List of 30 Rock characters

30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC; the name "30 Rock" refers to the address of the GE Building where NBC Studios is located, 30 Rockefeller Plaza.^[1] The series has an ensemble cast that currently consists of 13 regular cast members, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Alec Baldwin, Katrina Bowden, Keith Powell, John Lutz, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman and Maulik Pancholy.^[2]

Casting

Tina Fey worked with Jen McNamara and Adam Bernstein for the casting of the series.^[3] Fey's first act as casting director was to cast herself as the lead character, Liz Lemon, who is said to be much like Fey herself when she first became head writer on Saturday Night Live (SNL).^[4] The next actor to be cast was Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan,^[5] who was then a former castmate of Fey's in SNL. Morgan was asked by Fey to play the role, and he believed it was "right up [his] alley and it was tailor made for [him]".^[6] Fey said that the character of Kenneth Parcell was written with Jack McBrayer in mind. McBrayer is an old friend of Fey (they worked together at Second City in Chicago), and she "really wanted him for that part and was very happy when no one objected".^[3]

Rachel Dratch, Fey's longtime comedy partner and fellow SNL alumna, was originally cast to portray Jenna. Dratch played the role in the show's original pilot, but in August 2006, Jane Krakowski was announced as Dratch's replacement, with Dratch remaining involved in the show playing various characters.^[7] Fey explained the change by noting that Dratch was "better-suited to playing a variety of eccentric side characters",^[8] and that the role of Jenna was more of a straight-ahead acting part. Although Fey went on to say that "Rachel and I were both very excited about this new direction",^[8] Dratch said that she was not happy with the media's depiction of the change as a demotion. Dratch was skeptical about the reasons she was given for the change, and was not happy with the reduction in the number of episodes in which she would appear.^[9]

Shortly following the casting of McBrayer and Dratch, frequent SNL guest host Alec Baldwin was cast as Jack Donaghy, the "totally uncensored" Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming.^[10] Fey said that the character of Donaghy was written with Baldwin in mind, and she was "very pleasantly surprised when he agreed to do it".^[3] Baldwin—who models his portrayal of Donaghy on SNL and 30 Rock producer Lorne Michaels—was reluctant to commit to a weekly television show, and agreed to appear in the pilot on the condition that he appear in no more than six episodes a season for six seasons. NBC, however, agreed to broadcast 30 Rock only if Baldwin would appear in every episode of the first season. Baldwin agreed to 12, but appeared in every episode.^[11]

Judah Friedlander was cast as the staff writer of The Girlie Show, Frank Rossitano. Friedlander had never met Fey before auditioning for a role in 30 Rock. His character was based on at least two writers that Fey used to work with at SNL, but he said that he "certainly brought some of [his] own things to it as well".^[12] Finally, Scott Adsit was cast as Pete Hornberger, a long time friend of Liz's and producer of The Girlie Show. Adsit, an old friend of Fey, also had his character written based on him.^[3]

Main characters

The series features seven roles that only appear during the opening credits, and another seven roles that don't appear during the opening credits but receive star billing. Additionally, one role was written out of the show during season four.

Liz Lemon

Main article: Liz Lemon

Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is the protagonist of the series, the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan. Jack Donaghy accurately describes her as a "New York third-wave feminist, college-educated, single-and-pretending-to-be-happy-about-it, overscheduled, undersexed, you buy any magazine that says 'healthy body image' on the cover and every two years you take up knitting for...a week."

Jack Donaghy

Main article: Jack Donaghy

Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is the decisive, controlling, suave network executive who constantly must deal with and/or causes unusual events at TGS. Donaghy is portrayed as a slick, yet brilliant and scrupulous network executive who directs many overtly backhanded compliments to head writer Liz Lemon. Lemon—whom he always refers to by her last name—and Donaghy are each other's work spouses. He is also a Republican and is Irish Catholic.

Tracy Jordan

Main article: Tracy Jordan

Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) is the loose cannon star of TGS. He is a successful movie star with a reputation for unpredictable, highly erratic behavior. This reputation is well-earned and much of it is an intentional attempt on his part to maintain his "crazy" persona in the eyes of the media. In the pilot episode, Jack Donaghy forces Liz Lemon to hire Tracy as the new star of her sketch comedy program The Girlie Show. To the chagrin of Liz and Jenna, Jack renames the show TGS with Tracy Jordan in the following episode. Tracy has remained the star of TGS ever since.

