Although 30 Rock has now been off the air for ten years, the series has had a second life on different streaming platforms. Similar to other hit NBC comedies like The Office and Parks and Recreation, the show was available on Netflix for several years, and now exists primarily on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform. The show has been so successful on streaming, with Peacock even releasing an exclusive reunion special in 2020. Spanning seven seasons and 139 episodes, the original series is a special time capsule of the late aughts and early 2010s, featuring a cast of now iconic characters and legendary guest stars. A perfectly assembled cast of characters married with smart writing and a genius conceit, helped establish the show as one of the best workplace comedies of all time.
One thing the show always knocked out of the park was when the cast got festive with a Christmas special. Coming from dysfunctional families, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) were perennially tortured by the holiday season, and it always made for great television. For reasons unknown – potentially just to mix things up – the writing team opted against Christmas episodes for the 1st and 6th seasons. But in every other season, these special winter holiday episodes are always a treat. Let’s take a look at all the 30 Rock Christmas episodes, in chronological order.
5
“Ludachristmas”
Season 2, Episode 9
Season 2’s Christmas episode, “Ludachristmas,” is unique in that it’s the only one on this list to feature appearances by Liz’s family; her mother Margaret (Anita Gillette), father Dick (Buck Henry), and brother Mitch (Andy Richter). Liz’s parents are sweet, normal folks on the surface, but Jack’s mother, Colleen, insists on exposing the underlying tensions by the end of the episode. Liz’s brother Mitch got in a skiing accident when he was 17 and suffered severe head trauma, so he’s stuck in a groundhog day situation where he relives the day before the accident over and over. In Mitch’s head, Ronald Reagan is still president, prompting Jack to say: “you lucky bastard.”
Meanwhile, Kenneth hands out Christmas presents to the ungrateful writers, who throw them in the trash. Enraged by their behavior. Kenneth locks them in their office and forces them to watch footage from a mission trip to Guatemala to show them some perspective. They feel so guilty that they try to chop down the massive Christmas tree on the plaza. Colleen eventually succeeds in unearthing some family trauma that causes the entire Lemon family to fight. Jack smiles as the carnage ensues, and we see Jenna perform a beautiful rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Elaine Stritch’s performance in “Ludachristmas” is a definite highlight, even prompting an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Interestingly enough, the side plot involving an alcohol monitoring bracelet worn by Tracy Jordan is also loosely inspired by real events. Tracy Morgan, who plays Tracy Jordan, was at one point legally required to wear one due to his issues with alcoholism throughout the mid 2000s, which gave his character’s plight some additional weight. The episode as a whole certainly embodies what we’d come to expect from a feel-good Christmas story, albeit being far from picturesque.
4
“Christmas Special”
Season 3, Episode 6
Season 3’s “Christmas Special” isn’t just the best Christmas episode; it’s one of the best 30 Rock episodes period, highlighting why it became one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 2000s. In the beginning, Liz introduces a charity called Letters to Santa to the writers, where poor kids from the area tell Santa what they want for Christmas and benevolent donors fulfill their requests. Feeling disconnected from her family after the blowup in season 2, she overcompensates and buys these kids everything they want.
Meanwhile, Jack explains that Colleen ruined Christmas every year by inviting a different strange man over to the house, with whom Jack would have to watch her flirt all night. This year, Jack flies down to Florida to visit his mother so that she won’t come to New York for Christmas. In so doing, he accidentally hits her with his car, breaking her hip. He secretly waits eight minutes to call the ambulance, perhaps hoping she’ll die. The plan backfires and Colleen flies to New York so that Jack can take care of her. Jack is so suffocated at home that he forces the writers and producers to put up a last-minute Christmas special just so he can stay at work all day. A series of hilarious misunderstandings plays out until the episode comes to a fitting end, with tensions resolved and true intentions coming to a head.
Though critical reception was mixed at the time of its release, the negativity has certainly softened around this episode since its 2008 premiere. Elaine Stritch would snag an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance here, and the relaxing ending featuring a rendition of “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” embodies the festive spirit most Christmas specials thrive on. It’s an episode where everything that should be there is, not just in terms of succeeding as a 30 Rock episode, but as a holiday special in general.
3
“Secret Santa”
Season 4, Episode 8
NBC
Season 4’s holiday special, “Secret Santa,” features an iconic cameo by legendary actress Julianne Moore. She plays Nancy Donovan, Jack’s high school sweetheart, who resurfaces after Jack makes a social media profile. Jack and Liz decide to exchange gifts for the first time, throwing Lemon into a tailspin.
