Netflix Continues TV Takeover With ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’

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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the latest move Netflix has made against the traditional model of television productions. Co-produced and co-created by Tina Fey (along with former Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock writing and production alum Robert Carlock), the series follows the trials and tribulations of the titular Kimmy Schmidt, a woman kidnapped as a teenager and freed fifteen years later. It feels a little weird for me to follow that statement up with the one I’m about to make, but I have to: It’s fucking hilarious.

Serving as a vehicle for Ellie Kemper (best known for her role Erin on The Office, although her star has been rising for some time now) the series opens with four women—all dressed in full length, Mormon fundamentalist style dresses—gathered around a dilapidated Christmas tree, singing about the apocalypse to the tune of “O Tannenbaum” before their world is upturned by an FBI raid. Kidnapped and kept underground by a crazed preacher for a decade and a half, the women have been told that the earth was destroyed by hellfire and that they mustn’t leave for their protection. They are shocked to learn that none of this is true.

You’ve seen this story played out on the news before—the media latches on as the world is horrified. A quirky interview with a witness gets turned into a viral sensation—complete with its own autotuned YouTube remix (which serves as the series theme song). After an interview with Matt Lauer regarding their rescue and ordeal—played as a spot on satire of modern media—Kimmy decides to stay in New York and start a new life.

From here, the story turns into your basic fish out of water scenario. She’s just a small bunker girl trying to make her way in the big city, by any means necessary. While the fish out of water concept is admittedly a bit played out at this point, Fey and her team of writers have elevated the idea to new heights thanks to their comedic prowess.

Kemper positively shines as Kimmy, who is out of her element in more ways than one. Not only is she unaccustomed to life in the big city, she’s unaccustomed to modern life in general. Kidnapped at a young age—she’s got most of an 8^th grade education—her thinking is stuck in adolescence. She wears light up Skechers and dresses like a fashionably bubbly turn of the century young lady. Her references are dated—90’s nostalgists will revel in her outdated slang—and her ideas are charmingly naïve. She’s sort of like Captain America in that regard; her eyes light up, as if to say “I understood that reference” whenever something from the early 90s is brought up.

The series is further bolstered by its outstanding supporting cast. The incomparable Carol Kane—her comedic senses undulled by age—plays her landlord Lillian, a good hearted woman with shady tendencies who’s never left the island of Manhattan. Titus Burgess plays Kimmy’s roommate, Titus Andromedon, a would-be Broadway performer for whom fame is consistently out of reach. Jane Krakowski is Kimmy’s boss, Jacqueline Vorhees, a vapid and hilariously out of touch Manhattan socialite who is seemingly stuck in a terrible marriage to an absentee billionaire. Added to this are a series of hilarious cameos and guest appearances from  stats like Martin Short, Jon Hamm, Tim Blake Nelson, Dean Norris, among others.

Characters are fully developed and feel like real people, despite often being dangerously close to caricature. All of them are flawed individuals, whose wants and desires thrive in spite of—or sometimes because of—their weaknesses. Though the series plays towards the same bizarre and absurdist tendencies as 30 Rock did, the overall tone is one of personal empowerment. Kimmy doesn’t need anyone to tell her what to do, she’s capable of figuring her life out on her own. Jacqueline doesn’t need her possibly philandering husband in order to become self-actualized, she can handle that on her own.

While the comedy may be great—I found myself laughing hysterically throughout all 13 episodes—the show’s main weakness is in its narrative. The show falters as it tries to figure out what it is and what it needs to be. You can’t ignore the psychological damage being held against your will for 15 years will have on a person and when the show tries to deal with that, it can get problematic. Some people out there might have a hard time laughing at the situation and, indeed, there were a few points near the end that tested the limits of my comedic allegiance. It is worth noting that a lot of the problems with narrative and structure might have to do with how the series came to Netflix in the first place. Originally ordered for NBC, several episodes were already produced before the network dropped the project. After being saved by the streaming service, early episodes had to be reedited and there’s a slight tonal shift midway through the series, indicative of the type of creative freedom Netflix allows that traditional networks do not.

Still, none of this detracts from the overall goodness of the series. Now that a template has been established, the show will no doubt be able to grow into itself more as it progresses—in addition to rescuing the series, Netflix immediately offered a second season. Not only is the show laugh out loud hysterical, it has the potential to grow into the funniest comedies on TV currently.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt represents a remarkable coup by Netflix against the network status quo. Its neo-sitcom feel might have seemed out of place just a few short months ago, but their commitment to the series is indicative of their commitment to changing the face of the television landscape for years to come. Netflix and Fey have hit another homerun with this series. Hilarious and watchable at every level, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt deserves—demands—your attention.