Emmy Watch: Jane Krakowski Talks ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’

For Jane Krakowski, joining the cast of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s comedy “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” turned out to be a familiar experience.

“Working on this job was a bit like getting the band back together,” Jane told Access Hollywood during a phone interview earlier this week. “It was very comforting to come to work on my first day because I would say 95 percent of the crew and creative teams were all from ’30 Rock,’ so it was a bit of a reunion and so welcoming to come in on my first day and week filming.”

Jane reunited with “30 Rock’s” Tina and Robert for the Netflix comedy after an email from the bosses wooed her into joining the project. Now that the show has been out on the online streaming platform for several months, the cast, including four-time Emmy nominee Jane, is getting pre-Emmy nomination buzz for their performances as the kooky group of people who become part of doomsday cult survivor Kimmy Schmidt’s (Ellie Kemper) New York City life.

Jane Krakowski as Jaqueline Vorhees in Netflix’s ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ (Eric Liebowitz/Netflix)

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“It’s very exciting,” Jane said of the Emmy buzz for the “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” cast. “I mean, we’re thrilled to be in the conversation and we were most thrilled that the show was received so warmly and positively. We’re most excited to get to make more seasons. This is the first time I’d made a show where we filmed all the episodes before any of them aired, because in network television, you are making them as they air, so it was a very different experience. It felt a bit more like an opening night when all 13 episodes were released by Netflix in one day. And so it was exciting in the way that an opening night is to feel the instant attention that the show got, versus ’30 Rock’ [which] had a much more gradual viewership.”

As Jaqueline Voorhees, Kimmy’s boss, Jane’s Season 1 scenes were primarily with Ellie Kemper, whose nanny character helped her with child care and keeping up her lifestyle and physique (crazy workout cycling classes being a focus in one episode). Jane’s character Jaqueline also recruited Kimmy for some very funny scheming aimed at trying to out Jaqueline’s husband as a philanderer (talcum powder under the table, anyone?).

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The season was peppered with plenty of hilarious physical comedy moments for Jane – from Jaqueline getting jealous over a robot, short circuiting it with wine, and burying it in her backyard, to beating a luxury car’s GPS to death with a stiletto for trying to give her directions to her husband’s mistress’ house, and a feminine hygiene products store. Asked about which moment was her favorite or surprised her the most, Jane said she enjoyed all the opportunities presented by her “Kimmy Schmidt” writers.

“They were all great and that’s what I love about working with Tina and Robert. I felt this way for the seven amazing years we had on ’30 Rock’ and I feel that way now. They create their own world where there are almost no boundaries and so they – if you are lucky enough to be one of the actors in those worlds, you get to — I like to use the phrase, ‘dance like no one’s watching,’ because they’ve given you that platform,” she said. “I don’t think I’m surprised by it, but I’m always thrilled by it and delighted by it, whatever I see they come up with.”

“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” was renewed before the series first premiered on Netflix earlier this year, and pre-production on Season 2 is underway.

“They are writing now and I’m so excited to see what they come up with and we start filming in August,” Jane said.

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But, for those hoping to hear Tony winner Jane sing in Season 2 (Jaqueline’s own “Peeno Noir” maybe?) that may not happen. She told Access that they left her pipes out of Season 1 on purpose.

“I think that was a very conscious choice, because I know we spoke earlier — when we were having creative talks between Tina, and Robert and I about the character and trying to find as much separation between Jaqueline and Jenna [Maroney from ’30 Rock’] that we could. There was talk about that she would not be singing — that that role would sort of be bestowed beautifully on Titus. So, I don’t know if that will change as the characters grow and we are more comfortable with the differences between Jaqueline and Jenna, but there was definitely a deliberate choice not to have her sing or be involved in sort of those more musical moments to keep the separation.

“I love [composer] Jeff Richmond and I have been blessed by his musical genius through the years of ’30 Rock,’ and so I’m so thrilled that he is going viral [with Titus’ song ‘Peeno Noir’] and having this moment, because I was thrilled by every musical moment they gave me as a part of ’30 Rock.’ And so I’m thrilled that he’s having this awesome moment now,” Jane added of “Peeno Noir” becoming a web hit. “It’s very well deserved, and I hope it continues for a long time for him.”

While filming on the Season 1 finale of “Kimmy” was going on, Jane balanced shooting scenes for TV Land’s “Younger.” She had a memorable guest spot in the first season of that comedy, playing Annabelle, the author of a book called “Shedonism,” which Liza (Sutton Foster) and Diana (Miriam Shor), had to promote at a hip party.

“I’m a big fan of Darren Star, and so I was thrilled when he asked me to come on over and play this crazy role,” Jane said of her “Younger” part on the “Sex and The City” creator’s latest show.

Annabelle is a character who is grown up, but not grown out of her partying ways, and at the end of the episode, Diana had to get in the car and help escort her partied-out pal home. With a Season 2 of that show in the works for 2016, Access asked Jane if she would be open to a “Younger” return.

“Oh, I would love it. If Darren wants to write more and have me back, I would be thrilled,” she said.

— Jolie Lash