Renegade Review: NBC's Great News
Welcome Renegade Nation it’s me Naughty Nicole and it’s time for another Renegade Review. And we...
Renegade Talk Radio · Renegade Talk Radio
May 8, 201712m 26sExplicit
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Show Notes
Welcome Renegade Nation it’s me Naughty Nicole and it’s time for another Renegade Review. And we’re going to be looking at NBC’s attempt to win back their throne for must see TV with a new sitcom called Great News. And the first thing you’ll notice about this new show is the disturbing similarities to 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and you wouldn’t be wrong. With Great News though, we’re following a news producer, Katie, played by Briga Heelan who we find has an unnatural attachment to her mother who has her work life disrupted when her boss hires as an intern for the news station, her loving and overbearing mom played by the great Andrea Martin. And while the focus is news versus late night, the frustrated goofball at the center of a constantly careening television production has a familiar tone.
From a genetic perspective, the similarities make some sense. Great News was created by Tracey Wigfield, who's written for 30 Rock and The Mindy Project, and its executive produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. That makes it Fey and Carlock's EP follow-up to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, their follow-up to, of course, 30 Rock itself. And if Katie's mom is her Tracy Jordan — the unstoppable force that suddenly upends an already delicate work environment — then her Jenna Maroney is Portia played by Nicole Richie, as the brazenly needy and overconfident co-anchor who constantly frustrates Chuck, the puffed-up anchor played by John Michael Higgins at the center of the show. Admittedly, the entire cast doesn't map that neatly, but when you hear the music from Jeff Richmond and Giancarlo Vulcano — who also scored 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt — you'd be forgiven for thinking you're back in Liz Lemon World. And that's not a bad thing at all.
Like 30 Rock, Great News is a joke-based comedy. That might seem self-evident, but it's not, really. As comedies have become more tonally experimental and often much darker, the visual goofs and quick hits that are part of the Fey/Carlock house style executed so well here by Wigfield can't be taken for granted. The fact that the equivalent of the Kathie Lee/Hoda pairing in Katie's world is called Morning Wined Up With Kelly and Mary Kelly is just silly fun; it's a bit that proudly disclaims thematic ambition. It's the kind of comedy with jokes in it.
From a genetic perspective, the similarities make some sense. Great News was created by Tracey Wigfield, who's written for 30 Rock and The Mindy Project, and its executive produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. That makes it Fey and Carlock's EP follow-up to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, their follow-up to, of course, 30 Rock itself. And if Katie's mom is her Tracy Jordan — the unstoppable force that suddenly upends an already delicate work environment — then her Jenna Maroney is Portia played by Nicole Richie, as the brazenly needy and overconfident co-anchor who constantly frustrates Chuck, the puffed-up anchor played by John Michael Higgins at the center of the show. Admittedly, the entire cast doesn't map that neatly, but when you hear the music from Jeff Richmond and Giancarlo Vulcano — who also scored 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt — you'd be forgiven for thinking you're back in Liz Lemon World. And that's not a bad thing at all.
Like 30 Rock, Great News is a joke-based comedy. That might seem self-evident, but it's not, really. As comedies have become more tonally experimental and often much darker, the visual goofs and quick hits that are part of the Fey/Carlock house style executed so well here by Wigfield can't be taken for granted. The fact that the equivalent of the Kathie Lee/Hoda pairing in Katie's world is called Morning Wined Up With Kelly and Mary Kelly is just silly fun; it's a bit that proudly disclaims thematic ambition. It's the kind of comedy with jokes in it.
Topics
greatnewsnbccomedytinafey30rockunbreakablekimmyschmidt