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'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' "Female stories are stronger than ever!"



'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' is an American Netflix television series created by Robert Carlock and the ever-hilarious Tina Fey. Starring Ellie Kemper as Kimmy, the show follows her adjustment to life in New York City after being rescue from a doomsday cult where Schmidt and three other women were held captive by Jon Hamm's ('Mad Men') Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne for fifteen years.


Armed with little more than a positive attitude, Schmidt befriends Lillian Kaushtupper (Carol Kane), her street-wise landlady, and struggling actor roommate Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess). In the initial seasons, Schmidt was the nanny for the out-of-touch socialite Jacqueline Vorhees (Jane Krakowski), who she ends up befriending.


It's no surprise the show has received critical acclaim and is one of the strongest sitcoms of the modern era when considering its extremely strong writing. Stars such as Ice-T, Jeff Goldblum, Ray Liotta, Maya Rudolph, Adrienne C. Moore, Laura Dern, and Lisa Kudrow have made guest appearances on the show, and why wouldn't they, following the show's deserving success.



It originally began with Fey and Carlock approaching NBC execs to develop a show specifically for Kemper, because of her innocent demeanour yet strength of face. Eventually, NBC sold the show to Netflix, in part due to the fact that NBC was not overly confident about watching comedies, according to Fey.


The show very much feels like Fey's '30 Rock' with it's deadpan humour and bizarre references to popular culture, though, as with this new season, Schmidt proves to have a bigger heart.


Season 3 sees Kimmy into the college, pushing forward for the future of the show's characters instead of relying on past events to propel the storyline. The story that present is interesting as viewers see an adult Kimmy's view of the world as she discovers further intricacies of society. It's not that Schmidt's origin story feels a little stale, it's just that we now need to see Kimmy growing up; audiences want to see what kind of future she has in store for her.



While the show may deal with a naive attitude towards life, what with Kimmy's desire to go to college, it doesn't shy away from more serious issues such as happiness in one's career, gentrification, and divorce; this is done through not only Kimmy but the supporting characters too, with Lillian fighting against Brooklyn's culture becoming that much more corporate, and Jacqueline attempting to overthrow the epitome of institutionalised racism in the form of a billion dollar company.


It's safe to say that with this new season of 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt', female stories are stronger than ever, especially in television, as it fights against the patriarchy.


The show continues to prove to me one of the sharpest television shows on air.


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