In the ‘News’
New comedy from ‘30 Rock’ alum premieres
It’s been four years since the final episode of “30 Rock” aired, but Tina Fey, the iconic show’s creator and star, has been keeping busy. On top of some impressive onscreen performances — see “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” (2016) if you haven’t already — Fey has been busy behind the scenes of some major projects.
She’s the co-creator and producer of Netflix’s hilarious hit series “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and her newest project, for which she earns an executive producing credit, rolls out this week: “Great News” premieres Tuesday, April 25, on NBC.
Created by Fey’s longtime collaborator Tracey Wigfield (“The Mindy Project”), the comedy series is loosely based on Wigfield’s relationship with her mother, and tells the story of Katie Wendelson (Briga Heelan, “Ground Floor”), a smart and ambitious woman working as a producer on the cable news show “The Breakdown.” Katie feels stuck in her career and is unsure of her capabilities; it doesn’t help that her kind-butoverbearing mother, Carol (Andrea Martin, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” 2002) — having just earned a college degree thanks to the inspiration of a friend’s eulogy — announces that she’s been hired as an intern at “The Breakdown.”
Promising to provide viewers with some good laughs, the show also stars Adam Campbell (“The FiveYear Engagement,” 2012) as Greg, the executive producer of “The Breakdown” and Katie’s boss; John Michael Higgins (“Yes Man,” 2008) as Chuck Pierce, a difficult veteran co-anchor of the show; Nicole Richie (“The Simple Life”) as Portia, the young and stylish co-anchor; and Horatio Sanz (“Saturday Night Live”) as Justin, Katie’s candid best friend and the show’s editor.
There has been lots of buzz about “Great News,” and many are touting its similarities to Fey’s “30 Rock.” While “Great News” is loosely based on Wigfield’s relationship with her mother, “30 Rock” was loosely based on Fey’s time working on “Saturday Night Live.” Furthermore, “30 Rock” took a behind-the-scenes look at the goings-on of a sketch comedy show, where “Great News” follows the same template, except at a news station.
“Where this show and ‘30 Rock’ share some DNA is it’s a funny show with a lot of fast-paced jokes,” said Wigfield at the Television Critics Association press tour in January.
However, both Wigfield and Fey reassure viewers that “Great News” isn’t a simple replacement for “30 Rock.” Wigfield said that the show is “observational comedy about news and events,” while Fey states that “the show isn’t ripped from the headlines à la ‘SNL,’ but more about relationships.”
Relationships and news seem to go hand in hand in the new series. During the same TCA press tour, Higgins mentioned that the show deals with “generational motors” pertaining to the generational gaps and challenges on the show, particularly between Chuck and Portia. Chuck was once a well-respected news anchor but now feels as if he’s been discredited, relegated to local cable due to ageism in the industry. Furthermore, he and Portia clash because she has little interest in Chuck’s traditional ways of broadcasting, while Chuck views Portia and the future of broadcasting with disdain.
“It touches on the generational gaps between how news is traditionally given out to the world versus how it is now,” says Richie — which is something apparent even in the trailer for the show. In one scene, Carol and Chuck discuss the gulf between them and their much younger co-workers. Chuck asks, “Who is Snapchat? Is he one of the minions? And are they all Pokémon?”
The show premieres at an interesting time for cable news. With accusations of “fake news” and “alternative facts” swirling in the media these days, “Great News” could have a lot of material to incorporate into its storyline for years to come.
“I’d love for the show to be able to do more comedy on ... the state of news and where news is going,” Wigfield said.
That being said, at least 10 episodes of “Great News” had been filmed before the current “fake news” commotion began: “We shot these knowing that we’d be on in mid-season, so with the delay on broadcast, you can sort of take ideas from the headlines, but you can’t do a joke that will feel really old by the time the show airs,” Fey said.
So it’s topical, but not quite as topical as, say, “Saturday Night Live” or other late-night series. And, while currency and relevance are important, above all, the creators of the show want to focus on the relationship between a mother and daughter.
“A lot of the show is the annoyance of ‘oh my God, my mom is in my workplace,’” Wigfield said in an interview for People. “But all of that annoyance needs to be offset by love.”
Don’t miss this new comedy when it premieres Tuesday, April 25, on NBC.