30 Rock Trivia
- Tina Fey was not originally going to star in the show. However, NBC insisted she appear.
- Tina Fey had to leave Saturday Night Live in order to appear in the show. The schedules overlapped. Rachel Dratch also left the show at this time as she was set to play Jenna DeCarlo. After appearing in the first version of the pilot, Dratch replaced by Jane Krakowski and given bit-parts during the first season
- Influenced by creator Tina Fey's experience while being head-writer for Saturday Night Live.
- The title is derived from 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the New York City street address of NBC Universal.
- The show's name is similar to "3rd Rock," the commonly used short title for 3rd Rock from the Sun. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Tim Allen mispronounced the show's name as "3rd Rock" when mentioning that Alec Baldwin had been nominated for the Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical Award. Both shows featured guest appearances by Elaine Stritch as the mother of one of the main characters.
- On December 29, 2006, Nielsen Media Research reported the results of having, for the first time, monitored viewers who use a digital video recorder to record shows for later viewing. According to the Nielsen numbers, "30 Rock" had the fifth-largest increase (viewers who use a DVR to record the show and then watch it within a week of its initial airing). According to Nielsen, the show adds nearly 7.5% to its total audience every week as a result of these "live plus seven" viewers
- Characters Liz and Jenna began The Girlie Show at The Second City in Chicago. In 1992 Tina Fey took classes there and in 1994 was invited to join the cast. Her writing partner was Rachel Dratch and their time together inspired the relationship between Liz and Jenna.
- Jeff Richmond, Fey's husband, composes all of the show's music and also serves as a producer on the show. He also appears in some episodes as the show-within-the-show's piano player.
- The show's 17 Emmy nominations in 2008 were the most a comedy show ever received in a single year.
- Jenna's name is a play on Janel Moloney (who later guest starred in the series).
- "Elizabeth" is Tina Fey's real first name.
- The show's 22 Emmy nominations in 2009 were the most a comedy show ever received in a single year.
- The same year that 30 Rock started airing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, another show set behind the scenes of a fictional "Saturday Night Live"-type show, also premiered. Even though there were many differences between them (including "30 Rock" being a half-hour sitcom while "Studio 60" being an hour-long drama), many critics compared the two shows and engaged in speculation about which one would survive. "Studio 60" was canceled after one season, and creator Aaron Sorkin and former regular Nathan Corddry both went on to guest-star on "30 Rock."
- Lee, the costume designer for TGS, is played by Tom Broecker. In real life, Broecker is the costume designer for "30 Rock."
- Liz Lemon's office has a framed cover of Bust magazine with Amy Poehler reenacting Janet Leigh's shower scene in Psycho. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are close friends and former cast members on Saturday Night Live.
- In the early episodes, it is revealed that Liz Lemon is a one-time Emmy-winner, just like Tina Fey was at the time the show started.
- Jane Krakowski and Cheyenne Jackson both originated the lead roles in the workshop of "Xanadu" for Broadway. Krakowski left the show before it premiered to star in 30 Rock instead. Jackson decided to leave the show because he did not want to perform without her. He ended up returning when the replacement actor broke his ankle only a short while before the show opened. Both have since appeared on 30 Rock together, where their close real-life friendship is reversed, with Jenna resenting Jackson's character and he being disgusted by her constant rude behavior.
- Liz Lemon's catchphrase 'I want to go to there' was coined by Tina Fey's daughter Alice.
- Tracy Morgan ("Tracy Jordan") and recurring player Rachel Dratch followed creator/star Tina Fey from Saturday Night Live to create this show. In addition, star Alec Baldwin co-holds the record for the most times to host SNL (as of September 2010, Baldwin and Steve Martin are tied for most hostings at 15 episodes each).
- Elizabeth Banks played a character on Scrubs who was impregnated by a character named J.D. (John Dorian). On 30 Rock, she was impregnated by another character with initials J.D. (Jack Donaghy).
- Tracy Morgan had to be written out of a few episodes of season 5, because he was having surgery to get a kidney transplant.
- In her 2011 book "Bossypants," Tina Fey said that during the early years of the show, Donald Glover was "30 Rock"'s only black writer. She also said that he was so young that when he started on the writing staff, he was still living in an NYU dorm and working there as a Resident Adviser. Since he came from a large family in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Fey said that Glover was especially good at writing for the character of Kenneth, who was also supposed to be from Stone Mountain. Glover later became a star as an actor on the TV show Community.
- Tina Fey wrote Kenneth Parcell with Jack McBrayer in mind to play him.
- One of the reasons Jane Krakowski was drawn to the series was because it gave her the chance to sing and dance. Sitcoms today don't usually allow for that - this was the first since Ally McBeal.
- Tina Fey didn't want Liz Lemon to be a single mother because it would have restricted her character. This allowed Liz more freedom, and gave Fey more avenues to explore.
- Made on the more expensive film stock.
- The show was finally syndicated in 2009, something Tina Fey had always complained about.
- SNL were reluctant to part with Tina Fey because they felt by going onto 30 Rock, Fey's absence would lead to a substantial drop in ratings.
- Season 2 was shorter than Season 1 (15 episodes as opposed to S1's 21) because of the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike.
- Alec Baldwin says 30 Rock is the best job he's ever had.
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