30 Rock

''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy show depicted as airing on NBC. The series's name refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, where the NBC Studios are located and where ''Saturday Night Live'' is written, produced, and performed. The series was produced by Lorne Michaels's Broadway Video (which also produces ''Saturday Night Live'') and Fey's Little Stranger, in association with NBCUniversal.

''30 Rock'' episodes were produced in a single-camera setup (with the exception of the two live episodes that were produced in the multiple-camera setup) and were filmed in New York. The pilot episode premiered on October 11, 2006, and seven seasons followed. The series stars Fey with a supporting cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Katrina Bowden, Keith Powell, Lonny Ross, John Lutz, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, and Maulik Pancholy.

Tonally, ''30 Rock'' uses surreal humor to parody the complex corporate structure of NBC and its parent companies General Electric and Comcast. Described as "a live-action cartoon", the show was influential in its extensive use of cutaways. ''30 Rock'' won several major awards (including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and nominations for every other year it ran) and appeared on many critics' year-end "best of" 2006–2013 lists. On July 14, 2009, the series was nominated for 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most in a single year for a comedy series. Over the course of the series, it was nominated for 103 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 16, in addition to numerous other nominations and wins from other awards shows. Despite the high praise, the series struggled in the ratings throughout its run, something which Fey herself has made light of.

In 2009, Comedy Central and WGN America bought the syndication rights to the show, which began airing on both networks on September 19, 2011; the series also entered into local broadcast syndication on the same day. ''30 Rock'' is regarded as a landmark series, and one of the greatest television series of all time, particularly the 21st century. Its series finale in particular has been named as one of the greatest in television history by several publications. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America West named ''30 Rock'' the 21st best-written television series of all time.

Premise

Liz Lemon is head writer and showrunner of the NBC sketch comedy series ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' (originally called ''The Girlie Show''), produced in Studio 6H in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. She supervises cast and crew, including star Jenna Maroney, her best friend, while working with network executive Jack Donaghy and page Kenneth Parcell. In the first episode, Jack forces Liz to hire the unpredictable Tracy Jordan as co-star.

Episodes often depict conservative Jack and liberal Liz's disagreements, Jenna's attempts to become a film star, Tracy's immature behavior, and the characters' romantic and personal lives. The show satirizes the cultures of NBC, parent company General Electric, and the entertainment industry. The network airs programs like reality shows ''MILF Island'', ''Queen of Jordan'' and ''America's Kidz Got Singing'' as well as paranormal drama ''Hunchbacks'', and game shows ''Gold Case'' and ''Celebrity Homonym''. In later seasons, the show depicts the network being acquired by Philadelphia-based media company Kabletown, a fictionalization of the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast.

Development and production

Conception

In 2002, Fey was the head writer and a performer on the television show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). She pitched the show that became ''30 Rock'' to NBC, originally as a sitcom about cable news. NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly felt that "Fey was using the news setting as a fig leaf for her own experience and eencouraged her to write what she knew." The show was subsequently reworked to revolve around an ''SNL''-style sketch show. After being presented to Reilly once more, the show was set to air during the 2005–2006 television season.

In May 2003, Fey signed a contract with NBC to remain in her ''SNL'' head writer position until at least the 2004–2005 television season and to develop a primetime project to be produced by Broadway Video and NBC Universal. Filming was postponed due to Tina Fey's first pregnancy.

During the 2004–2005 pilot season, a pilot was announced named ''Untitled Tina Fey Project''. The ''30 Rock'' pilot focused on the boss of a variety show who must manage her relationships with the show's volatile star and its charismatic executive producer. The storyline evolved into one that dealt with a head writer of a variety show who dealt with both of the stars, as well as the show's new network executive. ''30 Rock'' was officially given the green light to air May 15, 2006, along with a 13-episode order.

The series underwent further changes during the months leading up to and following its debut. A May 2006 press release mentioned that sketches from ''The Girlie Show'' would be made available in their entirety on NBC's broadband website, DotComedy.com. The idea was to air the fictitious ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' online. This aspect of the series was abandoned prior to its debut.

Filming

Interior scenes for ''30 Rock'' were mostly filmed at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York City (Studio 8H in 30 Rock in Manhattan for two live episodes). In the episodes "Cleveland" and "Hiatus", Battery Park City, Manhattan, and Douglaston, Queens, doubled for Cleveland, Ohio and Needmore, Pennsylvania, respectively. The show often built elaborate sets, once using a set that took three days to build for only six seconds of video. In the episode "Gavin Volure", stock footage of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion was used for exterior shots of the home of Steve Martin's character.

