NetflixThe old saying goes: fifth time's the charm. Well, it's not an old saying, but maybe it will become one now that Jane Krakowski has her fifth Emmy nomination, her first for Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
"I'm still in shock!" Krakowski said in a phone interview. "I'm on a vacation with my son and I was watching the webtelecast and I saw Kimmy got nominated for [Outstanding Comedy Series] and I was so excited, and then I got a phone call and I thought they were calling to say congratulations about the show being nominated, which I was so happy about, and then they said that I had personally gotten nominated, and I honestly thought I was being punk'd. I was like, ‘Nooo way.' I didn't expect it at all. I was so shocked, and I'm just so thankful and thrilled and my heart really hasn't settled down yet. I think I'm going to have to go take an aspirin for my heart to calm down."
Krakowski, her costar Tittuss Burgeess, the show itself, co-creator Tina Fey and guest star Jon Hamm all picked up Emmy nominations on Thursday, July 16. Pretty good for the show that lingered in limbo until NBC announced it was moving to Netflix with a two-season commitment.
"I'm so excited for everybody that got nominated. For Tituss, you know, with his song going viral and now this, it's just an incredible time for Tituss and I'm so excited for him," she gushed. "He was the first person that I talked to from the show. He called me and I saw his name come up on the thing, and we didn't even say ‘hello.' I just went, ‘Oh. My. God.' We were both pretty excited."
Krakowski is up against Niecy Nash for Getting On, Kate McKinnon for Saturday Night Live, Allison Janney for Mom, Mayim Bialik for The Big Bang Theory, Anna Chlumsky for Veep, Gaby Hoffmann for Transparent and Julie Bowen for Modern Family.
"This supporting category has got eight amazing women in it—well, seven and me. Seven amazing women and me. I'm thrilled to be amongst them, and I'm so excited for the support that the show got. We felt so much support since the day it got released on Netflix, so I hope this brings us a few more seasons," she said. "Or at least one more."
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt goes back into production this August, but the writers have remained mum about what's next for Krakowski's Jacqueline Voorhees. "I'm curious to see. It all left off in sort of a cliffhanger place. I don't know where we'll convene, but I'm excited to see what comes from their genius minds," she said.
There was a key name missing from the Emmy ballot this year: series lead Ellie Kemper. "I was so sad by that," she said. "I don't know how it works, but I didn't understand that one." Still, Kemper has a pretty good gig going for her on NBC's Today show where she's bee co-hosting for the summer. She previously guest hosted alongside Krakowski and Al Roker.
"She's great at it right? We all started together, I know. I'm jealous of where she's getting all those dresses. How does she find so many dresses to wear everyday? She's great at it, and I feel like I get to see her everyday because I watch her every day too, so like you, I see her every morning. She's the best. She's our great ray of sunshine," she said.
After Kimmy's second season wraps, Krakowski is heading back to Broadway in She Loves Me, a musical that was the inspiration for You've Got Mail. "I've been wanting to get back to the Broadway community for a while, but I haven't been able to find a show that fits exactly in the slot…It's an old-fashioned charming little…It's a little jewel box of a musical. It's a great little show with a wonderful score."
But first come the Emmys. And then Kimmy Schmidt season two.
"I'm still in shock, I'm a little bit like, I can't even believe I'm having these phone calls today," she said of her fifth career nomination. "It's great."
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt begins production on season 2 this August.