Jenna Maroney

Main article: Jenna Maroney

Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) is the limelight-seeking co-star of TGS and Liz's best friend. A running gag is her thinking she's doing the right thing for her career, only resulting in her humiliating herself in front of everyone, and never learning from her mistakes. Generally, she fits into the "dumb blonde" stereotype as well as the stereotype of actresses being air headed and self-centered. Off-camera, she is conceited, frequently lies about her age and uses her "sexuality" (i.e., flirting) to get her way with men. She tries to seem smart to her fans and to the general public, even going as far as telling Life and Style magazine her favorite book is the Quran. Sometimes her views get her in hot water with the public, even when she is misquoted; when Maxim asked her about her view on the Iraq War, Jenna misheard and thought she was being asked about theatre troupes rather than "the beleaguered troops." When she saw the article afterwards - in which a quote "I hate the troops" was printed - she and Liz were forced to do damage control by placing her on Hardball with Chris Matthews (accidentally confusing Barack Obama with Osama bin Laden), followed by doing a number about America, but in both cases the damage was made even worse than before (the sparklers didn't spin, and they inadvertently showed swastikas).

Kenneth Parcell

Main article: Kenneth Parcell

Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) is a cheerful, obedient Southern-born NBC page, who "lives for television." In initial episodes, it appeared as though Kenneth was not very familiar with some of Liz Lemon's staff, or even Liz herself. In the pilot episode, Liz refers to Kenneth only as "that NBC page." As the show progressed beyond its initial episodes, the character became very familiar with other staff of TGS with Tracy Jordan including Jack. Kenneth often acts as Tracy Jordan's personal assistant, for instance getting him nachos from Yankee Stadium. He is an active member of Tracy's entourage leading him to become very close with Tracy, Grizz, and Dot Com. The show repeatedly hides his actual age by making him sound old. None of the TGS staff know his age, and an argument can be made that he is immortal.

Pete Hornberger

Peter "Pete" Hornberger (Scott Adsit) is the "sane", quick-witted producer of TGS, who serves as Liz Lemon's most trusted friend (besides, of course, Jack). He works closely with Liz, whom, as stated in "Blind Date," he has known for ten years. In the pilot episode, new network executive Jack Donaghy fired Pete without even consulting Liz, but she managed to convince him to hire Pete back. Liz often confides in Pete and, at times, he seems to be the only competent person that she works with and the one who will tell it to her straight when it comes to managing her personal life. Much like Liz, Pete generally plays straight man to the other characters, especially to Liz when she is temporarily pushed over the edge. Pete has occasionally displayed a witty sense of humor, as when he calls Liz "Captain Needa" in the episode "Jack the Writer". In "The Aftermath", Liz tells Tracy that Pete thinks everyone is an idiot, "especially Frank, who... is an idiot".

Pete is the son of a United States Congressman. As a child, he was bullied by his mother and her sisters. In "College", he mentions having a "blanky". During his high school years, he ruined his chances to follow in his father's footsteps when he got a DUI. Pete has been bald since a very young age, as the result of a curse put on him for hitting a Gypsy's kid with his car.

Prior to his work on TGS, Pete was a skilled archer qualified to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics, but did not get to go when President Jimmy Carter decided to boycott the Moscow games. For three months in an undisclosed time in the 80's, he was in the band "Lover Boy", but he then had to choose between staying in the band or taking a college scholarship to study "TV Budgeting". He chose the scholarship, but only had two weeks of real college before he got his future-wife, Paula (played by SNL writer Paula Pell), pregnant twice (overlapping pregnancies). Pete has a teaching certificate, and used to teach high school math. His back-up plan if TGS ever gets cancelled is to once again teach for a living (although he's apparently hated as a teacher). In "It's Never Too Late For Now", we learn he has arthritis and takes Ibuprofen for it.

Pete and Paula got married in a botanical garden, as mentioned in "Black Tie". He goes to great lengths to keep her happy, as in "Up All Night" when he realized it was Valentine's Day, which also happens to be Paula's birthday. It is hinted, though, that Paula has, at least on one occasion, abused him (as suggested when Pete has a black eye and awkwardly tries to cover it up by saying he walked into a door, because he's "so clumsy"). He and his wife have 5 children: Kyle, who Pete fears because "he's so strong", his son Caleb, who he talked to over the phone in "Black Tie" (pretending to be Elmo and telling him to "aim his pee pee at the potty"), Robert, Jack, and Evelyn, who appears in the 4th season episode "Anna Howard Shaw Day". In "Goodbye, My Friend", Pete tells Liz that he temporarely abandoned Paula after each pregnancy. Most of his children either disrespect him (Pete mentions they call him "bald wang" in front of the babysitter) or seem to hate him (as seen in "The Fabian Strategy" when his kid's drawings depict them brutally murdering him).