The title sequence comprises photos and videos of 30 Rockefeller Plaza and features the series regulars. The sequence ends with a time lapse of the building and then a title card reading "30 Rock". The sequence remained mostly the same throughout the series, although changes were made to most of the actors' images.

Music

The series features a "jaunty" jazz score. Most of the incidental music melody is played by either clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, or strings, often as wildly varying renditions of the usual central theme. The music is composed by Fey's husband, Jeff Richmond, who is also a producer for ''30 Rock''. Richmond wrote the theme music, which was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. Seven short, original songs have been featured in episodes, five of which were performed by Krakowski, another performed by Fey and Jason Sudeikis, and another performed by Morgan.

The show also covered three existing songs, including the song " Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips. The song had its lyrics altered to accommodate the character Kenneth being "misinformed about the time f the 11:45 train. The song "Oh My" performed by The Gray Kid is heard throughout the episode "The Source Awards", which was mixed with a piano arrangement composed by Richmond. "Kidney Now!", a rendition of the popular song, " We Are the World", is performed by various artists in the season-three finale. Other popular songs have been featured (with blessings by the singers), such as " I Will Remember You" or "Bitch".

The ''30 Rock Original Television Soundtrack'' was released by the Relativity Music Group on November 16, 2010.

Internet content

On April 2, 2008, NBC announced ''30 Rock 360'', an online extension of the ''30 Rock'' series. The extension featured Jack Donaghy's Online Business Courses (or ''Jack U''). Users could also read Jack's blogs and upload their own business advice in video form. Users could submit sketches for ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' and act out skits from ''TGS''. The feature reopened ''Ask Tina'', an interactive question and answer platform in which users could ask Fey questions. Fey answered the questions in video form. ''Ask Tina'' was a fixture on NBC.com's ''30 Rock'' section throughout the first season.

Cast and characters

Main

''30 Rock'' features an ensemble cast. The seven roles that receive star billing during the opening credits are:
* Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, a "sexually frightened know-it-all" and head writer of ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''
* Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan, the loose-cannon, crazy, and unpredictable star of ''TGS''
* Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney, the original star of ''The Girlie Show'', co-star of ''TGS'' and Liz's constantly attention-seeking, arrogant, and clueless best friend
* Jack McBrayer as Kenneth Ellen Parcell, a cheerful, obedient Southern-born NBC page who "lives for television"
* Scott Adsit as Pete Hornberger, the "sane," quick-witted producer of ''TGS'', who often reveals embarrassing details about his family life
* Judah Friedlander as Frank Rossitano, a trucker hat-wearing, manchildish, sarcastic writer at ''TGS'' whose hat bears a different phrase in every episode
* Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, the decisive, controlling, suave, and occasionally senseless network executive who constantly interferes with the goings-on at ''TGS''

Beginning with season two, several actors received star billing after the opening credits.
* Katrina Bowden as Cerie Xerox, Liz's beautiful, laid-back assistant, who usually wears revealing outfits to work, much to the delight of the writers' room (seasons 2–7; recurring season 1)
* Keith Powell as James "Toofer" Spurlock, a ''TGS'' writer who is "two for one," a Harvard guy and a black guy, and the polar opposite of both Tracy and Frank (seasons 2–7; recurring season 1)
* Lonny Ross as Josh Girard, a young and immature ''TGS'' writer and co-star, known for his impressions (seasons 2–4; recurring season 1)
* Kevin Brown as Walter "Dot Com" Slattery, an erudite member of Tracy's entourage who is also a Wesleyan University-trained stage actor (seasons 3–7; recurring seasons 1–2)
* Grizz Chapman as Warren "Grizz" Griswold, a gentle giant member of Tracy's entourage (seasons 3–7; recurring seasons 1–2)
* Maulik Pancholy as Jonathan, Jack's loyal and overprotective personal assistant, who at times appears to be in love with Jack (seasons 3–5, 7; recurring seasons 1–2)
* John Lutz as J. D. Lutz, a lazy, overweight ''TGS'' writer who is often insulted or made fun of by the rest of the staff (seasons 4–7; recurring seasons 1–3)

