<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Gigaom]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://gigaom.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Jeff John Roberts]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[http://search.gigaom.com/author/jeffr/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Tina Fey's new Netflix show is here for weekend binge-watching]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>There are two good reasons to pay attention to the <em>The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt</em>, which is Tina Fey&#8217;s new series that debuted Friday on <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/80025384?locale=en-US">Netflix</a>.</p>
<p>The first reason is that the show, about a young woman rebuilding her life in New York City after 15 years in a cult, is good &#8212; really good. I saw a preview of the first two episodes in New York in February, and the show is odd, fresh and funny. It&#8217;s easy to root for Kimmy (Ellie Kemper, who also played Erin on <em>The Office</em>), while her gay black sidekick Titus (Tituss Burgess) may be unlike any other character on TV. The show got a 78 <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/tv/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt">at MetaCritic</a> and folks at Rotten Tomatoes seem to <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt/s01/">like it too</a>.</p>
<p>The other reason to take note of Kimmy Schmidt is because it shows, once again, how much the creation and distribution of TV has changed. As the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/arts/television/tina-feys-unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-heads-to-netflix.html?_r=0">New York Times</a> recounted earlier this month, the initial episodes of <em>Kimmy Schmidt</em> were supposed to appear on NBC. The network, however, got cold feet, so Tina Fey decided to take it elsewhere.</p>
<p>Netflix lapped it up and agreed to buy two full seasons. Fey told the <em>Times</em> that the shift in platform also allowed for better plots and pacing because episodes were not confined to 22 minutes.</p>
<p>The stars of the show, meanwhile, appeared conflicted over the implication of services like Netflix displacing networks. In response to a question at the February premiere, Kemper said she was glad to be a Netflix star but still felt loyalty to NBC.</p>
<p>Finally, while the <em>The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt</em> has the makings of a hit, its actually popularity will be hard to measure since Netflix doesn&#8217;t disclose how many people watch its shows (even though it <a href="https://gigaom.com/2013/02/12/netflix-ratings-big-data-original-content/">knows precisely</a>). As such, it will be hard to know if <em>Kimmy</em> will outperform <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/12/11/does-it-matter-that-reviewers-dont-like-netflixs-marco-polo/">the unwatchable</a> <em>Marco Polo</em>, another recent Netflix offering that was likely targeted to a very different audience.</p>
<p>If Kimmy succeeds, it will be another feather in the cap of Netflix&#8217;s home grown hits, to go alongside <em>House of Cards</em> and <em>Orange is the New Black</em>.</p>
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