The 30 Rock cast is getting back together for a reunion/extended NBCUniversal promo reel
Aux Features TV
Parks And Recreation and Community both had big online reunion specials during this quarantine and John Krasinki orchestrated some fun The Office moments on his now-corporate-owned feel-good web show, leaving pretty much only 30 Rock as the critically acclaimed NBC comedy show of that era to not put everybody on a Zoom call… until now! As reported by Variety, the cast of 30 Rock is getting back together for an hour-long reunion special, but in true meta 30 Rock fashion, it won’t just be a new episode where Liz Lemon is checking on her friends through a Zoom call (as if Liz Lemon is some kind of Leslie Knope). Instead, the 30 Rock special will double as a promo reel for all of the quality programming you can find across the NBCUniversal family of networks.
Variety says the special will “feature guest appearances from talent across NBCUniversal, highlighting new and returning programming from NBC, Telemundo, USA Network, Syfy, E!, Bravo, and more.” It seems like a weird gimmick to frame that with a 30 Rock reunion, since the show ended seven years ago and never really had a reputation for being a crossover smash in the ratings, but it does make a sad bit of sense to use this particular cast to talk about other NBC shows that are probably more popular than it ever was.
But hey, more 30 Rock kinda! Variety says the special will feature Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, and “others” reprising their roles from the show (shoutout to Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, and Scott Adsit, who we assume are counted among the “others”). It’ll be interesting to see what the characters are up to, given what happens in the series finale, which ended with Liz producing a new sitcom, Tracy reuniting with his father, Jenna still being Jenna, Jack inventing a clear dishwasher so we can finally see what’s going on in there (and if this special doesn’t find a way to show that, we will be pissed), and Kenneth running NBC for generations because he’s immortal. Also, it was implied that 30 Rock had been a show-within-a-show the whole time and that it was created by Liz’s future great-granddaughter… but assuming this takes place in 2020, that won’t have happened yet.
The special will air across the NBCU family of networks on July 17, and it will be available to stream on Peacock after that as well.
57 Comments
I want to go to there.
If there’s a writing team who can thread this very particular needle, it’s this one. Here’s hoping they’ve still got it.
I’ll have my tux pressed immediately. It’s after six! What am I, a farmer?
I hope Meat Cat makes an appearance:
Heh heh. I’m what’s inside ya! Razzmatazz!
Thanks Meat Cat.
I know I could use more 30 Rock in my life, so I’m not gonna complain.But please oh please let this be a fakeout and the “new and returning programming from NBC, Telemundo, USA Network, Syfy, E!, Bravo, and more” is all just shit they make up à la Bitch Hunter, MILF Island, Gold Case, etc.
I would also accept Seinfeld-Vision adapted to current properties.
“Save the cheerleader, save the world.”“チアリーダーを救い、世界を救い.”“Yeah, that’s what I said!”
Seinfeld vision actually seems like the right tech to use right now, since Jerry himself has probably been holed up in Grenyarnia since the start of the pandemic.
And Homonym!
It’s always the other one!
“Let me see that card!”“No! Never!”
I think it’s basically an hour long infomercial for the Peacock service disguised as a 30 Rock episode.
Yeah, that’s what has me worried. Kinda seems like if the special is something that would’ve been lampooned on the show, it’s not a good idea IRL.
Completely agree. I have every intention of signing up for Peacock, but this is kind of gross. I’ll be sitting it out.
It’s just a good example of vertical intergortion.
If they don’t give us a proper finale to “God Cop” I’ll be very upset. What a cliffhanger ending!
BRING BACK MILF ISLAND!
I just really want this to be paired with a reunion episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
They could always go into the back catalog for Alfie and Abner or The Lovebirds.
Considering how ruthlessly 30 Rock mocked NBC during its run, I’m willing to give this the benefit of the doubt and not write it off immediately.
