The more that real life resembles a throwaway 30 Rock gag, the more Kenneth Parcell turns in his upright crypt, ready to reemerge. Maybe it’s the Shake Shack bleach incident that finally did it, but the time has come: 30 Rock is coming back for a reunion episode … sorta. Where its fellow beloved former NBC comedy Parks and Recreation stayed true to the bighearted spirit of the series with a comforting coronavirus reunion episode for Feeding America, so too will 30 Rock stay true to its own goofy, biting, ever-meta spirit. On July 16, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), and Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) will reunite on NBC primetime for the first time since they went off the air in 2013 … for a corporate synergistic upfront event. That’s right: the show about a buffoonish, heightened version of NBC will be back on NBC, promoting the 2020–2021 slate of new television programming across the network and NBCUniversal’s affiliate platforms.
30 Rock creators Fey and Robert Carlock said in a statement, “We’re all happy to have this excuse to (remotely) work together again for NBC … To quote Kenneth the Page, there are only two things we love in this world, television and everyone.†The statement also promises that “more†characters will make appearances: will Scott be given a show of his very own, only to have it stream exclusively on Peacock? Will D’Fwan submit his own celebrity “Imagine†verse three months too late? Will Dr. Spaceman replace Dr. Fauci as Trump’s head of infectious diseases? The hour-long special will be ad-free, which gives 30 Rock plenty of time to scatter in some fake upfronts for a prestige Rural Juror miniseries. It airs July 16, 8 p.m. ET, or for those of you who really want to commit to the bit, it will also be available for streaming the next day on Peacock.