30 Rock Will Return, Baldwin's Future in Question

Despite averaging only 5.8 million viewers in its inaugural season, NBC's 30 Rock has been awarded a 22-episode contract for the upcoming fall schedule, securing a spot in the network's Thursday night comedy line-up. Fortunately, the show has been extremely popular among critics, and has understandably had difficulty in securing an audience given that it has already been in three different time slots, and currently must compete with Grey's Anatomy and CSI, two of the highest-rated shows on television.

Since Seinfeld and Friends retired from the airways, TV comedies have had a difficult time procuring audiences. Sitcoms, whose comedy is typically predictable and not that funny, which used to dominate prime time, are being replaced by hospital dramas, crime dramas, and reality shows with a never-ending supply of drama.

But it's in comparison with the current sitcoms that have come and gone over the past few years that shows such as 30 Rock have stood out. Tina Fey, an SNL veteran and the writer of the comedy film Mean Girls, created and produces 30 Rock, a brilliant comedy that, just like the other three comedies NBC features on Thursday nights (The Office, My Name is Earl, Scrubs), is devoid of a laugh track, and is filled with brilliant comedy suitable for adult men and women of all ages. For instance, while talking to one of her employees who just got engaged, Fey asks, "so how long have you known this guy?" She replies, "it'll be two months in three weeks." Asks another co-worker upon hearing the news, "will this change the way you dress or eat lollipops?" "No." "Then congratulations."

In the show, Fey stars as the head writer of a sketch comedy show, just like SNL, and is working for Alec Baldwin, who is known to binge-eat to relieve the stress from speaking to his mother on the phone. Another SNL veteran, Tracy Morgan, plays the star of the show for which Fey's character is the head writer, and, to give you an idea of his character, is a movie star from films such as Who Dat Ninja?

But in order to capitalize on its success, 30 Rock will have to overcome some off-the-set issues. In particular, Alec Baldwin, who was in the news after saying something he would later regret to his daughter via a voicemail, has requested that he be freed from his contract so as to spend more time with his family. Baldwin has been in a custody battle with ex-wife Kim Basinger for the last six years.

Appearing on The View in his first television appearance since the tape of the message was released to the public, Baldwin, who is 49 years old, said he was ready to give up acting after having been in the business for almost 30 years. According to Baldwin, he wants more time to lobby for reforms in divorce, parental visitation, and custody laws. "I would like to devote myself to the cause of parental alienation," he said, adding that he is finishing a book on divorce that he expects to come out in September.

Whether or not 30 Rock could be successful without Baldwin is a mystery, but it is highly doubtful. The actor has said he will fulfill the rest of his contract, but in the long-run, NBC would be hard-pressed to find someone capable of filling Alec's role on the show.

But Baldwin's custody battles are a different story. 30 Rock is without a doubt one of the top shows, particularly in the comedy genre, that is currently on the air. Fortunately, it avoided the fate of The Family Guy back in 2001, when constant shifting of their time slot made it impossible for viewers to tune in; but, like Cheers and Seinfeld, NBC is expecting 30 Rock to be a late bloomer, and all signs indicate that it most certainly will be.

Reuters, Baldwin asked for early release from NBC contract, 4/26/2007
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