How will actor Jack McBrayer ever find his inner Kenneth again? OH, wait, from all accounts he is Kenneth, perhaps just not as naïve in real life. He’s like the 21st century Don Knotts with just one note, but that one note is done perfectly. Still, I’d love to see him as a Bond villain or something similarly malicious…
The Conan bits where he treats him like absolute shit are so good
The one where he sends him and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog to Weiner’s Circle in Chicago is the lolocaust.
oh my God, my face hurts from laughing. thanks for posting this
“Tell that bitch to tip!”“Bitch, tip.”I died.
He’s very Kenneth-esque in his Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt cameo. He didn’t realize until after the fact that his character’s last name was Parcell.
The launch of Peacock is DEFINITELY the reason they’re doing this.
If I saw quality programming like this, I’d be like, where is the nearest app store so I can download Peacock.(turns to camera) Can we have our money now?
This is exactly the kind of thing 30 Rock would have made fun of. Anyway, I’ll warm up my Cheesy Blaster in anticipation
Liz would probably be doing great in quarantine.“Yes to love, yes to life, yes to staying in more!”
More time for Workin on my night cheese!
Just as long as she’s well-stocked with Sabor de Solidad.“Con semen del Toro!”
Isn’t the show-within-a-show pitch declined by Future Kenneth immediately? The joke is that he says “nobody would watch that.”
BET is also getting in the reunion game with a special new episode of Black Frasier next Saturday afternoon between 3:10 and 3:30.
I first saw 30 Rock on a flight and was very confused. It was an episode featuring cameos by Andrea Mitchell, Brian Williams, and the dude who hosted Cash Cab. I thought it was a sampler reel for a bunch of different TV shows.So, doing the 30 Rock reunion as a promo for a bunch of other programming seems strangely appropriate.
Yay more 30 Rock! Meh to being a cross-network promotional thing. Kinda reminds me of that Saved By the Bell special that was just shilling the saturday morning cartoon line-up:
Finally! A reunion of friends! From 30 Rock.
Been watching this show for about over 2 years now, 1 episode a week! Always new episodes for me! Literally just finished season 6 finale about a half hour ago where Avery and Jack finally divorced and Kim Jong il is not dead. No spoilers for season 7! (Although I think s6 lost a bit of a step compared to previous seasons).But consider the post above should I finish s7 in a month? Only 13 episodes dangit. Probably about 3 EPs a week until the reunion special.
I am still holding out hope that Netflix numbers on Community are good enough to give us our #andamovie. I finally finished season 6 and really enjoyed it.
Alison Brie alluded to something once that I’m hoping was more than just the reunion special. They obviously need a movie.
Donald Glover also said he was interested during the recent table read reunion so it’s very likely to happen
When is the gang from Outsourced getting back together?
NBC would prefer that everyone forget about that show ever happening
As long as it ends with Brian Williams removing his face, revealing that he’s also a lizard person, I’m in.
