SNL writer and 30 Rock punching bag John Lutz wrote a piece for the Second City Network called "10 Things to Know About Life After The Second City." It's full of good advice for improvisers like "be patient," "don't hold grudges," and "if you own a pair of Skechers, throw them out," all of which double as good advice for regular people too.
30 Rock is gone. After seven seasons, Liz Lemon is no more. On Wednesday night, her real-life writers, Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Colleen McGuiness, Josh Siegal, and Dylan Morgan reunited at the Paley Center in New York to reminisce and discuss just how a show like 30 Rock came to be. In a panel moderated by New Yorker television critic Emily Nussbaum, we learned all about the show's origins, stories that never got to be told, how Tina felt about Studio 60, and who at TGS Jenna Maroney almost had an affair with. (Be warned, there are a couple tiny spoilers for the 30 Rock series finale in here.)
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30 Rock ended on a high(ish) note last night, ratings-wise. The hour-long series finale was watched by 4.8 million viewers, its best ratings in two years. During her acceptance speech at the SAG Awards Sunday night, Fey jokingly pleaded with the audience, "Our finale is on this Thursday at 8 PM, up against The Big Bang Theory, so just tape The Big Bang Theory for once, for crying out loud!" At least a couple people listened to her, but the show was still handily beat by competition on CBS and Fox, coming in at third place. At 8pm, Big Bang won the night with 17.51 million and 5.3 in the key 18-49 demo, [...]
Tonight, 30 Rock's seven-season, 138-episode run comes to an end. Looking back, it's hard to quantify the show's influence. Debuting in 2006, it helped cement the rebirth of NBC's Thursday-night lineup into one of the most consistent homes for quality comedy on network TV. Following closely in the footsteps of The Office, it further pushed the sitcom into more adventurous single-camera, no-laugh-track territory. All while being the most visible comedy production based in New York City.
In film and television production, New York has always been the true second city, sitting in a long shadow cast by Los Angeles. LA is the industry — there is no doubting that. [...]
30 Rock has just three weeks left before it ends its run, and Jimmy Fallon had the core cast – Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, and Jack McBrayer – on his show last night to discuss the show and to say goodbye. Fallon ditched his desk to just sit around with the gang and chat like Oprah, and you can watch the rest of the show after the jump, which also includes Tracy Morgan covering a Boyz II Men song.
30 Rock ended earlier this year, and although it won’t return for an eighth season, its existing seven seasons are available from now until forever to watch on DVD, with season seven just coming out this week. 30 Rock is, of course, a show that packs enough jokes per second in an episode that it truly rewards rewatching. Season 7 saw Liz Lemon get married, Kenneth advance in the workplace, and Alec Baldwin live a life of single-fatherhood, with as-always stellar comic performances from Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, and more. This DVD box set is definitely worth a buy, especially if you already [...]
The Writers Guild of America Awards were held this weekend and a lot of critically-acclaimed, beloved comedies won prizes. The three person writing staff of Louie (Pamela Adlon, Vernon Chatman, and Louis C.K. himself) won the Comedy Series Awards, and C.K.'s doing the bulk of the work there anyway. Lena Dunham, Jenni Konner, and company won the WGA's New Series award, beating out Veep and The Mindy Project. Portlandia, The Simpsons, and Modern Family all received awards too. While most TV awards shows tend to heap prizes on much-derided series like Two and a Half Men and other Chuck Lorre fare, you have to admit the WGA Awards are [...]
Well, those bastards did it. Those magnificent bastards did it. In a world where the desire to make well-crafted, self-aware comedy can turn into a pressure capable of crushing the final product (right? that's not just me?), 30 Rock turned out a truly wonderful conclusion to seven wonderfully bizarre seasons.
Now, obviously I don't have to tell you that the reason 30 Rock is/was the comedian's sitcom was because you could see Tina Fey’s influence in every aspect of the show. That’s the dream about having your own show, right? People just immediately know it’s yours. Having read her book approximately a trillion times, I'm always tickled when I [...]
The Screen Actors Guild Awards were held in Hollywood last night, and Tina Fey walked away with the "Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series" trophy. It's pretty impressive they can fit that super-long award name all on one trophy. That thing's gotta have some small print. Fey's acceptance speech is above, and you can see the full list of comedy-related winners and nominees from the SAG Awards after the jump. If you want drama-related winners and nominees, go to the TNT network's website or something:
30 Rock only has five episodes left, set to conclude its seven-year run with an double-length episode on January 31st, but some familiar faces are returning to help the show say goodbye. TV Line reports that tomorrow's episode will feature the return of Will Arnett as Jack's deep-voiced nemesis Devon Banks, Steve Buscemi as oddball private investigator Lenny Wosniak, Megan Mullally as Liz Lemon's adoption caseworker from season 3, and Chloe Grace Moretz as teenage heir to the Kabletown empire Kaylie Hooper. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer will also be appearing as herself, the star of a movie Tracy Jordan is directing. Additionally, Entertainment Weekly reports that Salma Hayek [...]
Between the firing of Dan Harmon on Community and the endless retooling (and eventual cancelation) of Up All Night, NBC has filled the current TV season with dread and frustration. But it wouldn’t be the first time a show has been in trouble. With that in mind, here are five great shows that nearly jumped the shark but managed to rebound and reclaim their former glory.
If you thought you'd never see Tracy Morgan cry, you're wrong.
Fast Company has compiled a list of all the fake TV shows from the past seven seasons of 30 Rock, from Queen of Jordan to Bitch Hunter. Check out the list here, which is a pretty great trip through 30 Rock memory lane, even if they forgot to include the fake hit BET series Black Frasier.
NBC just put out this video of Tina Fey giving a tour of Liz Lemon's office on the 30 Rock set, which has more pictures of Ghostface Killah in it than you'd think it would.