Recurring

* Dean Winters as Dennis Duffy, Liz's irresponsible ex-boyfriend
* Chris Parnell as Leo Spaceman, Tracy's quack doctor who regularly provides him with experimental treatments
* Jason Sudeikis as Floyd DeBarber, a lawyer working in 30 Rockefeller who dates Liz before moving home to Cleveland
* Rachel Dratch appears as several minor characters in seasons 1, 5, and 6, including 4 episodes as Greta Johansen, a cat wrangler working on ''TGS''
* Sue Galloway as Sue LaRoche-Van der Hout, a French-Dutch writer hired by ''TGS'' and often referred to as "girl writer"
* Cheyenne Jackson as Jack "Danny" Baker, a ''TGS'' cast member added in the fourth season
* James Marsden as Criss Chros, Liz's boyfriend and later husband, who ran a hot dog stand in his first episodes of the series

Casting

Fey worked with Jen McNamara and Adam Bernstein for the casting of the series. Fey's first act as casting director was to cast herself as the lead character, Liz Lemon, who is said to be much like Fey herself when she first became head writer on ''SNL''. The next actor to be cast was Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan, who was then a former castmate of Fey's in ''SNL''. Morgan was asked by Fey to play the role, and he believed it was "right up isalley and it was tailor made for im. Fey said that the character of Kenneth was written with McBrayer in mind. McBrayer is an old friend of Fey's (they worked together at Second City in Chicago), and she "really wanted him for that part and was very happy when no one objected".

Rachel Dratch, Fey's longtime comedy partner and fellow ''SNL'' alumna, was originally cast to portray Jenna. Dratch played the role in the show's original pilot, but in August 2006, Krakowski was announced as Dratch's replacement, with Dratch remaining involved in the show playing various characters. Fey explained the change by noting that Dratch was better-suited to playing a variety of side characters, which was suitable when the show intended to feature actual sketches from ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''. However, this aspect of the show was scrapped, thus they required more of a straight-ahead acting part for the role of Jenna.

Although Fey went on to say, "Rachel and I were both very excited about this new direction," Dratch said that she was not happy with the media's depiction of the change as a demotion; furthermore, she was also skeptical about the reasons she was given for the change and was not happy with the reduction in the number of episodes in which she would appear. Following the first season, Dratch only appeared in a handful of episodes.

Shortly following the casting of McBrayer and Dratch, Baldwin was cast as Jack, the "totally uncensored" vice president of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. Fey said that the character of Jack was written with Baldwin in mind, and she was "very pleasantly surprised when he agreed to do it". Judah Friedlander was cast as Frank Rossitano, a staff writer of ''The Girlie Show''. Friedlander had never met Fey before auditioning for a role in ''30 Rock''. His character was based on at least two writers with whom Fey used to work at ''SNL'', but he has said that he "certainly brought some of isown things to it, as well". Finally, Scott Adsit was cast as Pete Hornberger, a longtime friend of Liz's and producer of ''The Girlie Show''. Adsit, an old friend of Fey's, also had his character written based on him.

Following ''SNL''s ongoing tradition, ''30 Rock'' had several real-life politician cameos, including Al Gore (twice), Nancy Pelosi (series finale) and Condoleezza Rice (as Jack's former love interest).

Episodes

Season one

Season one began airing on October 11, 2006, and featured 21 episodes. The season finale aired on April 26, 2007. Jack Donaghy, the "Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming" at General Electric (GE), is transferred to work at the NBC headquarters, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and retool the late-night sketch-comedy series ''The Girlie Show''. The show's cast and crew are outraged by this, especially head writer Liz Lemon and main actress Jenna Maroney. Jack proceeds to wreak havoc on ''The Girlie Show'', forcing Liz to hire off-the-wall movie star Tracy Jordan. He again irritates the cast and crew of ''The Girlie Show'' when he changes the name to ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' (or just ''TGS'').

As the season progresses, the episodes become less about ''TGS'' and more about how the characters deal with juggling their lives and their jobs . Specifically, Liz, but other characters are also explored. Episodes also become less self-contained, and various story arcs develop in the second half of the season. For example, the first major story arc centers on Liz's relationship with Dennis Duffy ( Dean Winters), "The Beeper King". Other story arcs include Jenna promoting her movie ''The Rural Juror''; Tracy going on the run from the Black Crusaders; Jack's engagement, which was eventually called off, to a Christie's auctioneer named Phoebe ( Emily Mortimer); and another relationship of Liz's with Floyd (Sudeikis).

