Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is sharp and funny with eccentricities that wouldn't have s

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The Netflix series, says Richard Lawson, "has an antic charm that grows and grows over time. What first feels a little cloying and overworked becomes, by about the third episode, something endearing and genuinely, cackle-out-loud funny. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a New York-y, scrappy little series with flourishes of sublime absurdity." PLUS: Kimmy was going to bomb on NBC because it told the same tiresome joke over and over, Ellie Kemper's giddy presence makes Kimmy a terrific show, Kimmy both aligns itself and separates itself from 30 Rock, Tina Fey says NBC approached her about writing a show for Ellie Kemper, Kimmy is already really good — but it could be even better in Season 2 when it's made exclusively for Netflix, it needs to distinguish itself from being 30 Rock's little sister, it feels like NBC leftovers, it's a dark comedy that's unusually upbeat, it has the "sneaky radicalism" of having no straight white male cast members, and Ellie Kemper thought she was being pranked when she was first approached.

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30 Rock predicted Kimmy, what "Kimmy" gets right about growing up in a cult, Kimmy gives us a rare Asian romantic hero, and Kimmy is subverting the gay best friend stereotype.

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11. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

The Show: 30 Rock creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s new show is exclusive to Netflix, and stars The Office star Ellie Kemper as a young woman rescued from an doomsday cult. Trying to make her way for the first time on her own in New York City, it’s not going to be easy, but Kimmy’s irrepressibly chirpy attitude will see her through.

Why It’s Overrated: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has only been out for about a month, but it’s pretty much been the talk of Netflix ever since. Few are going to argue with the strong lead performance by Kemper, who finally earns a true breakthrough part here, though the character’s quirkiness does become a tad tiresome if the episodes are binge-watched, which of course is completely encouraged by the Netflix model.

Once you take away the outlandish premise, this is pretty familiar sitcom fare for the most part, intermittently amusing but rarely outrageously hilarious, despite some surprisingly strong reviews and an already sizable fanbase.

More to the point, given the generally high quality of Netflix’s other content, this one sticks out a bit by feeling much more familiar and unoriginal, though perhaps that’s part of the streaming giant’s plan all along, to foster more mainstream projects.