'30 Rock' Reunion Special Trailer Gives Us Liz Lemon Just As You'd Imagine Her During A Pandemic

Because we need something to distract us from the horrors of 2020, NBC is bringing back the hit comedy series 30 Rock in the form of a reunion episode coming next week. 30 Rock: A One-Time Special brings back Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer and more, and the first trailer gives us a quick taste of what the gang is up to since the series ended seven years ago. Watch the 30 Rock reunion special trailer below.

Of course Liz Lemon isn't hesitating to rag on someone for not wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic. And this trailer let's us know that we're joining the characters of 30 Rock in the present day. However, it's surprising to see that they were actually able to shoot some stuff on location in what appears to be New York City, which was one of the places hit the hardest by COVID-19 in the United States. But if you pay attention, you'll see that Fey and the other guy in this scene don't get very close to each other.

Interestingly enough, rather than taking the virtual reunion path for this special, like the Parks and Recreation revival special did a little while back, 30 Rock is using phone calls with professional production quality shots to make it happen. Surely that's much easier now since quarantine restrictions are less severe, for better or worse (pretty much worse all around).

As we learned when the series revival was announced, this won't be just a normal episode of 30 Rock. On top of bringing back all our favorite characters and probably some guest stars for a new storyline, the episode will also double as an upfronts presentation for new shows coming to NBC. Presumably that means it will be a meta episode where 30 Rock pokes a little fun at some of the new shows and the state of entertainment today, just as the series did during its original run on NBC.

When the special was announced, 30 Rock executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock are psyched to be getting the gang back together. In a joint statement, they said:

"We're all happy to have this excuse to (remotely) work together again for NBC. To quote Kenneth the Page, there are only two things we love in this world, television and everyone."

30 Rock: A One-Time Special on Thursday, July 16 at 8:00 P.M EST/7:00 P.M, CST on NBC, and it will also be streaming the next day on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service, which will be available to everyone starting July 15.