Season two

Season two began airing on October 4, 2007, and featured 15 episodes. The second season was originally intended to consist of 22 episodes, but the order was cut to 15 due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The season finale aired on May 8, 2008. After Liz broke up with Floyd in the summer, she is looking for ways to rebound. When Jerry Seinfeld confronts Jack about a new marketing campaign which featured clips of Seinfeld's sitcom, '' Seinfeld'', in all NBC shows, he has a chance encounter with Liz that gives her some much-needed advice. During the ''TGS'' summer hiatus, Jenna becomes overweight due to performing in the Broadway show ''Mystic Pizza: The Musical'' (based on the real 1988 film '' Mystic Pizza''). Tracy has encountered some marital problems with his wife Angie Jordan (Sherri Shepherd) and they become separated, but later reunite.

During the season, Jack develops a relationship with a Democratic congresswoman named Celeste "C. C." Cunningham ( Edie Falco). They later break up. An arc that was established in the first season, but becomes more apparent in the second, regards Jack running for the GE chairmanship against his nemesis Devon Banks (Will Arnett). The season ends with Liz planning to adopt a child after believing she was pregnant with Dennis' baby. Kenneth also travels to Beijing to be a page at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Tracy invents a pornographic video game. Jack ends the season working at a new government job in Washington, DC, but plans to get fired by proposing a "gay bomb".

Season three

Season three began airing October 30, 2008, and concluded on May 14, 2009. The show experienced a large ratings and popularity spike this season after Tina Fey's highly praised performance as Sarah Palin on'' SNL''. This is also the season where the show made Primetime Emmy Award history, being nominated for 22 awards. The season consisted of 22 episodes. Oprah Winfrey guest-starred in the second episode, playing herself (actually a drug-induced hallucination of Liz's), as well as Jennifer Aniston playing Liz's ex-roommate. Salma Hayek also appeared for a multiple-episode arc, portraying Jack's new girlfriend, Elisa. Other guest stars this season included John Lithgow, Kerry Butler, Megan Mullally, Peter Dinklage, and Steve Martin. Jon Hamm played Liz's love interest and neighbor for several episodes. Alan Alda appeared in the season's final two episodes as Milton Greene, Jack's biological father.

Season four

The fourth season premiered on October 15, 2009. Like the previous season, it also consisted of 22 episodes. A recurring story arc early in the season revolved around Jack's request that Liz cast a new actor for ''TGS'' and Liz's subsequent search for the perfect comedian, much to Jenna and Tracy's dismay, who fear losing their spotlight. The show fictionalizes the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast, announced during the season, by portraying the network being acquired by Philadelphia-based cable company Kabletown. The latter half of the season focused on complementary story arcs: Jack's inability to choose between his two girlfriends, Liz's inability to find a boyfriend to live up to her expectations, and Jenna's relationship with a Jenna Maroney impersonator. The season also featured such guest stars as Jeff Dunham, Julianne Moore, Jon Bon Jovi, Cheyenne Jackson, Sherri Shepherd, Will Forte, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Sheen, Matt Damon, and James Franco.

Season five

''30 Rock'' premiered its fifth season on September 23, 2010. An episode of ''30 Rocks fifth season was produced and broadcast live, twice, on the evening of October 14, 2010. The two separate performances resulted in a live telecast of the episode to American viewers on both the West and East Coasts, to ensure both would view a live performance. Produced in front of a live audience, the episode aired at 8:30 pm EDT and PDT on NBC. A ratings success, the episode was also met with positive reviews.

Season five focuses on Liz Lemon's continuing relationship with Carol Burnett ( Matt Damon), Jack's start into fatherhood with fiancée Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks), struggling with the merger of NBCUniversal with Kabletown, Tracy's foray into getting an EGOT, and Kenneth's attempt to get back to NBC. Aside from featuring the return of Rachel Dratch in "Live Show," other guest stars include Matt Damon, Elizabeth Banks, Susan Sarandon (as Frank's former teacher- who was in prison due to their relationship while he was a student- and present girlfriend), Paul Giamatti (as one of the ''TGS'' editors), Sherri Shepherd, Queen Latifah, Rob Reiner, John Amos, Jon Hamm (reprising his role as Drew, Liz Lemon's former love interest who despite being a doctor, she dumped for being too dumb), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (playing the reimagined version of Liz Lemon and also as herself playing this character in "Live Show"), Bill Hader, Chris Parnell, Kelsey Grammer (playing himself), Buck Henry, David Gregory, John Slattery, Daniel Sunjata, Will Forte, Kelly Coffield Park, Elaine Stritch, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Alan Alda, Cheyenne Jackson, Robert De Niro (playing himself), Dean Winters, Ken Howard, Vanessa Minnillo, Brian Williams (playing himself), Richard Belzer, Ice-T, John Cho, Chloë Grace Moretz (as Kaylie Hooper – the granddaughter of Kabletown CEO Hank Hooper and Jack's sworn enemy as heir to the Kabletown throne), Terrence Mann (as oceanographer Bob Ballard), Cristin Milioti (as Abby Flynn in "''TGS'' Hates Women"), Eion Bailey, Adriane Lenox, Michael Keaton, Margaret Cho (as Avery's kidnapper, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il), and Tom Hanks (as himself in "100: Part 1" and "100: Part 2").

