The week before last, I attended a private screening for Netflix’s new show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in NYC. I drove myself into the city on a cold winter night for this special event. I had already screened the first episode and was intrigued by the show’s premise about a young girl who escapes after spending  15 years as part of a cult and heads to NYC.

NBC initially passed on this new comedy, co-created by the fabulous Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, and I can’t figure out their rationale.

The event was so very Netflix and perfect for a TV junkie like me. We were welcomed by a room packed with monitors playing ads for their original programming and iPads streaming episodes of one of my favorite shows ever, Friends, clearly an inspiration to the writers of the show. The bar was decorated with pillows and artwork with Netflix logo colors. They served Netflix cocktails and had a candy table that included Twizzlers, Snickers, Twix, and M&Ms, presumably to give the event a Bat Mitzvah-like feel for the stars of the show, also in attendance.

Then we watched the first two episodes of the show, and I can honestly say I was laughing out loud. There is so much to love about this show. For one thing, it’s written and created by the team from 30 Rock so you have a little Liz Lemon, a lot of NYC and much snark. Then you have Ellie Kemper. You might remember her from The Office and Bridesmaids. She plays the role with the right amount of innocence and chearm. She’s reminds me a lot of Marlo Thomas from That Girl - you can’t help but fall in love with her. Then you have Titus Burgess, who plays her roommate. Fresh off the Broadway stage, I feel like he was born to play the part of a struggling actor in NYC. The role must come pretty natural to him. There’s also Jane Krakowski, who plays Kemper’s nanny employer so perfectly. I keep expecting her to break out in song and dance one of these days.

Then came the icing on the cake: an interview and meeting with the three stars. The three were gracious, forthcoming and thrilled with their new show. I’m pictured above with Kemper and Burgess, who I promised I would promote the heck out of the show to! Look for an upcoming post on BlogHer with further bits from the interview.

So, please watch it – it debuts tonight at midnight PST/3am EST on NETFLIX.

Disclosure: I’m a member of the Netflix stream team and receive complimentary Netflix to facilitate my review but all opinions are my own.

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I’ve written about Netflix often here on ye olde blog. I’ve written about my binge watching habits, getting my Indie film fix, what I watch with my tween and my deep, fervent love for Orange is the New Black.

In a piece on The Broad Side, I wrote that Netflix is championing women’s voices:

With a staff full of female executives starting from the top down, Netflix is producing original programs that truly are telling important stories about women and raising the bar like no other network to date.

Now I’m excited about another one of their female-driven programs being offered as part of their original programming line-up. I got sent the trailer for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and I’m kind of excited. Take a look:

Set to premiere on March 6th, the series stars Ellie Kemper as Kimmy, who I hope breaks out into stardom with this role, and is created and exec produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, both of 30 Rock, along with Jeff Richmond, Jack Burditt and David Miner (husband of my fab friend, Jennifer Miner, of Vacation Gals, funnily enough – I just had to mention that).

As the trailer starts out, we see Kimmy being rescued from an underground bunker where she’s been cooped up for 15 years as a member of a cult. She moves to New York City to start her life over and is ready to live life like a normal person. She gets a job as a nanny for a socialite, played by Jane Krakowski, finds a roommate, played by Tituss Burgess and is ready to take on New York City. The cast also includes Lauren Adams, Sara Chase, Sol Miranda and one of my faves, Carol Kane.

It’s a little bit That Girl, a little bit Mary Tyler Moore, a lot 3o Rock and it looks like a show I’ll be binging as soon as it hits the network. I hope we learn more about Kimmy’s stint as a cult member and how she ended up there in the first place (the trailer alludes to her dislike for velcro – there’s a back story), but I look forward to seeing how she takes charge of her life after overcoming many obstacles. It looks like it has humor, sensitivity, laughter, tears and…best of all, a woman’s touch.

Disclosure: I’m a member of the Netflix Streamteam and receive complimentary Netflix. However, all opinions are my own and I was a fan before I became a part of this amazing group.

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