How would you survive after fifteen years in an underground doomsday cult where you believed the world had been destroyed in a fiery apocalypse due to humanity's "dumbness?" If you're anything like Kimmy Scmidt (Ellie Kemper) you'd do it with unshakable optimism and bright clothing.
Kimmy Schmidt was in the eighth grade when she was kidnapped by a cult leader, Reverand Richard (Jon Hamm), and locked in an underground bunker with three fellow sister wives. She then endured - as the show strongly implies - pretty much what you'd imagine. "The Indiana Mole Women," as they become dubbed, are rescued 15 years later and become a tabloid sensation.
Kimmy's desire to enjoy the world (and shake her victim status) brings her to New York City, where she binges on candy like a crazed toddler, buys designer sparkly sneakers, and gets all of her donated money, $13,000 dollars, stolen in just one day.
The show is surprisingly upbeat and fun for such a unsettling subject matter, but Kimmy's peppy curiosity is punctuated with just enough dark humor to keep you on your toes. Such as when she wakes up cleaning a knife in the shower, or attacking her roommate: "This isn't the Chinatown bus! You can't just choke people when they’re sleeping."
The show has a few wobbly moments as it sheds its training wheels, but it picks up after a few episodes, and since each one is only 25 minutes, it quickly becomes as addictive as the show runners' (Tina Fey and Robert Carlock) previous series, 30 Rock. Its super-catchy theme song based on auto-tuned viral videos will get stuck in your head for days - I promise.
The show isn't perfect, Fey and Carlock have a couple of dodgy race jokes that don’t pan out well. Such as Jacqueline's (Jane Krakowski) background as a Native American who's only dream in life is to be seen as an airheaded white blonde. But, overall the show is fresh and funny, and with two seasons already secured by Netflix, it has the makings of a long-running comedy classic.
