Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was ahead of its time, so it has exactly the right spirit for 2020

Gen

The return this week of Kimmy Schmidt for its Kimmy vs. the Reverend interactive special is a reminder of how much the comedy from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock anticipated our current moment. "Unbreakable was ahead of its time in several key ways," says Sady Doyle. "Its focus on stark class divisions came before the populist turn in modern progressive politics. Its New York was a place where women, queer folks, and people of color were forced into unlivable apartments and humiliating, sub-minimum-wage jobs servicing the craven rich. Years before #MeToo, it was a show about surviving sexual assault (Kimmy admits to, and was clearly scarred by, 'sex stuff' in the bunker) which never flinched from its depiction of the elite as a cadre of profoundly depraved, wealthy men; just about every character on the show, from trophy wife Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) to aspiring actor Titus (Tituss Burgess), was reduced to a sexual commodity at some point. Kimmy’s demented optimism held the whole thing together: The world is awful, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt told us, and it is run by awful people, and they will break you if they can. That makes it all the more important to strive for joy."

ALSO:

• Jane Krakowski felt the escapism the first time she tried Kimmy vs. the Reverend: "This colorful candyland of escapism — it feels lovely to revisit these characters, and what a time, she says. "We can either spend an hour or up to three hours with these folks and lots of great jokes."
• How to reach all of the Kimmy vs. the Reverend endings, and what they mean
• Eight things to look out for in the Kimmy Schmidt special