I participate in a conference call about the new workplace comedy from the mind of SNL‘s Tina Fey.
I called in this morning at 10:45 PST to listen in to the conference call about the new NBC comedy 30 Rock. The show centers around SNL alumnist Tina Fey who plays Liz Lemon, the head writer on the fictional TV series "The Girlie Show" who is being pushed to the max by the show’s two stars and the network head honcho (Alec Baldwin).
In the conference call were series creator and star Tina Fey, and Jane Krakowski who plays the start of "The Girlie Show." A few key points that were mentioned during the call are as follows:
- Alec Baldwin’s character was written with him in mind. Fey says "I never thought we’d actually get him, so when we did I was extatic, he’s very funny."
- Tina was a bit taken back by the similarities between 30 Rock and Studio 60 (also on NBC). When asked if she remembers all the swear words she used when she found out she replies "no, I mean since I swear so much I don’t even really think it phased me. I probably said all of that stuff during my lunch."
- She (Fey) is currently between a 2nd/3rd draft for a film for Paramount pictures. "I’m still going to do film, but it probably will slow down a bit now that production of 30 Rock is in full swing."
- When asked if it was hard to leave SNL for a weekly series, Fey replies "It was tough, but I almost felt like a kid that was graduating High School, it was just the right time."
- Jane’s character Jenna was completely re-written for the show.
- Fey said that fellow SNL cast member Chris Parnell will make an appearance around episode 6. "I really love to work with people I consider family. Chris came in and read for the part and he was hysterical."
- Jane says that her and Tracy Morgan’s characters are so different that it makes for some really good comedic scenes.
- Liz Lemon will get a love interest around episode 3, however "it probably won’t go so well" says Fey.
- Fey describes Tracy’s character as "he’s basically Tracy if he were really crazy."
- Fey did not train her SNL replacement before she left. "I’ll be tuning in this week to see how it goes."
- The original pilot for 30 Rock was written by Fey over the course of a few years. "I kept going thru revisions, and it kept changing shape. Things are much easier now that I have an actual writing staff."
The call came to an end, we were all thanked for participating and reminded that 30 Rock premieres Weds, Oct 11th at 8/7 c. More information on the show can be found at the show’s official website