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'30 Rock' to produce another live episode

NBC's "30 Rock" is planning another live episode that will air April 26 at 8:30 p.m.

    by Molly Eichel
    Published 

NBC's "30 Rock" is planning another live episode that will air April 26 at 8:30 p.m. This is the second live outing for "30 Rock." Alec Baldwin originally announced the very special episode on the March 21 episode of "Extra," but NBC made it official today. Here's the episode synopsis:

When their Kabletown bosses announce they will no longer pay for TGS to be a live show, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) realize their lives will actually be easier if they shoot canned episodes fast and cheap. Only Kenneth the Page (Jack McBrayer) objects, urging that nothing can replace the communal experience of live television. He tries to convince the TGS staff to fight for their right to be live by taking them and our audience through a magical look back at the illustrious history of Studio 6H.

The first live show aired October 14, 2010, during the comedy's fifth season. It was reportedly born out of the Writers Guild of America strike in 2007, after Upper Darby gal Tina Fey and other cast members got together at the Upright Citizen's Brigade to kill time until they could  go back into production. Like the first time around, Fey and company will perform two episodes: one for the East Coast feed, another for the West. They'll even bring back director Beth McCarthy-Miller, who is no stranger to live television as a "Saturday Night Live" veteran.

So what do you think about this news? We're not that psyched. The first go-round was novel in the same way watching actors crack on "SNL" or watching figure skaters fall is novel. But it wasn't that funny. This time around, it just seems desperate. The first live episode "brought in 6.7 million viewers and a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49, highs it has not hit since," according to the Hollywood Reporter.

We could think of other ways to better celebrate this somewhat uneven season of "30 Rock," such as ... say ... bringing back the Phillie Phanatic. As if we need another excuse to post this picture: