What I’m Watching: The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 1, Episode 9 “Kimmy Has a Birthday!” (B-)

If nothing else, this show is fiercely and unapologetically committed to its irreverence. It’s hard to find the best example in an episode like this, and I’d call it a draw between Lillian acknowledging the many ways in which the apartment is really just a façade and Randy giving credit to and asking the pig for help finding his daughter. This backstory about a local cop who married Kimmy’s mom and then raised their daughter in the shadow of her older sister since they always wanted her to be safe was somewhat entertaining, undeniably most worthwhile for the casting of Kiernan Shipka, who plays Don’s daughter Sally on “Mad Men,” as Kymmi, who has nothing but disdain for Kimmy and an infinite affinity for the Olive Garden. On the note of irreverence, of course New York would have the Empire State Building…of Olive Gardens. Tim Blake Nelson was a fun casting get too, with Randy all too eager to do plenty of heroin to prove that he wasn’t a cop the very moment that he stepped outside into the real world. Kimmy failing to be the center of her own birthday party was mostly a comment on her own endearing nature, as she didn’t seem selfish but just couldn’t stand that something so sweet-natured and celebratory could turn so sour due to the behavior of her guests. Dong does seem to be the better boyfriend at the moment, slaving over a bike for Kimmy and manage to express his feelings almost as well as Logan despite his broken English.