Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon goes off on a man for not wearing a mask in a trailer for the upcoming 30 Rock reunion special. Airing from 2006 to 2013 on NBC, the acclaimed comedy series starred Fey as the harried head writer of the fictional sketch comedy show TGS (which of course was based loosely on SNL). Co-starring with Fey was Alec Baldwin as meddling network executive Jack Donaghy, Jane Krakowski as neurotic actress Jenna Maroney and Tracy Morgan as outlandish comedy star Tracy Jordan.
Though 30 Rock never proved to be a ratings giant during its 7 season run on the air, the show did become a darling of critics, winning a grand total of 11 Emmys including the 2007 trophy for Outstanding Comedy Series. And to this day, like its fellow NBC sitcom Parks and Rec, 30 Rock does maintain a rabid fan following. Those diehard fans are indeed very happy as the show is about to return for a one-time reunion special on NBC, set for air on July 16, 2020.
A few days ahead of the show’s premiere, NBC has released a trailer for 30 Rock: A One-Time Special featuring Fey back in character as Liz Lemon, and the clip is certainly timely given the on-going coronavirus pandemic and the controversy over people wearing – or not wearing – protective masks. See the video in the space below:
In addition to Fey as Lemon, the clip confirms the returns of all the other major 30 Rock characters, including Jack McBrayer as lovable NBC page Kenneth. The clip obviously doesn’t give much away plot-wise, but it does promise that the old gang is pretty much the same as always, with Lemon and Donaghy sparring, Tracy Jordan being crazy and Jenna being stuck on herself. No doubt there will also be some big surprises in store for fans as well.
Of course, the 30 Rock special comes on the heels of this summer’s Parks and Rec reunion, which made a virtue of lockdown-mandated social distancing by being formatted as a series of video calls between the various characters. The 30 Rock special by contrast looks to have been shot by actual cameramen, though it still appears that the actors for the most part were not physically in the same rooms. Indeed, the only time there are two actors together on-screen is when Fey is mysteriously shoved by a woman whose face is turned away from the camera (perhaps hiding the identity of a guest star).
Interestingly, the end of the trailer features a promotion for NBC’s upcoming streaming service Peacock that promises “all episodes” of 30 Rock will be arriving on the platform. But of course, this isn’t entirely true as a few of the show’s episodes were pulled from circulation due to the use of blackface. Controversy aside, 30 Rock remains one of the most beloved of recent sitcoms, and it will definitely be fun to see Fey and company back together even if they’re not able to actually share the same space due to social distancing. It will indeed be fascinating to see how the show incorporates real life circumstances into its comedy, and if it can actually succeed at making funny jokes about coronavirus (a very difficult subject to be sure).
Source: NBC