Tina Fey And Robert Carlock’s Winning Streak Continues With ‘Great News’

At first glance, Great News, the latest sitcom to come out of the Tina Fey/Robert Carlock comedy factory, shouldn’t work. It’s a workplace comedy (yawn) about a cable news channel (sigh) where a career-minded and hopelessly single woman (eyeroll) has to contend with an overbearing mother she’s close to despite the mom’s interference (ugh). There’s nothing about the premise that hasn’t been done on television before, often many times.

But when I was watching the season to prepare to talk to Carlock and the show’s creator, Tracey Wigfield, I found myself not only laughing out loud, but enjoying the characters and the family that was being built. Then it hit me: Tina Fey has never – and I mean never – made a shitty show.

How is that possible?

Even the most successful of comedy moguls, from Norman Lear to Chuck Lorre, swing and miss, whether it’s with a show that out-and-out fails (All’s Fair and In the Beginning were failures during Lear’s ’70s peak) or are just amusing middle-of-the-pack shows (Mike & Molly for Lorre). It’s just a matter of numbers; not every show is going to be a hit, not every show will have the right cast, and not every show finds its creative legs in time to avoid the network ax.

But in the case of all three Fey/Carlock shows – 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Great News – the tone and voice were established quickly. Sure, the pilot for 30 Rock wasn’t the best. But by Halloween, we were rooting for Fey’s downtrodden Liz Lemon and laughing at Alec Baldwin’s officious Jack Donaghy. Ellie Kemper as Kimmy Schmidt charmed us as soon as she was rescued from that bunker. And, while Great News took a couple of episodes to find its stride, by the time I finished watching the ten-episode first season, I was openly hoping to see more of the crew of The Breakdown.

What do Fey and Carlock do that other producers don’t?

“Outside of the fact that they are legitimately brilliant genius writers and collaborators and know things about producing television that you wouldn’t even think of, they were very involved,” says Wigfield. “[Robert] read every writer’s draft and gave me notes on it; I can’t imagine other producers do [that]. They watched every cut and gave notes and they were on every call. That was just very valuable to making the show.”

According to Carlock, it’s all about the alchemy of cast, writers, and subject matter, as it is on any other show. But finding talent and giving them a long rope is part of their M.O. “Hiring good people and at least giving them a lot of rein I think helps,” he says.

Wigfield, for instance, was a writers’ assistant on 30 Rock, taking notes in a writers’ room where contributions from everyone were encouraged. “She was someone who did that role for maybe two years, and by the second half of that second year, she was pitching better stuff than some of the writers on staff,” says Carlock. “We immediately hired her as a writer, and she just grew and grew. Then you get to this stage where it’s like, ‘All right, let’s develop with Tracey because she’s hilarious, and she’s someone who has a point of view about the world.'”

It helps that Fey came into her sitcom moguldom after a decade at Saturday Night Live, much of it spent as the lead writer and anchor of Weekend Update. By the time she started developing 30 Rock, she was already a name-brand comedy icon with a bulging Rolodex. “Working at SNL gives you a better appreciation for what people can truly do under stress and a time crunch, so they probably have a good read on writers at this point.” says Amber Dowling, president of the Television Critics Association and a contributor to Indiewire and The Hollywood Reporter. “Hiring people with a strong vision who write what they know seems to be a successful formula right now.”

All three Fey/Carlock shows definitely have a similar voice: fast-moving, with funny lines thrown out at a rapid pace, many of which are pop culture relevant. But there’s also a knack for making distinct characters and getting them to interact with each other early on. If, for instance, Great News‘ Carol (Andrea Martin) spent the entire season trailing her daughter Katie (Briga Heelan), the show would have gotten boring. But, within two episodes, she’s become a confidant to out-of-touch anchor Chuck (John Michael Higgins) and a thorn in the side of producer Greg (Adam Campbell).

Speaking of Martin, Fey and Carlock seem to have a knack for good casting. It all started with Alec Baldwin, then mostly known for drama, was cast in 30 Rock off the strength of his Saturday Night Live hosting gigs. “They have written for people they know, and I think that means they know how to write to the actors’ strengths,” says Dowling.

The Baldwin experience likely gave them the confidence to pair veteran comedy voices, like Higgins and Martin on Great News or Tracy Morgan on 30 Rock, with either unknown actors with comedic chops (Jack McBrayer, Tituss Burgess) or people like Nicole Richie, who impressed both Carlock and Wigfield with her coolness under pressure. “The thing about her is she is naturally funny and she walks into a room and you’re just like, ‘Oh, you’re cool.’ Your eyes are drawn to her and she’s naturally high status because of who she is,” says Wigfield of Richie.

Overall, though, it might just be that Fey wants to make sure her brand is untarnished. “She’s certainly a well-established figure in the comedy firmament, and she is very choosy about what her name goes on,” says Carlock. “It is meaningful to see that name, I think. I certainly think it helps us get taken seriously in terms of the choices we’re making and the people we choose to partner with, and some of the freedom that gives us. We work with great people with at Universal and at NBC, and they give good notes. What’s next? I told her she should do a white wine for moms.”

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Watch all 10 episodes of the first season of Great News on Hulu