NBC TELLS '30 ROCK' TO ROCK ON FOR REMAINDER OF 2006-07 AS FRESHMAN COMEDY RECEIVES FULL-SEASON PICKUP
BURBANK - December 1, 2006 - NBC's freshman comedy "30 Rock" (Thursdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET) has been picked up for a full-season order for 2006-07, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.
"In '30 Rock,' Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels, along with stars Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan, have the goods with this excellent comedy," said Reilly. "We look forward to future episodes of this bright new show, which is right on-brand for our Thursday-night comedy block."
In its first regular telecast in the Thursday 9:30 p.m. (ET) half-hour on November 30, "30 Rock" averaged a 3.0 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 6.6 million viewers overall, according to preliminary "fast affiliate-based" ratings from Nielsen Media Research. Pending updates, this is the highest-rated telecast of "30 Rock" to date in adults 18-49 -- with a 25 percent increase on the comedy's previous Thursday telecast (2.4/6 for a November 16 "super-sized" episode from 9:20-10:01 p.m. ET). With its four Wednesday telecasts earlier this Fall, "30 Rock" averaged a 2.4 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49, and 6.4 million viewers overall.
After airing its super-sized episode on November 16 (9:20-10 p.m. ET), the series moved to its regular time period on Thursdays (9:30-10 p.m. ET) beginning last night.
"30 Rock" is told through the comedic voice of the Emmy Award-winning Fey (NBC's "Saturday Night Live," "Mean Girls") and features Alec Baldwin ("The Departed," "The Cooler") as Jack Donaghy, the brash new network executive who has turned the show upside down with his meddling ways. Fey, as the single Lemon, is living every comedy writer's dream -- head writer on a demanding, live TV program in New York City.
Her life is jolted when Donaghy interferes with her show, and bullies Lemon into convincing Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan, "Saturday Night Live," "The Longest Yard"), a wild and unpredictable movie star, to join the cast. Now Lemon must manage the unmanageable so that the show -- and her dream -- can go on.
Also rounding out the cast in the half-hour comedy are: Jane Krakowski ("Ally McBeal") as Jenna Maroney, the star of "The Girlie Show"; Scott Adsit as Pete Hornberger, the variety show's producer; Jack McBrayer as Kenneth the Page, the over-eager NBC Page -- a highly sought-after, entry-level position with the network; and Judah Friedlander as Frank, the crass and wisecracking writer. Rachel Dratch, also from "Saturday Night Live," appears in multiple episodes, playing a variety of different characters on the series.
"30 Rock" is from Broadway Video and NBC Universal Television Studio. The executive producers are Lorne Michaels ("Saturday Night Live"), Fey, JoAnn Alfano ("Sons & Daughters"), Marci Klein ("Saturday Night Live") and David Miner ("The Tracy Morgan Show").
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