The latest weapon was unleashed this week in the long battle between cable and Internet television and, frankly, cable doesn’t stand a chance. After being moved from NBC to Netflix, the first season of “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” was released to an enthusiastic response.
The first striking thing about this show is definitely its theme song. Simultaneously catchy and satiric, it’s a spoof on auto-tuned news segments, à la 2012’s “Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That.” This news segment covers the release of four women kept in an underground apocalyptic cult. After a “Today Show” interview, one of these women, Kimmy, portrayed by Ellie Kemper (“The Office”), decides to stay and make it in New York.
I know what you’re thinking. “Make it in New York? Not again.” This, however, is different. For 15 years, Kimmy believed that everything on Earth was destroyed. So everything she knows is now outdated by a decade and a half. She uses old phrases and is amazed by some pretty simple concepts.
If you were a fan of “30 Rock,” you’ll be a fan of “Kimmy Schmidt.” Not only is it brought to us by the queen herself (Tina Fey), it stars Jane Krakowski and Tituss Burgess (Jenna Maroney and D’Fwan on “30 Rock,” respectively). Simply put, the show is absolutely ridiculous. Plenty of points in it really don’t make sense, but what’s so great is that the show is self-aware. It knows how ridiculous it is, and, as it is often said in comedy, it “follows the fun.”
Fun, also, is a great word to describe Kemper’s performance in this. She’s the bubbly, peppy best friend that you always wanted in your life, but never wanted to punch in the face. Even the episode titles reflect this, each one ending in an exclamation point, such as, “Kimmy Goes on a Date!” and “Kimmy Goes to Court!” She’s a bit clueless, but only because 15 years of her life were spent underground. (She holds an iPhone and exclaims that it’s a “Macintosh!”) Her endearing, funny character is both awkward and relatable.
Krakowski is also fantastic, and is basically just Jenna Maroney, but aloof mom edition. She plays Jacqueline Voorhees, a rich New York City mother who hires Kimmy to nanny her equally ridiculous children. One of them, inexplicably named Xanthippe, is a teenage girl who exhibits everything you could hate about a high schooler. Carol Kane, meanwhile, plays a quirky landowner and is endlessly entertaining.
The humor in “Kimmy Schmidt” is quick, clever and laugh-out-loud funny. It’s mature, but not crude. It’s intelligent, combining some awesome lines with premises that are funny on their own. Krakowski plays a woman who moved to New York under pressure to keep her Native American past in South Dakota a secret. You get random flashbacks to her life, and understand that she and Kimmy actually have quite a bit in common, as with Kimmy’s secret past in the underground cult.
If right now you’re thinking, “OK, I’ll watch, but I don’t have a Netflix account,” it’s time to switch from cable. We’re fighting and losing a war here, guys, and you can share Netflix accounts. Go find some friends and use theirs.