(L to R) Ellen Barkin, Andrew Rannells, Georgia King, Justin Bartha, Bebe Wood in "The New Normal."
The New Normal got an indirect comical name-check in the series finale of 30 Rock earlier this year.
New network president Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) showed Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) a list of his "TV no-no words." In precisely the following order, the list included:
"Conflict. Urban. Woman. Divorce. Shows about shows. Writer. Justin Bartha. Dramedy. New York. Politics. High concept. Complex. Niche. Quality. Edgy. Blog. Immortal characters. Foreign."
The only name there, of course, is Justin Bartha, who plays David on rookie sitcom The New Normal (NBC, CTV).
I assumed at the time that it was a lighthearted dig. Both The New Normal and 30 Rock were NBC products (30 Rock also aired in Canada on City), so I just figured Bartha had some pals on the 30 Rock writing staff who decided to have a little fun. Or maybe someone at 30 Rock really hated The New Normal, who knows?
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