30 Rock ‘upfront’ again
NBC is making it 2006 again, through science or magic: 30 Rock is returning to the Peacock next month for a new, original remotely produced event that will double as an upfront special for the Nbcuniversal properties.
The special, which will air July 16 on NBC, will feature the return of cast members Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack Mcbrayer and others reprising their 30 Rock roles for what NBC is describing as “a first-of-its-kind all-audience upfront event.”
The return of 30 Rock comes as NBC also recently aired a new episode of Parks and Recreation, featuring the show’s stars reprising their roles in an all-new story. In this case, the 30 Rock special will also be filmed remotely — but the story will additionally serve as a promo for Nbcuniversal programming.
The hour-long, commercial-free event will first première on NBC and then will be rebroadcast across U.S. cable networks USA, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, SYFY and CNBC, and will stream on NBCU’S new service Peacock on July 17. That’s two days after Peacock’s July 15 nationwide launch in the U.S. (No word yet on when Peacock will launch in Canada, nor whether the 30 Rock special will air on Canada-based networks.)
The “upfront event” will feature 30 Rock characters including Liz Lemon (Fey), Jack Donaghy (Baldwin), Tracy Jordan (Morgan), Jenna Maroney (Krakowski), Kenneth Parcell (Mcbrayer) and more touting “the stories and talent featured in Nbcuniversal’s 2020-21 television season,” the network said.
“We’re all happy to have this excuse to (remotely) work together again for NBC,” said 30 Rock executive producers Fey and Robert Carlock said in a joint statement. “To quote Kenneth the Page, there are only two things we love in this world, television and everyone.”
Broadway Video and Little Stranger Inc., in association with Universal Television and Nbcuniversal Creative Partnerships, are behind the special, which is being driven by NBCU’S advertising division.
“At Nbcuniversal, we’re excited to produce an upfront that reflects a new reality and celebrates our relationship with viewers and advertisers alike,” said Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and partnerships at Nbcuniversal.
“Historically, this event is about the future of programming; this year, it’s about the future of our industry — a future where we can meet audiences wherever they are, with the stories that move them.”
Yaccarino’s quote also included a line that presumably wasn’t written by Fey and Carlock: “As the old saying goes ... when life hands you Lemon, have her host the Upfront!”
The 30 Rock Upfront special will feature guest appearances from talent from across Nbcuniversal. It sounds a bit like the fall preview specials that the networks produced for years.
30 Rock aired on NBC from 2006 to 2013, scoring 16 Emmys, including three consecutive wins for comedy series.