Netflix Pick – The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
For the first time ever the Netflix Pick of the week is a TV show! Furthermore it’s a Netflix Original Series. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is not only the So Wizard Netflix Pick of the week, but my personal obsession of the week (second only to Orphan Black).
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the insane story of the titular girl (played expertly by Ellie Kemper) who unwittingly got stuck in a bomb shelter with a crazy cult leader (Jon Hamm!) for fifteen years. When she emerges the world has changed immensely but she’s still a 90’s kid at heart and in her head. Kimmy decides New York City is the place for her to finally start having a ‘normal’ life. Her move to the city proves difficult since she has no money or job skills but the crew of people, even stranger than her, help her get by. The title is telling to the attitude of the character, Unbreakable. No, this isn’t referring to the longest introduction to a real world superhero story, but to the spirit of Ellie Kemper’s character. Despite her ridiculous 15 year incarceration and terrible life in New York City she is naively bright, positive, and charming.
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has a very ‘30 Rock’ feel to it. Showrunners Robert Carlock and the famously funny Tina Fey were behind the NBC hit and this new Netflix hit. It’s largely an unpopular opinion but 30 Rock really really didn’t work for me. I tried three full seasons to give the show more than a fair shot but it just didn’t take. Tina Fey was funny, Alec Baldwin was funny, everyone else got in the way. Where 30 Rock failed to really deliver on the constant laughs Kimmy Schmidt nails.
The characters are essentially living cartoon characters. There isn’t a single ‘normal’ person on the core cast and the show is better for it. Kimmy Schmidt is unfalteringly positive and her references to 90s pop culture never get old. Ellie Kemper is recognizable to everyone who loves sitcoms as Erin on The Office. Erin was also a little sheltered and slow in the entertaining way, but she really gets to work on her comedic chops starring in her own show.
Tituss Burgess, another 30 Rock alum, is Titus Andromedon (a stage name). Titus is a starving actor who lives for drama, off off broadway Black showtunes, and would do anything to be dramatic. Titus is the caricature and the New York City desperate actor turned waiter and gay black guy rolled into one. His scenes are hysterical and the actor swings for the fences at absolutely every line delivery.
Jane Krakowski, yet another familiar face from 30 Rock plays, again, a similar character to the one she did on that show. Like the rest of the theme of Unbreakable vs Rock, it works this time around. Carol Kane, Ki Hong Lee, Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, and a slew of other recurring comedic roles really flesh out the insane world around Kimmy.
The pop culture references come out at supersonic speeds. Almost every line, dialogue, plot point, or revelation are a throwback, dated reference, or current commentary on pop culture. They come out so fast if one is over your head the next one will hit home and you only have to wait three quarters of a second to get it. Not only does this fill the 20-odd minute episodes with plenty of laughs but adds infallible rewatchability to the series. With Netflix being so kind to dump its fine programming in season long blocks the periods of withdrawal are even longer between binges. Fear not, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is exactly what a binge comedy needs to be. It has so much going on you can’t possibly process it all in one, or even two, attempts. Watch, enjoy, take a breather, repeat. The colorful shooting and upbeat tempo of the show are also great ways to mask some humor that today’s overly sensitive online world may consider offensive. Racial comedy runs throughout as does some blatantly sexist jokes. There is nothing to be afraid of, even the most overly sensitive resident of the internet can see that this show is anything but mean spirited.
One downfall to binging shows, aside from being done with them so quickly, is getting tired of the theme song to the point where you hate the sound of it more than your morning alarm. Especially with a cold opening and Netflix NOT skipping past it. Kimmy Schmidt has found a way around this little problem too! Not only is the show good about pop culture references but it is firmly planted in the now, technologically speaking. Even when the characters aren’t constantly on their phones or looking things up online there’s a good (story related anyway) reason for it. Early on in the series there is a newscast that would no doubt go viral on social media in the vein of the ‘hide yo kids’ meme that seems to have been around as long as the internet itself. That report was taken, modified, and made into a catchy loop that explains anything you need to know about the series.
What more needs to be said about the Netflix Pick for this week? Why aren’t you watching it now? If you’ve already seen both seasons, go again. The constant good vibes and non stop hilarity that roll out of this addicting show are akin to a sugar rush. It’s addicting but relatively harmless. Binge away Whiz kids!
