There is something so delicious about biting into a comedy from the Tina Fey/Robert Carlock universe. “30 Rock,” of course, was the gold standard — and a show I find myself still quoting to this day. (Literally, as I just once again referenced the famed Jack Donaghy gag “Make It 1997 Again Through Science or Magic” in a recent Variety feature.
) Team the Fey camp with Meredith Scardino , who cut her teeth on “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report,” and you get “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” another landmark show that helped Netflix define its smart comedy brand early in that streamer’s life. Scardino was also part of the Fey/Carlock collab that gave us NBC’s “Mr. Mayor,” and I am still a bit angry that not enough people tuned into that sharp series.
Ted Danson and Holly Hunter led a workplace comedy that delightfully skewered Los Angeles while setting up some amazing character dynamics. But that’s not what this column is about. Yes, the short life of “Mr.
Mayor” still stings. Instead, I’m here to scold you all for not making “ Girls5eva ” the hit on Netflix it deserved to be. I’m not angry (OK, I’m a little angry), just disappointed.
Scardino created another joke-dense, music-filled pop culture satire that also said so much about being a woman of a certain age looking to rediscover their voice and their place in the world. When I wrote a major feature for Variety back in March about the third season, it was about how Netflix had pi.
