Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: 10 Important Reasons Why You Need to Catch Up
Hands up if you’ve already finished Season 2 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt because I just have and it was just as brilliant as the first season and I’m already wanting more.
Yet, I believe that are a few of you that haven’t quite got around to watching this new season yet. Who maybe have put it off because it’s just so darn easy to actually watch it that you keep saying I’ll watch it when I’m not waiting for the next episode of Game of Thrones.
Thus, I want to give you the 10 reasons why I think you should finally sit down and commit to watching this new season. There will be light spoilerage.
1. A Cut Above the Rest
Out of Netflix’s vast array of original content, Kimmy is perhaps one of its best. A sharp, funny and deeply silly comedy from the minds of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock that has the freedom that most network shows can’t get. Since the end of Parks and Rec and Community I’d hasten to say that UKS is perhaps the best comedy out there and at least half of that is down to the excellent scripts.
2. Cast
I want to give the shows two main performers numbers of their own down the line but the other cast members, Jane Krakowski as Jacqueline, Carol Kane as Lillian and the rest of supporting performers all help to make the show what it is. They are all seasoned actors and actresses helping to round out the world of the show.
3. PTSD
The key throughline of Season 2 is how Kimmy deals with her unresolved emotions, particularly towards her imprisonment and estranged mother. In episode 9 she meets Tina Fey’s drunk therapist, Andrea, who helps her to release some of her anger and leads her to confront her mother. It’s a surprisingly weighty story that doesn’t ignore the dark roots that lie beneath the cheery exterior of the show. Yes, Kimmy is a ray of sunshine but beneath it, she hides real issues, as witnessed throughout the season.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt succeeds because it confronts these trauma issues and doesn’t shy away from their negative effects. As witnessed in Kimmy Goes to a Hotel, these issues have lasting effects on her relationships. I know and understand that the show has its flaws but I do think it’s making some other genuine steps towards being different.
4. Relationship Goals
One of the sweeter developments of Season 2 is the relationship between Titus and Mikey, two people designed to be as opposite as you expect but who end up in a relationship. Their loving relationship is a nice opposite to the sad disintegration of Kimmy and Dong’s, and it takes another step for easy representation in a non-network show.
5. Guest Stars
Jon Hamm, Jeff Goldblum, and David Cross to name a few have all guest starred in the 2 seasons of Kimmy, some providing single cameos, or, in the case of Jon Hamm the ongoing role of Kimmy’s former captor. Not that the show needs it but these guest stars give the show a boost, proving to be as memorable as they are funny.
6. Ellie Kemper
I’ve been saying for years that once Steve Carell left The Office, Ellie Kemper became the finest performer of the bunch and in UKS, her full talents are on display. Switching from manic childlike joie de vivre to goofy slapstick, she gives the show its energy, turning every line into a layered comedy showcase and even in emotional moments, she can reduce her performance to a single dramatic beat. She really needs to be in more things.
7. Titus Andromedon
A performer at heart, Titus is the next best star of UKS. He’s a sarcastic, slovenly, flamboyant scene stealer who’s just as at home performing as he is eating or sitting. There’s a layered eccentricity to the role which gives real life Tituss a chance to be as funny and as ridiculous as he wants, which make him endearing and endearingly over the top.
8. Kimmy’s Mom
Invested in Kimmy as a character, well this is the season in which we get to see her Mom and the casting is perfect. The great through-line of the season is her trauma and the manifestation of her repressed rage, which all comes to a head when she tracks down and meets her long absentee parent. For a show that only sparingly tackles it’s big emotions, the dramatic crux of the finale is a strong one, made better because it doesn’t sacrifice its comedy or silliness.
9. Funny as Hell
You know it, I know it. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is hilarious. Here are some killer lines.
.“Delivering Chinese food all day can be depressing. Like when people yell out ‘Food’s here!’ as if they have a family, but I know they are alone.”
.“That’s the fanciest sentence I’ve ever heard and I used to watch Frasier”
.“But I’ve already done something today”
.“Kimmy you yell in your sleep, you bite my nails and we still don’t know why you’re afraid of velcro”
10. That Theme Tune Tho!
Woman power is the show’s primary message and it’s none more so apparent than in the meme spoofing theme tune. “Females are strong as hell”. Endlessly catchy and unforgettable. I can’t wait for season 3.
