Like many, I did love 30 Rock for the majority of its run, and with Kimmy Schmidt I had heard many good things. Starting the show was a lot more challenging than I had expected though, as the first episode or so had this "trying too hard" feeling across the board. I was surprised by the jokes falling mostly flat, and the performances not really having much to work with. It probably didn't help that it had this very forceful sense of cheerfulness to it, but yet no sharp edges or acerbic wit to balance that out. After the second episode I was still in two minds as to whether I would bother.
In some ways this is the benefit of Netflix, because the show doesn't need to stick with you for a week to make you return, it just needs to make you interested enough so that the lazy viewer part of you says "go on then" and selects the next episode from the queue. That is pretty much how we continued, and fortunately the show seemed to get a lot better very quickly. Suddenly the 30 Rock level of character, asides, and dialogue, all seemed to snap into place and I was actually laughing throughout each episode. Not sure what changed, but the characters were suddenly supported by the material, and the narratives had more than enough asides and threads to help support them. As a narrative whole the show relies totally on Kimmy and as a result it does feel like characters just come and go – for example the daughter, the son, the tutor all feel like they are put away when not needed. This narrative weakness is perhaps to be expected in a sitcom, but it does show a strain later when the final few episodes bring the mole woman thing to a sort of conclusion.
The performances are very direct, which seems forced early on but when the material gets better, so do they. Kemper mostly is pleasing despite her limited character – she plays it well though. Krakowski is as reliable as ever, and has great timing. When his material is weaker Burgess is a bit annoying, but mostly he is very funny and has strong timing. Kane is only a small role but fun, likewise some cameos from Kind, Norris, Short, Hamm and others.
The show is a solid sitcom with some very strong and funny episodes, but it is not consistent across even this short running time and, although I enjoyed the season as a whole – I'd still return to season two tentatively.
In some ways this is the benefit of Netflix, because the show doesn't need to stick with you for a week to make you return, it just needs to make you interested enough so that the lazy viewer part of you says "go on then" and selects the next episode from the queue. That is pretty much how we continued, and fortunately the show seemed to get a lot better very quickly. Suddenly the 30 Rock level of character, asides, and dialogue, all seemed to snap into place and I was actually laughing throughout each episode. Not sure what changed, but the characters were suddenly supported by the material, and the narratives had more than enough asides and threads to help support them. As a narrative whole the show relies totally on Kimmy and as a result it does feel like characters just come and go – for example the daughter, the son, the tutor all feel like they are put away when not needed. This narrative weakness is perhaps to be expected in a sitcom, but it does show a strain later when the final few episodes bring the mole woman thing to a sort of conclusion.
The performances are very direct, which seems forced early on but when the material gets better, so do they. Kemper mostly is pleasing despite her limited character – she plays it well though. Krakowski is as reliable as ever, and has great timing. When his material is weaker Burgess is a bit annoying, but mostly he is very funny and has strong timing. Kane is only a small role but fun, likewise some cameos from Kind, Norris, Short, Hamm and others.
The show is a solid sitcom with some very strong and funny episodes, but it is not consistent across even this short running time and, although I enjoyed the season as a whole – I'd still return to season two tentatively.