30 Rock: A One-Time Special

Name: 30 Rock: A One-Time Special
Genre: Comedy, Events & Specials
Released: July 16, 2020
Rating: 49

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Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews

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Series Details & Credits

NBC | Release Date: July 16, 2020

Summary: The 30 Rock reunion is part of an Upfront special that will introduce some of the upcoming series on the various NBCUniversal networks. Some local NBC affiliates will preempt it due to fear it is little more than an infomercial for Peacock (who will stream the special the next day).

Genre(s): Comedy, Events & Specials

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Critic Reviews

100

LaToya Ferguson

Jul 17, 2020

Season 1 Review: “30 Rock: A One-Time Special” absolutely excels at what it is and does. It is a perfect commercial for NBC Universal, a perfect commercial for television, and a perfect commercial for people who believe they are too cool to watch commercials but not too cool to watch television reunion specials. ... A blatant hour-long commercial for television is technically the natural progression for the story 30 Rock told, which allows the special to somehow reach an even higher level of meta inception than it already had. Read full review

IndieWire Ben Travers

Jul 17, 2020

Season 1 Review: The special didn’t allow for that same kind of self-mockery, and it created an odd fissure between the presenters and their presentation; between “30 Rock” and the upfront itself. The “30 Rock” reunion gets the job done. ... With all our favorite faces plus a bunch of celebrity cameos (thank goodness all that Mandy Moore hype actually led somewhere), made for an enjoyable reminder of just how great “30 Rock” was when it was firing on all cylinders. Read full review

Joel Keller

Jul 17, 2020

Season 1 Review: Yes, it’s an infomercial and yes, the NBCU ads during the “commercial breaks” are pure puffery. But there are more than enough funny moments to keep you watching. Just keep your finger poised over that one-minute skip button; you’ll need it. Read full review

Caroline Framke

Jul 17, 2020

Season 1 Review: If you’re a “30 Rock” fan who tuned in to see a “30 Rock” reunion special, it would have felt both very strange and... well, kind of familiar. ... Maybe if “30 Rock” were still airing now and had to integrate a Peacock shoutout instead of briefly returning for the express purpose of acting as an advertorial boost, it might’ve erred towards something slyer. Read full review

James Poniewozik

Jul 17, 2020

Season 1 Review: An hourlong, sporadically funny grinfomercial that occasionally recalled how good the show was at its best, but mostly underlined how long ago its cultural moment had passed. Read full review

Willa Paskin

Jul 17, 2020

Season 1 Review: The episode started well. ... But the velocity was disrupted, increasingly frequently, with throws to NBCUniversal content. ... Where there had once been toothless rebellion, now there was eager compliance—even if the show had trained me to see insincerity floating in the air, like the afterimage from decade-old flash. Read full review

Hank Stuever

Jul 17, 2020

Season 1 Review: “30 Rock’s” sardonic skills in the meta department couldn’t overcome the corporate stink of it all. Read full review

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User Reviews

Davrosdaleks1

Jul 16, 2020

What I like about this hour long 30 Rock special is that even after seven years the writing and cast hasn't dropped a beat. The special feels like classic 30 Rock and is a stronger effort than the Parks and Rec special.

It helps that this unlike P+R has more camera work. The premise isWhat I like about this hour long 30 Rock special is that even after seven years the writing and cast hasn't dropped a beat. The special feels like classic 30 Rock and is a stronger effort than the Parks and Rec special.

It helps that this unlike P+R has more camera work. The premise is still based on the characters contacting each other via social media and quarantining themselves, but the cast had more help from a limited on-set crew.

There were a couple parts that weren't perfect. I've never been the biggest Jenna Maloney (played by Jane Krakowski) fan, I found her jokes here to be particularly stale and obvious here. Also, there is a character called Vivian or something like that who just doesn't work. I've seen complaints that this is too much of an advertisement for NBC's new streaming service Peacock. I won't deny that, but considering that 30 Rock always poked fun at corporate synergy and NBC and is being obvious about it's own commercialism, I won't hold it against them. I mean it was a pretty clever way to get me to watch commercials for the new NBC shows.

Overall, I highly recommend this for fans of the show.… Expand

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Seasons & Episodes

49

Series Overview
Season 1

49
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: July 16, 2020
- No episode information is currently available for this season