Season six

The sixth season debuted mid-season on January 12, 2012, to accommodate Tina Fey's second pregnancy.

Season six finds Liz emotionally maturing while in a new relationship; Jack continues to attempt to recover his wife from North Korea and find his identity at Kabletown, Kenneth moves up (and later down) the corporate ladder. Jenna reaches a new level of fame due to being a judge on a reality show and considers settling down with boyfriend Paul.

Many LGBT groups called for Tracy Morgan's resignation or dismissal from the show due to anti-gay comments he made between the end of season five and the filming for season six. Morgan issued an apology and continued with his starring role. ''30 Rock'' had previously received an award from GLAAD, commending the show on its portrayal of LGBT themes and characters. The scandal inspired the second episode of the season, in which Tracy Jordan goes on an offensive rant during a standup set, forcing the show to apologize on his behalf after he mistakenly apologizes to Glad, the plastic bag company, instead of GLAAD.

Season seven

''30 Rock'' returned for a final, abbreviated season consisting of 13 episodes, which began airing on October 4, 2012. Alec Baldwin reportedly approached NBC and offered to cut his pay for ''30 Rock'' to be renewed for a full seventh and eighth seasons, stating on Twitter: "I offered NBC to cut my pay 20% in order to have a full 7th and 8th seasons of ''30 Rock''. I realize times have changed."

Season seven continues to develop the relationship between Liz and Criss ( James Marsden), as the pair tries for children and considers getting married. Meanwhile, Jack attempts to improve his prospects at the company, first by trying to "tank" NBC and convince Kabletown CEO Hank Hooper (Ken Howard) to sell it, and later by plotting to discredit Hooper's granddaughter and future CEO, Kaylee Hooper (Chloë Grace Moretz). Ultimately, however, he begins to wonder if he is truly happy. Elsewhere, Tracy has found success with his new movie studio, which produces comedy films mostly starring African American actors, similarly to Tyler Perry; Jenna prepares to marry her long-term boyfriend Paul (Will Forte), and Kenneth has started a relationship with Hazel ( Kristen Schaal), unaware that she is using him to get her moment on ''TGS''.

Reception

Critical

''30 Rock'' has received many positive reviews from critics. Chris Harnick, writing in the '' Huffington Post'', has ranked it along with '' I Love Lucy'' and '' Seinfeld'' as one of the great TV comedies. The Writers Guild of America West listed it as the 21st best written TV series. Its series finale has been rated highly by several publications. HitFix ranked it the 15th best series final, IndieWire included it in its list of 16 best series finals, and HuffPost named it the 5th best.

The first season of ''30 Rock'' was reviewed favorably by critics. ''Metacritic'' gave the pilot episode a Metascore—a weighted average based on the impressions of a select thirty-one critical reviews—of 67 out of 100. Robert Abele of '' LA Weekly'' declared that the show was a "weirdly appropriate and hilarious symbol of our times". ''The Wall Street Journal'''s Dorothy Rabinowitz wrote that the "standard caution is relevant—debut episodes tend to be highly polished. All the more reason to enjoy the hilarious scenes and fine ensemble cast here". Some less favorable reviews were received from Brian Lowry of '' Variety''. Lowry said, "Despite her success with ''Mean Girls'', Fey mostly hits too-familiar notes in the pilot. Moreover, she's a limited protagonist, which is problematic." Maureen Ryan of the ''Chicago Tribune'' criticized "''30 Rock'' for being less than the sum of its parts, and, as an entry in the single-camera comedy sweepstakes, it fails to show either the inspired inventiveness of '' Arrested Development'' or provide the surprisingly perceptive character studies of ''The Office''".

At the end of 2006, ''LA Weekly'' listed ''30 Rock'' as one of the best "Series of the Year". The show also appeared on similar year end "best of" 2006 lists published by ''The New York Times'', '' The A.V. Club'', ''The Boston Globe'', the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', ''Entertainment Weekly'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', the ''Miami Herald

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