21 Shows To Watch While You’re Recovering From A Food Coma
30 ROCK — “Mazel Tov, Dummies!” Episode 707 — Pictured: Tina Fey as Liz Lemon — (Photo by: Ali Goldstein/NBC)
2. 30 Rock
Even if you’ve seen it before, there are so many references and jokes on 30 Rock that it easily stands up to a second, third, or even fourth viewing. Plus, if you’ve been feeling any tension sitting at a table with far-flung relatives, you may want to alleviate any stress by tuning in to this show. Watching the exploits of hapless Liz Lemon might just help you out.
Of course, nothing is a guarantee, but at the very least, you can enjoy it yourself. 30 Rock follows Liz Lemon, a writer for The Girly Show (TGS), a clear spoof of Saturday Night Live. Some of her concerns are familiar: she starts the show as a single woman, concerned about balancing the demands of life, work, and ambition.
What elevates 30 Rock, however, is the ultimate goofiness and surreality of the show. Many of the jokes focus on frankly bizarre situations, such as that of Kenneth the page. Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) is an upbeat NBC page who, as the show continues through its seven seasons, is revealed to be a polite and deeply weird character. He often sees people as muppets and has parents that are “technically brothers” (one of whom may have been D.B. Cooper). He may also be an ageless immortal. His mother recalls that, on the day of Kenneth’s birth, he spoke to her, saying “Momma, I am not a person. My body is just a flesh vessel, for an immortal being whose name, if you heard it, would make you lose your mind.”
That’s only the tip of the iceberg. If you need a little levity touched by the uncanny, head over to 30 Rock.
Where to watch: Netflix