Looking for a new half-hour comedy to keep you going now Parks and Rec has come to an end in America? (Don’t you dare pretend you haven’t been streaming it online rather than waiting for it to air over here). Look no further then than the new Tina Fey show released in its entirety on Netflix this weekend: The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
The show stars Ellie Kemper, who you most likely know from her truly excellent roles in Bridesmaids and the American version of The Office. It’s about a girl who was kidnapped by a bonkers cult leader and has spent the last 15 years living underground with her fellow ‘sisters’. Eventually they’re rescued by the FBI, termed the ‘Indiana Mole People’ by the media and set loose into the world with the maturity levels of teenagers and the cultural knowledge of someone stuck in 1999.
Kimmy opts to head to New York, where she gets an apartment with Titus, an out-of-work actor currently making ends meet by wearing an Iron Man costume and hanging out in Times Square, and gets a job with Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski), a snobby second wife to a stupidly rich Upper East-sider with equally unpleasant kids.
If all of that sounds terribly bleak then trust us, it’s the complete opposite. It’s hilarious. ‘This whole thing has been incredible!’ says Ellie when I asked her what it’s like to have Tina Fey write a show with her specifically in mind. ‘It’s like a dream of what you might only hope happens in an acting career.’
On the phone, Ellie sounds every bit as perky, upbeat and bubbly as her characters in Kimmy Schmidt and The Office. ‘I think my husband might beg to differ!’ she giggles when I tell her. ‘I do tend to be upbeat but I stress that is not a constant. There are definitely similarities between Kimmy and Erin though (her character from The Office). They both have that wide-eyed innocence although that’s to be expected of Kimmy because of what she’s been through. She’s not seen a lot of the world for 15 years!’
One of my favourite things about the show is the ’90s nostalgia references that Kimmy can’t help but drop – she’s still reading the Baby-Sitters Club for instance. ‘I’m so glad you noticed that!’ she says. ‘It made my Mom weep that BSB was the only extracurricular books that I read.’
Ellie describes the show as a fish out of water story and, to me, the show, as well as being very funny, is particularly relevant to any 20-somethings trying to figure out their life – in sort of the same way that G_irls_ is. ‘Girls is an apt comparision because at it’s core it’s the same story: going from being a child to wondering what it is to become an adult. It’s totally relatable.’ says Ellie. ‘On the other hand, it’s also a bit like Elf because you get to see these things that you might take for granted through these new eyes.’
Ellie grew up being taught drama from none other than the spectacular Jon Hamm who, when we interviewed him a few months back, gave us some excellent advice on this muddling-through-your-twenties thing. ‘Oh he did?! What I’ve found to be helpful especially when you’re in your early twenties, which I was when I moved to New York, was to create as much of your own material as you can because I think that – especially in my industry – you can feel like you’re not very much in control and that making your own things puts you in control. It’s about making your own breaks.’
Since the show is SO fun to watch, we can only imagine that Kimmy Schmidt must have been a dream to film, especially with 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski around. ‘I am SUCH a fan of hers,’ gushes Ellie. ‘She is so DEEPLY funny, I am always just pinching myself that I’m even in a scene with her.’
And Titus? ‘OMG this is probably too much information, but sometimes when I laugh really hard I wet my pants and during the pilot – it was probably like the first day – he was saying something that was making me laugh so hard I actually did wet my pants.’ Hahah, really? ‘Yes. I thought to myself, “OH MY GOSH this is the sign of a good time.’
*The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is available on Netflix from 6 March *
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.