Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of Tina Fey’s satirical sitcom, 30 Rock. 30 Rock stars Fey as comedy writer Liz Lemon, who is the producer of the fictitious sketch comedy show The Girlie Show (later TGS with Tracy Jordan) on NBC. Produced by Lorne Michaels, the show is loosely based on Fey’s experience as head writer on Saturday Night Live (which premiered on October 11th, 1975), and much of the humor is derived from references to SNL as well as satire at the expense of NBC. Since its finale in 2013, 30 Rock has been celebrated for its sharp writing, strong ensemble cast, and its surrealist tone. The show ran on NBC for seven seasons between 2006 and 2013, was consistently praised by critics, and was nominated for over 100 Emmys, winning 16, and for 17 Golden Globe Awards, winning 6. 30 Rock also won a Peabody Award in 2008. The New York Times recently released its “Top 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century,” with 30 Rock being ranked at number eight, and it was also ranked as fourth on my “Top 10 Network Sitcoms (1970s-Now).” In celebration of the 20th anniversary of 30 Rock, today’s blog will take a look back at the prestigious show and highlight some of its most memorable moments. 

One of 30 Rock’s biggest strengths is its cast. At the beginning of the series, Liz Lemon meets the new NBC network executive, Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin. Baldwin received widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of Donaghy, winning numerous Emmys, Golden Globes, and eight SAG Awards. The role helped redefine Baldwin’s career as he began to age out of his more dramatic leading-man roles. Donaghy informs Lemon that, in an effort to boost ratings, he wants her to hire falling comedy movie star Tracy Jordan, played by Tracy Morgan, to the cast of The Girlie Show, as well as alter the title to TGS with Tracy Jordan to cash in on the fictional star’s popularity. Tracy Jordan is largely based on Morgan himself; however, his career trajectory also parallels that of real-life comedians-turned-movie stars such as Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy. This pilot episode perfectly sets the stage for the main premise of the show, with Lemon balancing her work life with her personal life, while also managing the clashing personalities of Jordan and the rest of her show’s staff, as well as her own clashes with her new boss, Jack Donaghy. Jane Krakowski also stars as Jenna Maroney, a narcissistic and sometimes difficult actor who is also a longtime friend of Lemon’s. She is displeased with the decision to include Tracy Jordan, as she fears the spotlight will be taken off of her. The series also stars Jack McBrayer as Kenneth the Page. Kenneth is not only one of the most beloved characters on the show but also the subject of one of its most popular running gags. In real life, the NBC Page position is a temporary 12-month-long position. Kenneth, however, remains a Page for the entire duration of the show’s seven seasons and is also revealed to be an ageless, seemingly immortal character, with callbacks indicating he existed in the 1940s. In the series finale, the final scene depicts Liz Lemon’s great-granddaughter pitching a new series to NBC about a New York comedy writer working in Rockefeller. It is then revealed that a still ageless Kenneth is now the network executive. 30 Rock also features comedian Judah Friedlander as Frank Rossitano, a sleazy, immature writer for TGS, and Scott Adsit as Pete Hornberger, TGS’s producer who works closely with Lemon. 

30 Rock is also praised for its writing, which included a well-balanced combination of absurdist surreal humor and satire. It is also notable for its rapid-fire style of joke-telling that still comes off as natural and flowing. Its use of cutaway gags was praised for being well-inserted and not taking too much time away from the episode, which is a common criticism of such gags in television. The show also features many references and inside jokes for fans of Saturday Night Live and historical television shows and moments. In addition to the show’s self-referential humor, 30 Rock also has some of the best guest stars in sitcom history. Some guest stars, such as Conan O’Brien and Jerry Seinfeld, appear as themselves and satirize their own place in NBC and television history. 30 Rock would even poke fun at controversies surrounding its own stars, such as Tracy Morgan’s homophobic comments, which were directly referenced on the show, and Alec Baldwin’s infamous incident in which he was kicked off an airplane. The show also satirizes the changes taking place in the television landscape at the time of its original airing. In the 2000s, it was no longer a given that networks would dominate the airwaves, with cable and “Prestige TV” growing more prevalent. That message is even more resonant now, with streaming changing the television landscape once again. 

Much of the show’s social satire is derived from the corporate culture of NBC, as Jack Donaghy frequently meddles with Lemon’s show to push a certain agenda. One notable example of this is the season two episode “Greenzo,” in which Donaghy hires Jared (played by David Schwimmer in a guest starring role) to portray the character “Greenzo,” who Donaghy shoehorns into NBC programming to promote environmentalism at the request of General Electric CEO Don Geiss (a recurring character portrayed by Rip Torn). This episode was a direct satire of a real initiative done by NBC titled “Green is Universal,” in which NBC requested its primetime programming for the week to include messages about the importance of environmentalism. This was 30 Rock’s way of participating in NBC’s “Green Week” by mocking it. The episode shows that Donaghy used Greenzo only at his boss’s request and that he does not actually care about the environment, and it also features a cameo by former Vice President and environmental activist Al Gore. Another example of 30 Rock poking fun at its network was the season four episode “Khonani,” in which Jack Donaghy settles a feud between two janitors, Khonani and Subhas, over the 11:30 janitorial time slot. This episode was a direct satire of the network’s inaction during the 2010 Tonight Show conflict between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, which you can read about in my previous blog post. The show also features political satire, with Liz Lemon’s liberal ideology often clashing with Jack Donaghy’s conservatism. The show frequently targets both sides of the political aisle, with Lemon’s liberal views often being revealed to be performative and disingenuous. This satirical commentary on politics and NBC’s corporate nature further displays Fey’s self-awareness and often self-deprecating approach to her writing, a pattern prevalent throughout her career. The show won multiple awards for its writing, including eight Writers Guild of America awards. 

Twenty years since its premiere, 30 Rock is still looked back on fondly by audiences and critics, especially for fans of Saturday Night Live and NBC’s history. It premiered at a time when the sitcom genre was undergoing several changes, with workplace comedies growing in popularity and the typical live studio audience model slowly losing traction in favor of a drier, more natural feel without a live audience or laugh track. 30 Rock adapted to these new conventions while remaining original and maintaining its own distinct style. Its sharp writing and satire continue to make audiences laugh two decades later, and it remains a massive achievement in television, earning numerous awards and consistently ranking among the highest in retrospective rankings and reviews. The performances by the cast, specifically Morgan, McBrayer, and Baldwin, have received widespread acclaim and are often cited as among the best comedic performances in television history. The show has remained fresh and resonant, while also serving as a time capsule of sorts for the era of television in which it originally aired. 30 Rock is one of the greatest television shows of all time and is just as funny as it was when it first aired twenty years ago.