FollowSince the bittersweet ending of “Parks and Recreation,” I have been at a loss for what to do with myself. This weekend, with perfect timing as always, Tina Fey, and her equal in the weird and the witty — Ellie Kemper — came to the rescue. I have spent 5.5 out of the last 48 hours consuming “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and although I am in the same position that I was after the “Parks” finale, the knowledge that there will be more “strong as hell” women with a second season of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” has kept my tears at bay.
Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, begins with Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) and her three fellow captives — Cyndee Pokorny (Sara Chase), Gretchen Chalker (Lauren Adams), and Donna Maria Nunez (Sol Miranda) — celebrating Christmas inside their bunker just before they are rescued. They have been held captive in the bunker for 15 years by Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Jon Hamm), who claims that he was keeping them safe from an apocalypse. After being rescued, Kimmy decides to start her life over again in New York City instead of returning home to Durnsville, Indiana — a decision which changes her life forever. After a candy dinner and a bonding moment with a horse, she finds both a job and an apartment. Working as a nanny for the children of the wealthy Jacqueline Voorhees (Jane Krakowski), and living with roommate Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess) and landlord Lillian Kaushtupper (Carol Kane), Kimmy embarks on a season full of wacky adventures that can only be found in Fey’s New York City.
As with any show, the writers and actors struggle a bit in the beginning to settle into the characters and find the right balance between plot and comedy, but by the end of the season “Unbreakable” has found its groove. Kemper carries the show remarkably well, giving a fresh spin to Fey’s distinct humor and creating instant chemistry with her onscreen partners — an amazing feat considering the diversity of actors and characters. For “30 Rock” fans, it’s a pleasure to see Krakowski in a role that, on the surface, seems a clone of Jenna Maroney, but who turns out to be quite the opposite. No spoilers, but there is a moment during the season when the softer side of Jacqueline Vorhees shines through; I hope we’ll see more of this next season. Kimmy and Jacqueline are fierce, badass ladies, facing the crazy reverends and robots life throws at them head-on.
In the end, though, Burgress’s sassy one-liners and Kane’s unstoppable, crazy energy steal the show. Titus, like Kimmy, is still trying to figure things out in his life journey from Mississippi to Broadway, and meets several well-costumed roadblocks along the way. Lillian, on the other hand, is content with her life as a self-described “drug lookout and . . . process server,” while also spending her time spilling secrets on her colorful (perhaps criminal) past, and protecting the neighborhood from yuppies. Somehow, Burgess and Kane manage to take these borderline insane characters and make them lovable and endearing. From the first episode, they accept Kimmy as family, just as Kimmy is so accepting of everyone else.
I am proud to have had role models like Buffy Summers, Liz Lemon, and Leslie Knope growing up, and I am even prouder that today’s teens have Kimmy Schmidt to look up to. Kimmy Schmidt is not only a survivor, she’s a fighter. She is loyal, driven, kind, moral, and unflinchingly optimistic, though these attributes may get her into trouble in scary, modern-day New York. But no matter, for Kimmy Schmidt is unbreakable, and as the show’s impeccable theme song claims, “strong as hell.”
Image courtesy of Netflix, video courtesy of IGN
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