NetflixOn paper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt still sounds too bizarre to work: a woman escapes from a bunker after 15 years of imprisonment, moves to New York, meets a fabulous struggling actor, becomes his roommate and starts working for an extravagant millionaire. It's the stuff of those bad 1980s movies you watch hungover, but Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, now in season two, works so incredibly well that it's one of TV's best comedies.
There is no better word to describe Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt than delightful. Ellie Kemper is delightful. Tituss Burgess is delightful. Jane Krakowski is delightful. Carol Kane is delightful. And the guest stars? Forget it. Zosia Mamet as a hipster from Austin, Texas? Spot on. Amy Sedaris as Mimi Kanasis, the desperate divorcee, is a revelation. If developed right, Mimi could be as iconic as Sedaris' Strangers With Candy character Jerri Blank.
The first six episodes of the Netflix comedy are more balanced than the first—season one was originally shot for NBC—and each character gets their own chance to shine. Creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and the writers have found their footing in this strange little world and are allowing the characters to do the same as well. There's real character growth here, something you'd be hard-pressed to find on other 30-minute comedies. Krakowski's Jacqueline White is still vapid and a Real Housewives clone, but she's learning from her mistakes. Burgess' Titus discovers things about himself he ignored for so long, including a past life as a Japanese geisha (which isn't as offensive as you'd imagine). Kemper's Kimmy is also changing, moving on from the past and embracing her future.
Nothing is off the table for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, from pop culture mainstays to perfectly taking on Internet commenters. Even at its weakest (and there are some just OK episodes, usually when the characters aren't all connected to one or two stories), Kimmy Schmidt is leagues ahead of its comedy competitors. The jokes fly fast and frequently, but the show never loses what makes it so special at its core: Kimmy Schmidt is a happy person. The show is a happy, but dark and twisted in its own right, show. It's exactly what you need after a long day of work. Kimmy may not understand a lot about the world, but that doesn't get in her way. She's unbreakable, damn it.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt season two premieres Friday, April 15 on Netflix. And fear not, season three is already ordered.