Tina Fey first came to audience’s attention during her tenure on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2006. She had been a writer for the show for a few years prior to that, brought on board by Adam McKay, but this was her time to shine on camera.
After that stint, she struck out on her own with the beloved NBC sitcom, 30 Rock. The show, which details the antics behind the scenes of a fictional sketch comedy series, lasted seven seasons from 2006 to 2012, consisting of one hundred and thirty-eight episodes. That is no small number, but fans still feel like it was not enough. While replacing it is impossible, several shows do tickle a similar funny bone. The series presented below will satisfy the tastes of those who are fans of Tina Fey’s iconic comedy.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the most directly linked to 30 Rock, with it being Fey’s proceeding series. The titular character adjusts to modern society after fifteen years of captivity in a bunker at the hands of a religious cult leader. One may wonder how a comedy comes from such a situation, but the show does a miraculous job of finding the humor in it. The comedy also leans heavier into cartoonish situations. It starts off hot with a pilot that is as good at establishing the characters as it is hilarious.
The Monkees
This is the oldest show on the list, but its gags are just as fresh today. The Monkees follows the zany exploits of the titular fictional band. It was clearly influenced by the first two Beatles movies, A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, but resembles the latter more. It even uses cutaway gags, something which only became more common on television in the early aughts. After the show ended, Jack Nicholson directed a film called Head, which took the show’s strangeness to whole new levels. Their songs are also pretty catchy.
Arrested Development
It’s a miracle Arrested Development has managed to continue its life more than fifteen years after its premiere. The first three seasons aired on Fox before it was cancelled for low ratings. The vocal fan base constantly clamored for its return, and the creators searched feverishly for a new home until Netflix agreed to produce a fourth season for its then burgeoning streaming service. The fourth and fifth seasons premiered there and pleased fans with its return to bizarrely specific in jokes, seasons long running gags, and morally corrupt characters audiences cannot help but love.
Community
Community is a different beast from 30 Rock on the surface, but a few elements would see lovers of one appreciate the other. Mainly, they both share a commitment to being the weirdest live action show out there. Aside from that, they also both have characters obsessed with pop culture and television. Community has a little more subtext behind its plots, but they can both be taken at face value as wacky sitcoms if one so pleases.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
This is perhaps the most grounded program on the list, but still worthy of inclusion. The Mary Tyler Moore Show also explores the personalities behind the scenes of a television broadcast. Instead of a sketch comedy show, it is a local news station. The show isn’t as zany as 30 Rock, but its characters are still lively and entertaining. As a bonus, any fans of Anchorman will heavily appreciate Ted Baxter, the narcissistic anchor who is not the sharpest knife in the kitchen.
Portlandia
30 Rock deals with a sketch comedy show’s production, but some of the antics would feel right at home on a skit. This is where Portlandia comes in, a series also created by an SNL alum, Fred Armisen.
Fred, along with Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein present a collage of colorful characters inhabiting the progressive city of Portland. The skits are bonkers, but also sophisticated. Additionally, numerous guest stars have appeared in skits, like Jello Biafra from The Dead Kennedies and Glen Danzig of the Misfits.
Saturday Night Live
It would be wrong not to include the show that launched Tina Fey’s career. DNA from the series’ best days is present in 30 Rock and everything else the comedian has done since her days there. If she had not ended up on the show, she very well might have still had a career in the field, but her output would not be the same. Saturday Night Live helped build the foundation that 30 Rock stands on.
Parks And Recreation
There was a time when both 30 Rock and Parks And Recreation aired on the same night, and the television comedy gods smiled. The shows complimented each other like good cheese and fine wine. Admittedly, it started off weak, but was unstoppable once it found its footing. None of the characters seemed like they would go together, but they all formed strong bonds that made the interactions between them unique. The idea of a sitcom about a parks department doesn’t inspire interest, but the show managed to be one of the best around.
Sledge Hammer!
Sledge Hammer! came into existence when the interest in a cop comedy rose after the release of The Naked Gun. The show only lasted two seasons, but has since garnered a cult following. The titular character can be summed up as Harry Callahan as an idiot who still manages to miraculously get the job done. The pilot sees him disarming a sniper on a roof by blowing up the building with a rocket launcher. If that gag isn’t for you, then stay away. If it is, then there’s two seasons of quality 1980’s television waiting to be watched.
Night Court
Fans of 30 Rock will remember the episode that brought on several Night Court cast members as guest stars. This was the closest thing a multi camera sitcom ever got to being a live action cartoon, with larger than life characters and gags that were not realistically possible. Also, it has one of the best opening theme songs ever written
Next: 10 30 Rock Storylines That Were Never Resolved
