Ah, the lovable and intelligent Tina Fey. Is there anything thing this icon can’t achieve? Seriously, when you talk about empowering women in the entertainment industry, Tina Fey has to come to mind. Not only has she made her mark on Saturday Night Live—a show she’s been apart of since the 90s—but she’s teamed up with some incredible forces like Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch for the sake of comedy. She even co-hosted the Golden Globes with Amy Poehler! Not many female comedians can say that.
Even if you’re not a fan of some of her work, you have to respect her for being a boss in the industry. And just in case fans of hers didn’t realize how much of a #GirlBoss Tina Fey really is, let’s take a look at some of the works she’s worked on where she wasn’t just the star, she was also behind the camera as well. From writing to producing to directing, these are 10 works of art most fans didn’t realize Tina Fey’s mind was behind.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
If you’re a fan of Tina Fey then you were probably aware that she had her hands in Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Starring Ellie Kemper, it’s about a woman (Kimmy) who was taken into a cult atmosphere and convinced that the end of the world was happening. After being below ground in a bomb shelter for years, Kimmy was rescued and now has to catch up with modern-day society. Fey pops up in a few episodes as two different characters: Kimmy’s therapist and later, a lawyer.
Aside from being the executive producer of the hit show and appearing in a few episodes, she’s also a writer and co-created the show, too! With four seasons under its belt, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has won multiple awards for their comedy.
The Sackett Sisters
The Sackett Sisters was a hopeful TV show that didn’t really pass the pilot-era. Being shot in 2017, the show started Busy Phillips, Bradley Whitford, Casey Rose Wilson, and Rich Sommer, and was about the Sackett sisters’ “15 minutes of fame,” which inevitably brought their family on a journey and made them closer. With hopes of NBC picking up the show–produced by Fey—Busy Philipps did her part by pleading with fans on social media to demand the show so that NBC could give it the greenlight. Although it wasn’t picked up in 2017, who’s to say it can’t make a revival with another network?
Great News
With two seasons and 23 episodes under its belt, Great News was another sitcom produced by the fabulous Tina Fey. With Briga Heelan and Andrea Martin as the stars, Great News is the genius story of a middle-aged woman working with her mother who becomes an intern in a fast-paced industry.
Unfortunately for Fet (and all those involved), Great News was canceled due to low views. When discussing the heartbreak of the show ending, Tina said they could have done more to save it; “We should have hired someone to tweet about it all day. Is that a job?”
Sisters
In 2015, Tina Fey teamed up with her acting bestie Amy Poehler to star in the comedy Sisters. After their parents decide to sell their family home, sisters Maura (Poehler) and Kate (Fey) decide to throw one last rager before the house belongs to its new owners.
Produced by Fey and Jay Roach, Sisters made $105 million in the box office and made everyone realize that when Tina puts her mad genius on a project, it’s bound to be successful.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
In 2016, Fey produced and starred in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. The film didn’t do well in the box office but the story was an interesting one, being based on the true story of Kim Barker, The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The movie shows Fey’s character being tired of her mundane job and decides to take a short mission in Afghanistan for her job. However, one thing leads to another and her short assignment turns into months of being on call while in the Middle East. The story really was fantastic, with Fey doing an amazing portrayal; but for whatever reasons, Foxtrot sunk in the box office.
Mean Girls
Okay so, many Mean Girls fans know that Tina appeared in the film but do they know that Fey actually wrote the screenplay for the entire film!? While Mark Waters directed and Lorne Michaels produced, all those witty one-liners and insane animalistic growls were all Tina.
(Come on, we can’t talk about Tina without at least mentioning Mean Girls or 30 Rock.) Released in 2004, Mean Girls starred the iconic group of Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried. And as per usual, Fey and Poehler had roles as well.
Busy Tonight
Busy Tonight was the late-night talk show hosted by actress Busy Phillips on the E! Network. Thanks to Busy being extremely friendly, outspoken, and “in the know” revolving around pop culture — the show was an upbeat one.
Executively produced by Tina Fey and her production company, Little Stranger, the show moved to another timeslot before being canceled in May, which was surprising to fans considering all of the guest stars Busy attracted.
30 Rock
NBC’s 30 Rock was above its time if you ask me. Running for seven years and seven seasons, the show was based about Liz Lemon and all the hats she wears while working at NBC in New York City. Similar to the show, Fey wrote, produced, and starred in 30 Rock.
Even more impressive is that Fey created the show based around her real-life experiences while working on the Saturday Night Live set. Knowing that some of the scenes were based on real events made us fall for Tina (and life as a writer/producer/manager/actor) even more.
Cabot College
Officially picked up by Fox in 2014, Cabot College was a TV series revolving around a women-only college who were open to admitting men as students for the first time. With six episodes ordered, the show was suddenly dropped when Fox moved personnel around.
The show would have starred Margaret Cho, Fortune Feimster, and Bonnie Dennison. And considering Tina Fey can’t help but be apart of projects in more ways than one, she probably would have made an appearance in front of the camera as well. Sadly, the show was dropped in 2014, but maybe in today’s political fire grounds, it’ll be picked up again.
The Ted Danson Project
When looking at Tina Fey’s IMDb page, you’ll see that she’s the executive producer of an untitled “Ted Danson” project that’s in pre-production as we speak. Another NBC connection, the secretive show is starring Ted Danson (surprise!) and produced and written by Fey.
The show will star Danson as a business owner who decides to get into politics and run as mayor for LA. Shockingly, Danson wins and has no idea what he’s actually doing, which is where he needs to find out what he actually cares about in the City of Angels. According to Deadline, the show was made with Danson in mind all along. No word on when this magical show will be aired yet!
