Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
“Hashbrown, no filter”
When 30 Rock came to an end a couple of years ago the world lost one of the great comedies in recent memory. There was nothing else like that show, the closest thing perhaps being something like Scrubs or maybe even Community. The sense of humour was so wacky, so ridiculous, that if you explained it to someone it would fall flat on its own face. The magic of 30 Rock wasn’t just its great jokes but the way in which the characters delivered these gags with such hilarious precision. So when it became known that 30 Rock creator Tina Fey was working on a new show, also set in New York, about a woman surviving a doomsday cult, fans of that wacky brand of comedy leapt for unparalleled joy. We would be able to laugh again. Even greater news was that the show would be coming to Netflix (originally on NBC) which is obviously only a good thing.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is crazy. The plot is stupid, the main character is stupid, the jokes are stupid. It’s perfect. Like with hopes for Better Call Saul after Breaking Bad, fans of Fey and her work were hoping with everything they had that Kimmy was going to live up to the majesty that was 30 Rock and so far I am very glad to say it does. With the freedom that Netflix gives a show, especially one as dark as this one, Tina and crew have gone all out on providing the laughs and gags that we have all been missing. Now Kimmy isn’t a 30 Rock rip off, Tina Fey does have a cameo and Jane Krakowski plays a supporting role but this is its own show, there is no mention of NBC, Jack Donaghy, Kenneth or Trivection ovens. However, one could imagine that these shows do live in the same universe and I did keep secretly hoping that one of the TGS crew would pop up.
A huge amount of the shows instant success can be contributed to Ellie Kemper in the lead role of Kimmy. She is perfect. Being a huge fan of her in ‘The Office’ I was excited like many others to see what she would bring to the table in this crazy world of running gags and pratfalls. There was no disappointment to be had however because she fits in perfectly and brings an incredibly adorable wide-eyed wonder to the role of Kimmy, someone who has had an incredibly dark past, being locked in an underground bunker for her entire childhood by doomsday cult leader Jon Hamm. She is most certainly the vehicle from which we use to drive through this bizarre world. A special mention has to go out to 30 Rock alumni Tituss Burgess who is pure hilarity in the form of his character Titus Andromedon.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is just what the doctor ordered. Every episode is instantly quotable and what the show provides in its debut season leaves the viewer with a promise that things are only going to get weirder, darker and even more hilarious once it continues into its second season next year. I had been looking forward to this one for a while so I am very pleased to say that Kimmy is easily one of the best new shows of the year so far and immediately one of the best comedies currently on TV.
Samuel Brace
https://youtu.be/IWWtOQOZSTI?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published July 11, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
