time the Seattle area was gaining global recognition for everything from Microsoft to Starbucks to grunge music (and Almost Live was always hot on the trail of Seattle’s latest trends, dousing even our most venerable institutions with a healthy splash of humor, lest we take ourselves too seriously). Perhaps this is why the Puget Sound area is one of the most desirable places to live, work and retire in the country—we are blessed with a unique creative energy that spans the gamut from critical boosters of the economy, arts and culture to a marvelous sense of humor that can be traced back to our early pioneer days.

In 1999, the owners of KING 5 cancelled Almost Live because it was not making money. But you can’t keep a good show down forever. Indeed, in 2012, videos began appearing on YouTube with sketches by Almost Live veterans John Keister, Pat Cashman and Pat Cashman’s son Chris Cashman (who, incidentally, though not an Almost Live veteran, he was an admitted devotee of the show in his youth). These YouTube videos were picked up by local fans and shared on social media, while simultaneously a Seattle P.I. online blog speculated an Almost Live sequel may be in the works. Indeed—it was! The sequel is called the 206, and it took off organically, as most things do in this modern age of media. And while KING 5 is the principal broadcaster behind the 206, the format is radically different than the traditional sound-stage television shoot in front of a live studio audience that was the modus operandi for Almost Live for the duration of its tenure. The 206 is still filmed in front of live audience members, but in a far less traditional television studio. Picture a handful of devoted audience members surrounding a central staging area of a large fire station in Redmond.

The three principals (John, Pat and Chris) deliver monologues and jokes while occasionally donning simple costumes in front of a green screen that can create an endless variety of backgrounds. Gone are the days of on-location sketch shoots, multiple television cameras and complex editing equipment. Chris Cashman edits most of the final footage on his laptop.

Almost Live began broadcasting on KING 5 TV on Saturday nights (or rather, very early Sunday mornings) following Saturday Night Live in January 2013. When Northwest Prime Time was invited to view a live taping of Episode 5 in early May, I had the rare opportunity to head to the makeup room with John, Pat and Chris before the show, and engage them in exclusive interviews.

We began with John Keister, who, between dollops of foundation being sponged on his face, began his interview with more than a little trademark humor. When asked how the 206 got off the ground, he answered:

“Imagine two washed up vaudevillians. With nothing to live for, one of our children forces us back together, promising us ‘that we can do this.’ We agree and shoot some stuff. Chris Cashman, ever savvy with social media, posts some sketches online and promises that someone will find it. Well, someone did find it and it blew up from there.”

It came as a pleasant surprise to Keister, but in his own words, he “was in a hurry to get behind it.” He knew that the basic premise of the humor would remain the same—creating laughs at the expense of local quirks, stereotypes, customs and communities. But additionally, Keister knew that humor would be even deepened by the reality that the area has changed so much. The current happenings in the Seattle area offer tremendous fodder for fantastic comedy.

“We have Mayor McGinn’s bike lanes, and of course the new marijuana and same-sex marriage laws,” observes Keister. “Today, we don’t make fun of these things in the same way we might have 20 years ago—the world has changed, but the humor is still there.” He goes on to say, “And the liquor laws have changed—you can buy snacks and a fifth of Jack Daniels at a Rite Aid while simultaneously getting a discount with your ‘Wellness Loyalty Card.’ ”

Keister reflects that Seattle “was ready for this kind of comedy again, after 10 years.” It seems to be in our blood. He is amazed at the media frenzy around the show, which he describes as unmatched.”

“A series of accidents led to the reality of this show—nobody on the show was hired to be on the show—we just came together and an exciting thing was born.”

So, is the still balding but eminently recognizable Keister (only now he’s sporting a gray, rather than brown, fringe of hair) still recognized in the street? You bet.

“It’s fun to be stopped in the street,” remarks Keister. “I have the best job in town.”

So as John Keister continued with his makeup, I turned my attention to the inimitable Pat Cashman, who started the conversation by revealing a perfectly understandable measure of fatherly and collegial pride.

“The dream for me is to be able to do this with my son Chris, as well as John,” reflects Cashman. And then, with a dose of trademark humor: “My son lives in my basement with his family and wife. He needed to get out and make something of himself. And, to my surprise, he has. This wasn’t a happy accident. He knows what he’s doing—this project has his energy behind it and it is very well thought out.”

We asked Pat what the message of the 206 was—how it differs from Almost Live. Pat responded by saying that aside from the more “gorilla” style of filming and production, it’s obviously operating on a slimmer budget.

“KING 5 has always been committed to giving back to the local community, and we’re proud they’re on board now, even if it’s in a less integrated way,” observes Cashman. Still, he insists that binding sense of community and local identity that made a success of Almost Live continues to permeate the growing success of the 206. There isn’t quite the same number of cast members, and notably, there are no female principals, but Cashman promises “a few cameo appearances from Almost Live from time to time.

“We’re glad the drooling old farts who watched Almost Live are still committed to us in the 206 (that would include yours truly, who drools at the “old fart” age of 37 and fondly remembers Almost Live from his high school and college days). “Our wheelhouse is still local comedy, politics and regional quirks.”

But of course the specifics have changed—Ballard is no longer a slightly down-at-heel community of aging Scandinavians who drive with dangling seatbelts jammed in their doors and un-cancelled left-turn signals, as immortalized in Almost Live’s “Ballard Driving School” sketches. “Ballard is now a totally hip and happening neighborhood—something it was not in Almost Live’s heyday, observes Cashman’s son Chris Cashman. And surely making fun of the hipsters is just as fun as making fun of our late Scandinavian forbearers.

Admittedly, for Chris Cashman the 206 is a dream come true. “I always just assumed I’d someday return to Almost Live as a writer after graduating from broadcast school at WSU.” When the show was cancelled, Chris Cashman’s immediate dream was cut short. But he didn’t stop there. He took jobs in radio and spent 12 years working for such local outlets as Channel 11 and Evening Magazine. “I was bitten by comedy at a young age,” confesses Chris Cashman. “I was always proud at the way people looked at my father, and I knew I wanted to do [that].” So, Chris is in many ways the energy behind making a reality of the 206. Ever adept at editing and savvy with social media, he planted the seeds that eventually yielded the fruit that is today’s successful local sketch comedy show. However he acknowledges it wouldn’t exist without the foundational legacy of Almost Live.

The 206 picks up where Almost Live left off: local humor at its best. Tune in to KING 5 TV on Saturday nights after Saturday Night Live to enjoy new episodes of fantastic local humor. Or, if that’s past your bedtime, take advantage of the convenient option available to us in this modern age. Google past episodes on YouTube and watch them in their entirety. You’re bound to enjoy a dose of the best medicine on earth as you laugh at the jokes and antics of three men who may truly have the best jobs in town.