Why Heavily Meta Sitcom 30 Rock Was Lightyears Ahead Of Its Time
When it premiered in 2006, 30 Rock was not the kind of sitcom that people were used to seeing on television. It was heavily meta, self-referential, and extremely packed with pop culture references.
But despite early skepticism and low ratings, the show went on to become a critical darling, winning multiple Emmys and earning a dedicated fan base.
Now, in a decade since the show ended, it's clear that 30 Rock was lightyears ahead of its time. At its core, 30 Rock was a show about the inner workings of a sketch comedy show called TGS.
The series was created by brilliant comedienne Tina Fey, who drew from her own experiences working at Saturday Night Live to craft a fictional world that was both absurd and eerily believable.
Fey played Liz Lemon, the head writer of TGS, and the show often blurred the lines between reality and fiction.
Characters would frequently reference real-life celebrities and events, and the show's humor was infused with an unprecedented self-awareness.
Moreover, the show was very feminist, with Liz Lemon serving as a role model for women in male-dominated fields. The show also openly mocked racism and homophobia, and featured a number of LGBT characters.
This was rare for a network sitcom in the mid-2000s, and it's part of what makes 30 Rock so special and impressive.
Another reason why 30 Rock was ahead of its time was its use of meta-humor. The show loved to poke fun at itself and the television industry as a whole.
The show was armed to the teeth with rapid-fire jokes, clever one-liners, and playful jabs at pop culture. This kind of humor is commonplace now, but it was groundbreaking when 30 Rock first premiered.
"So when this show came along and it was so tightly scripted it was a revelation for me. Each line of dialogue is either a joke or building toward one," Redditor Swackhammer_ says.
The show was so packed with jokes that some fans say they needed a TiVo "rewind button to get them all."
The show starring Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Jane Krakowski, and Jack McBrayer, paved the way for future hits like Community, Rick and Morty, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Transparent, and more.
And, of course, Fey's writing has inspired countless other comedians and writers. It's clear that after so many years since it first premiered, 30 Rock is still relevant and still hilarious.