Meanwhile, Kenneth tries to organize a complicated secret Santa game. To avoid playing the game, the writers invent a fake religion called Verdukianism. At the same time, a struggle ensues between Jenna and the show’s newest cast member, Danny (Cheyenne Jackson). The show’s director, Pete Hornberger, is upset because Jenna never contributes money to his annual gift to the building’s cleaning ladies, so he suggests that Danny duet the show’s Christmas song this year, knowing full well that it will enrage Jenna. Before long, Tracy ends up exposing the phony nature of Verdukianism to Kenneth.
30 Rock has more jokes per minute than arguably any sitcom ever, with one of the best ones of the episode tying into its yuletide theme. Pete’s plan to mess with Jenna is foiled in an intimate moment between Jenna and Danny, when she reveals that singing Christmas songs was always her escape from trauma throughout childhood. Danny’s solution is to do the duet with Jenna at the end of the episode, but he purposefully sings poorly to make her look better. As fun as it is to listen to, it’s a memorable moment in an already-hectic holiday episode, especially when paired with a hilariously complex interpretation of Secret Santa.
2
“Christmas Attack Zone”
Season 5, Episode 10
NBC
Season 5’s seasonal episode would feature great guest performances from Jack Donaghy’s parents, Colleen (Elaine Stritch) and Milton (Alan Alda). In the context of the season, Jack has just discovered that his real father is Milton Greene, a hippie professor at Vermont’s Bennington College. Jack decides to take Milton to his mother’s Christmas dinner to ambush her. Meanwhile, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) attempts to rebrand himself as a serious actor. In the midst of all this other drama, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) struggles with her recent separation from her eccentric partner Paul L’Astname (Will Forte).
“Christmas Attack Zone” is a solid episode overall, but unfortunately features a controversial joke that led to it being removed from Peacock. Following the outrage surrounding the death of George Floyd in early 2020, 30 Rock — along with shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Community — opted to pull episodes that could be considered racially insensitive from streaming. This episode in particular sees Jenna donning blackface for a New Year’s Eve party as a means to dress up as Lynn Swann, a Black professional football player. Despite this, you can still find some decent one-liners throughout. For instance, Milton’s liberal nature is a sore spot for Jack, leading to some great lines like: “In what kind of emergency would you be necessary? If someone wanted to know if the ’60s were awesome or not?”
1
“My Whole Life Is Thunder”
Season 7, Episode 8
NBC
The final Christmas special of the series is a phenomenal one, featuring guest spots from Colleen and Jenna’s boyfriend, Paul (Will Forte). Liz has just secretly married her lover, Criss (James Marsden), sending Jenna into a jealous rage. Adding insult to injury, Liz wins the “80 Under 80” award from the Women in Media organization. Naturally, Jenna is enraged. Meanwhile, Colleen flies into town seemingly to torture Jack for the holiday. But something is different about her this time: she’s in poor health and seems softer. Jack keeps trying to avoid Colleen, but she has a knack for pulling him away at the worst times.
Later, Jack and Colleen have an incredible moment where the two have a pleasant carriage ride together. In perhaps her only vulnerable moment ever, she tells Jack, “I just want you to be happy.” And then she dies of a heart attack. In an act of tenderness, Jack delivers the “best eulogy of all time” at her funeral, featuring an actual cameo from Kermit the Frog and a flute rendition of “Danny Boy.” At the very end, one of the church’s statues comes to life, and it’s actually Paul in disguise. Jenna and Paul get married at Colleen’s funeral, and Paul takes both Jenna’s first and last names.
Being the final holiday special of the series, you’d have to expect some moments that tug on your heartstrings. From closing the book on Colleen Donaghy — and subsequently, Elaine Stritch, with this episode marking her last appearance in the series — to tying the knot between Jenna and Paul, this episode would have a tremendous impact on the subsequent episodes of season 7. Jenna’s award ceremony even snuck in some unexpected cameos, including appearances by Gayle King and Wendy Williams. There are also some incredible one-liners found throughout, like this gem from Jenna: “First you get married, now you’re winning an award? These are my things. Next, you’ll tell me Mickey Rourke catapulted you into the Hollywood Sign.”
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Release Date
2006 – 2013-00-00
Network
NBC
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