It started simply enough, with a discussion building on X (formerly Twitter) about why the Tina Fey-created “30 Rock” hasn’t seemed to generate the same warm nostalgia that “The Office” and, to a lesser extent, “Parks and Recreation” have in the decade since their 2000s into 2010s runs. That’s despite the show being noted for the quality and density of its joke-writing
One take that caught on was Quinton Hoover noting that, while “30 Rock” is the funniest, its lead Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) “is much less inherently relatable than people working mundane and mostly pointless jobs out of necessity for a decade.”
This will be a controversial hot take, but the real answer is that despite being a much funnier show, to the average American, a character like Liz Lemon is much less inherently relatable than people working mundane and mostly pointless jobs out of necessity for a decade pic.twitter.com/pFbWfsNZtw
— Quinton Reviews🎬 (@Q_Review) December 20, 2023
But that discourse turned into the show’s fans furiously defending it. Comedian and actor Paul McCallion helped with that shift, sharing his own favorite joke — an exchange between Elaine Stritch’s Colleen Donaghy and her character’s son, Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy — and prompting other users to share their own.
My favorite 30 Rock joke changes hourly but right now it’s when injured Elaine Stritch is ringing a bell and Jack rushes in and says “what is it mother??” and she goes “I need my other bell.”
— Paul McCallion (@OrangePaulp) December 22, 2023
The post, shared Thursday evening, picked up steam and has been viewed more than 34 million times as of the writing of this story. It’s been retweeted nearly 3,000 times, with many quote-tweets going on to add their own favorite “30 Rock” jokes to the chorus.
The show’s 2023 viral moment got noticed by “30 Rock” streaming home Peacock, with the platform’s social account joining in the fun:
Of course, like many if not most comedies of an era before the present, a number of the jokes don’t hold up to the standards of modern sensibilities. Tina Fey notably made the choice in 2020, amidst the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement following the killing by police of George Floyd, to remove multiple episodes of the show from streaming platforms that included the use of blackface.
Between all the joke sharing, users both debated and poked fun at the handwringing over the show’s diversity-related failures in certain areas.
oh youre having fun doing 30 rock quotes over the holidays? sorry pal, youve been cancelled by a zoomer
— rat king 🐀 (@MikeIsaac) December 24, 2023
this just in: white people like 30 Rock.
— Skyler Higley (@skyler_higley) December 23, 2023
That includes the intense writers’ room, which featured staff often working late into the night to create comedic perfection.
30 Rock writer’s room had a brutal schedule, like pre-Scully era Simpsons. Absolutely believe you need to apply crunch policies to comedy writing, results are clear on that front. If you’re going home before midnight maybe you just don’t want to bring a smile to people’s faces
— Jingleghost (@JeremyMonjo) December 23, 2023
As well as jokes on the show’s successor, Tina Fey’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
first of all 30 rock never put jane krakowski in a weird position where she was playing a blonde, blue eyed native american who was ashamed of being indigenous
— ashley ray (@theashleyray) December 24, 2023
The discourse also turned to this being a better use of X than all of the divisive moments the platform has spawned, particularly in the wake of Elon Musk purchasing the site.
elon finally fixed twitter (made it an app exclusively for posting 30 rock clips)
— Jeremy Kaplowitz (@jeremysmiles) December 23, 2023
It is very funny to me that twitter came full circle and now it’s back to just being a place where you quote “30 Rock” jokes
— Jill Twiss (@jilltwiss) December 23, 2023
I love this new twitter trend where every few days we pick another funny show and everyone shares their favorite clips from it.
— Nicholas “DeckTech” Weiss (@hsdecktech) December 23, 2023
Though, maybe it didn’t completely save the platform:
My feed is now completely 30 Rock clips and Holocaust denial
— Rachel Shukert (@RachelShukert) December 23, 2023
Of course, the show fell in a time — running from 2005 until 2013 — when its ratings were decent, but borderline. In an earlier era, it may have been more quickly canceled, while later, it may have gone directly to streaming. That was the fate of “Kimmy Schmidt.”
That lack of broad appeal for not only “30 Rock” but some of those other fondly remembered NBC sitcoms was something Tina Fey herself quipped about in a recent appearance inducting Emma Stone into the “SNL” Five-Timers Club.
“Network TV was in its heyday. I mean, my show, ’30 Rock,’ was watched by 6 million people,” Fey said to cheers from the crowd. But when Emma Stone asked if that was a lot, Fey replied, “At the time, no. But today… no.”
I kinda wanna just kindly whisper to people who have these grand sociological theories about TV shows that they represent like 3% of 30 rock views at .5% of total tv viewers who are mostly watching Young Sheldon and they can just chill out and enjoy or not enjoy it without guilt. https://t.co/eHxmNbdZEW
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) December 24, 2023
The Office barely cracked the top 50 in the Nielsen ratings. Ghost Whisperer and Mike & Molly were more popular.
— Brandon Bird (@Brandon_Bird) December 22, 2023
There’s plenty more “30 Rock” discourse that has hit the timeline in the last few days, and plenty more that could be discussed. But, it’s the holidays. Let’s enjoy some jokes. Here are a few of the numerous favorites people have shared:
The ultimate 30 ROCK line in this house is Tracy’s “Where are the french fries I did not ask for? You need to anticipate me!” because it’s too accurate about working with demanding people
— Bitter Script Reader (@BittrScrptReadr) December 23, 2023
how did no one on ALL of 30 Rock day yesterday not post the joke where Jenna tries to move to LA to start acting in movies but then finds out everyone in LA is young and hot and changes her mind?? lol pic.twitter.com/BsAYWSbYeE
— gare de guerre ❄️🎅🏻🎄 (@garrrish) December 23, 2023
Or, if you just want to sit in some existential despair, here’s one last take for you:
30 Rock is fundamentally a show about seeing time slip away from you as you try to figure everything out. It’s a funny show but I do think it’s genuinely moving and only gets better the older you get
— Mr. Chau (@Srirachachau) December 22, 2023
Happy holidays!