What I’m Watching: The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 1, Episode 11 “Kimmy Rides a Bike!” (B)

It wasn’t perfect, but I really enjoyed this episode. The casting of Jon Hamm as Reverend Wayne is brilliant, and he’s so fantastic in this role that it’s hard to remember that he skyrocketed to fame for his muted portrayal of a serious character. Titus’ obsession with the trial is convenient since it’s among the most entertaining plotlines this show has ever featured. Tina Fey and Jerry Minor playing the feckless, ridiculously incompetent lawyers prosecuting Wayne is just as fabulous, and it’s a lot of fun to see them in this send-up of courtroom trials and all the absurd showiness associated with them. Kimmy refusing to let it dominate her life and focusing instead on cycling with Jacqueline was a fun distraction, one that led to a truly glorious unmasking of the real truth. The fact that Nick Kroll’s Tristafé was actually sitting on a toilet behind a TV screen of his legs moving was extremely funny, and good for Kimmy for actually being able to show to the world that, for once, she’s paying more attention and isn’t the most naïve one in the room. I can only hope that her return to Durnsville will embellish her more positive attributes, and that she’ll be able to show everyone that Wayne is a true menace. On this show, I can’t imagine it will be that easy, but it should prove wild and entertaining to watch, if nothing else. More of Jon Hamm and Tina Fey is definitely a good thing, and I’m eager to see them again as the trial continues.