30 Rock

When the writers were on, the live-action cartoon 30 Rock was one of the funniest series in television history, which encapsulates the risks and benefits of a joke-a-second comedy. Tina Fey, one of Saturday Night Live's most well-known alumni, is the creator, producer, and writer of the sketch-comedy series 30 Rock, which brings viewers behind the scenes and explores the actors', writers', and executives' propensity for madness. While juggling the absurd demands of her mentor and boss, the sharp-toothed corporate shark Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), whose strict capitalist conservatism contrasts with Lemon's liberalism, Liz Lemon (Fey), Lemon is frequently forced to mediate between her show's stars (played by Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski). In her efforts to “have it all,” a successful career, and a loving family, the overworked food-loving curmudgeon invents her own sense of normalcy, which at one point includes being married in a Princess Leia dress.

This widely praised comedy is rife with irony and has a self-awareness that frequently delivers comments on the sitcom genre as well as social issues in a distinctive voice that is entirely original to its author.

Years: 2006-2013
Creator: Tina Fey
Stars: Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Alec Baldwin
Network: NBC