The (206)

Lore & Background

The (206) premiered on January 5, 2013, on KING-TV, airing Sundays at 1:00 AM Pacific following Saturday Night Live. After two initial episodes, it left the schedule locally but returned for a full first season on April 27, 2013, consisting of 12 episodes ending July 28, 2013. A special titled 'Not Especially Special, Special' aired on July 7, 2013. The second season ran from November 16, 2013, to May 3, 2014. The third season began on October 18, 2014, without John Keister, who left to pursue other interests, including a one-man show called The Keister Monologues. The third season ended in May 2015.

Reader's Guide

The (206) holds significance as a local sketch comedy show that continued the tradition of Seattle-centric humor established by Almost Live!. It provided a platform for local comedians and references to Seattle culture, airing in a late-night slot after Saturday Night Live. Its three-season run demonstrated the viability of hyper-local television comedy in the Pacific Northwest. The show's legacy includes its replacement in September 2015 by Up Late Northwest, which retained the basic sketch comedy and guest format and cast but expanded its broadcast to cities throughout the Pacific Northwest, not just Seattle. The (206) thus represents a transitional moment in local television comedy, bridging the earlier Almost Live! era with a broader regional format.

Did You Know?

• The show was styled 'The [206]' on-screen.
• John Keister left the show before the third season to pursue a one-man show called The Keister Monologues.

Origins & Local Identity

The (206), styled on-screen as "The [206]," emerged as a locally produced sketch comedy series deeply rooted in the Pacific Northwest. Broadcast on KING-TV, the NBC affiliate serving Seattle, Washington, the program first hit the air on January 6, 2013. It occupied a late-night Sunday slot at 1:00 AM Pacific, positioned directly after the nationally broadcast Saturday Night Live. The show served as the direct successor to a prior program called Almost Live!, carrying forward a tradition of live local comedy in the Seattle market. What distinguished The (206) from its national counterparts was its deep commitment to Seattle-specific humor—much of the material drew from local events, regional culture, and the particular flavor of everyday life in the Emerald City. The area code embedded in the title (206) reinforced this hyperlocal identity, signaling to viewers that the jokes were crafted specifically for and about their own community rather than for a broad national audience.

Seasonal Timeline & Broadcast History

The show's broadcast history was anything but linear. After just two initial episodes, The (206) was temporarily pulled from the KING-TV schedule, creating an uncertain gap in its early run. It made its comeback on April 27, 2013, launching into a full first season that comprised twelve episodes, with the final installment airing on July 28, 2013. During that first season, the crew also produced a special titled "Not Especially Special, Special," which aired on July 7, 2013. The second season picked up on November 16, 2013, and ran through May 3, 2014. The third and final season began on October 18, 2014, and concluded in May 2015. In total, the program delivered three seasons of sketch comedy over roughly two and a half years, a modest but dedicated run for a locally produced show that never sought a national distribution deal.

Cast Dynamics & John Keister's Departure

One of the more notable shifts in the show's history came ahead of its third season. John Keister, a member of the cast, departed from The (206) before the October 18, 2014 premiere of season three. The announcement noted that he was leaving to pursue other creative interests. Keister himself shared that he was in the process of developing a one-man show he called The Keister Monologues, signaling a pivot toward solo performance work. His departure represented a meaningful change for a locally produced series where the ensemble cast formed the backbone of the show's identity. The remaining cast carried the third season through to its May 2015 conclusion, maintaining the program's format and local sensibility even as its personnel shifted. The fact that a cast member could leave and immediately announce a new solo project underscores the entrepreneurial, independent spirit that characterized the local comedy scene the show inhabited.

Legacy & the Up Late Northwest Transition

The (206) did not simply vanish from the KING-TV schedule. In September 2015, it was succeeded by a new program called Up Late Northwest, branded on-air as Up Late NW. This successor retained the fundamental DNA of its predecessor: the basic sketch comedy format, the guest appearance structure, and much of the same cast. However, the most significant evolution was geographic. While The (206) had been a strictly Seattle-local production—its identity tied to the 206 area code and the specific culture of one city—Up Late NW expanded its reach to cities throughout the broader Pacific Northwest. This shift represented a natural maturation of the format, taking the locally honed comedy that had thrived in Seattle and opening it to a wider regional audience. The transition preserved the creative team and the show's core structure while acknowledging that the talent and humor had outgrown a single-market footprint.