Please, no more ‘reunions’ for TV shows that were discontinued. The Parks & Rec ‘reunion’ special really disheartened me b/c it would not have existed outside of COVID-19; now, performers and writers I admire are falling prey to this. Look, these are unprecedented times, and our country is facing the reality of a racial reckoning. Celebrities are citizens, and they exercise their 1st amendment rights. But the continued reunions and read -thrus seem pointless and distracting to me. Content based ‘fund raising’ seems a little less egregious than the BS agency-dictated montages like the recent one about being a rich white, famous ally, Or the previous ‘Imagine’ escapade. Which BTW, is not a great song but is consistently misinterpreted All of this is happening while considering there is no effort to readdress content or to even address the underlying financial and racial .barriers that inhibit millions of Americans and entertainment content. Hey, Parks & Rec, why didn’t you care about giving Donna her own episode? Hey, The Good Place, why did Chidi have to be an African french speaker, and why didn’t racial tensions ever get talked about in the show. Hey B99, maybe stop pretending that this precinct has nothing better to do than enact Halloween pranks on quite possibly the most active night in a city, 2nd only to New Years Eve. And the fact that your staff includes 2 black men. Holt’s backstory of being gay is a lot less risky for the network and a lot more appealing on a content level. Look, Holloywoo, you want it both ways. We get that as consumers, but these escapades and shenanigans are so thirsty, that they’re diminishing the brand. Just shut the fuck up. Pay your nannies/chefs/cleaners the same amount that you were paying them previously. Let those workers go home, b/c they are essential and it’s important for everyone to social distance- especially in LA. I use these examples b/c these shows have wonderful writers and episodes, but there is still the affect of implicit bias. So, again, I’m so.so.so.so fucking sick of read thrus, montages, live YouTube performances and concerts that are meant to ‘raise money’. Just give money to established organizations and IG or twitter those donations. Or don’t, you know. How about you white, mostly male, ‘allies’ fight for better representation in an open and significant way? Address the rampant misogyny the same way. Just, especially in these times, if you’re a wealthy, privileged white person who gets paid to produce art….shut the fuck
I’m gonna get clobbered for my many grammar errors, but I don’t really care.
Not for nothing, and it’s not like they’ve done this a lot, but there was an episode of of B99 where Terry Crews’ character getting racially profiled while walking in his own neighborhood that touched on the racism inherent in the police department.
Piss off.
Please, no more ‘reunions’ for TV shows that were discontinued. The Parks & Rec ‘reunion’ special really disheartened me b/c it would not have existed outside of COVID-19; now, performers and writers I admire are falling prey to this. Look, these are unprecedented times, and our country is facing the reality of a racial reckoning. Celebrities are citizens, and they exercise their 1st amendment rights. But the continued reunions and read -thrus seem pointless and distracting to me. Content based ‘fund raising’ seems a little less egregious than the BS agency-dictated montages like the recent one about being a rich white, famous ally, Or the previous ‘Imagine’ escapade. Which BTW, is not a great song but is consistently misinterpreted All of this is happening while considering there is no effort to readdress content or to even address the underlying financial and racial .barriers that inhibit millions of Americans and entertainment content. Hey, Parks & Rec, why didn’t you care about giving Donna her own episode? Hey, The Good Place, why did Chidi have to be an African french speaker, and why didn’t racial tensions ever get talked about in the show. Hey B99, maybe stop pretending that this precinct has nothing better to do than enact Halloween pranks on quite possibly the most active night in a city, 2nd only to New Years Eve. And the fact that your staff includes 2 black men. Holt’s backstory of being gay is a lot less risky for the network and a lot more appealing on a content level. Look, Holloywoo, you want it both ways. We get that as consumers, but these escapades and shenanigans are so thirsty, that they’re diminishing the brand. Just shut the fuck up. Pay your nannies/chefs/cleaners the same amount that you were paying them previously. Let those workers go home, b/c they are essential and it’s important for everyone to social distance- especially in LA. I use these examples b/c these shows have wonderful writers and episodes, but there is still the affect of implicit bias. So, again, I’m so.so.so.so fucking sick of read thrus, montages, live YouTube performances and concerts that are meant to ‘raise money’. They almost always want to funnel money into an LA based, small charity. That’s also an inherent problem with ‘liberals’ and even ‘Progressives’. And I
I always maintain that S1-3 of 30 Rock is pure comedy gold. after that it lost something but was still great, especially Jane FUCKING Krakowski.
for me it’s the second half of S1 through S4, but I tend to agree.
interesting. i think it’s time for a rewatch.
This show holds up so well. I don’t think anything now comes close.
Sure this will most likely be cheesy as it’s full of NBC promos but common, the world needs more Jenny Maroney. As long as it’s not Covid heavy I’ll be happy.
“it was implied that 30 Rock had been a show-within-a-show the whole time and that it was created by Liz’s future great-granddaughter…”Sorry, what?