According to Pete, Hornbergers are famous cowards. On D-Day, his grandfather wore a German uniform under his American one, "just in case".

As alluded to several times over the series, Pete has a great love of alcohol (he drinks wine early in the morning) and pornography. His catchphrase for when things go his way is "Yes, Hornberger!"

Frank Rossitano

Francis "Frank" Rossitano (Judah Friedlander) is a trucker hat-wearing, childish, sarcastic writer at TGS. After Liz Lemon, who is head writer and the protagonist of the series, Frank is the most prominently featured writer of the show-within-a-show. The character always appears wearing a trucker hat with a humorous phrase written on it, which is Friedlander's routine trademark in real life, and large thick-lensed glasses. He lives with his mother and his rent money goes directly to her.

Frank seems to be rather childish, lazy and libidinous. He often makes fun of and plays pranks on the other characters, such as in "Jack-Tor" where he and Toofer decided to mess with neurotic Jenna Maroney by telling her about a supposed rumor that Jack was looking to fire an actor. He also seems to be clever, quick-witted and more intelligent than would appear at first glance. Based on "The Aftermath", both Liz and Pete apparently consider him "an idiot". Frank was the only member of the show's staff to be happy with Tracy Jordan joining the show since he is the only one who enjoys Tracy's movies (Liz was quick to point out that he also enjoys some video of a monkey smelling its buttocks). According to Jack Donaghy, he owns a copy of every issue of Black Tail magazine.

In "Cougars," Frank questions his sexuality when he meets coffee delivery boy Jamie, Liz's romantic interest for the episode. However, after exploring a gay identity and making several unsuccessful attempts to court Jamie, Frank realizes that his same-sex attraction is limited to the one man: he is "gay for Jamie." It was revealed in the episode "The Break Up" that he had a racist grandfather after he watched Tracy and Toofer argue.

In "Goodbye, My Friend", Frank decided to quit TGS and follow his original career plan of being a lawyer, as he'd dropped out of Fordham University School of Law. He was inspired by Jack, who also grew up without a father. However, Frank's mother (played by Patti LuPone) revealed to Jack that all the Rossitano men were Mafia lawyers. Because of this, they are all either in hiding or dead (Frank's father is hiding in Phoenix, Arizona). Jack eventually convinced Frank to return to TGS as a writer. In Dealbreakers Talk Show#0001, Liz is busy with her talk show and puts Frank in charge of TGS, and he gradually becomes more and more like Liz, in behavior as well as appearance. They are wearing the same outfit by episode's end.

According to "Frank Talk", a blog on the official 30 Rock website purportedly written by him, he originally came to work on the show when he sent a complaint letter to The Insane Girl Show and it was delivered to The Girlie Show by mistake. Apparently, Liz mistook his letter for an "avant-garde comedy piece" as she hired him a week later.

The character is noted for his colorful trucker hats which have different slogans on them. Friedlander says he makes the hats for his character himself using phrases that he comes up with.^[13] In fact, in episode S03E18 in which Liz Lemon is forced to stay home, one of her final requests before being forced out of the building was to know what Frank's hat said. Frank first started wearing the hats at the age of 14, as seen in his 8th grade class photo, where his hat reads "My First Hat".

The character is supposedly based on former SNL writer Frank Sebastiano who worked alongside Tina Fey for a number of years.

Cerie

Cerie (Katrina Bowden) is Liz's attractive, laid back personal assistant, who usually wears revealing outfits to work, much to the delight of the writers' room. She is also the youngest member on the show's staff but has yet to divulge her age. Much of the humor associated with her character comes from the things she says to and assumes about Liz; she is always under the delusion that Liz was once married. The show portrays this insensitivity as coming from her naïveté rather than any genuine malice. She does not appear to respect her boss; on one occasion she politely declines Liz's request to get her coffee, instead preferring to lounge on the couch.^[14]

Toofer Spurlock

James "Toofer" Spurlock (Keith Powell) is a proud African-American Harvard University alumnus, and TGS writer, who often butts heads with Tracy and Frank, although he and Frank often hang out along with Lutz. He has an aversion to the stereotypical aspects of black culture that he believes are embodied by Tracy Jordan. His primary purpose on the show thus far seems to be as a foil to Tracy. According to Liz, Toofer is "afraid of black people." According to Jack, his nickname is "Toofer" because "with him you get a two-for-one; he's a black guy and a Harvard guy." Frank, with whom he shares an office, called him a "black nerd" à la Urkel. It was revealed in Season 4, episode 17, that Toofer was only hired because of affirmative action and he quits in anger before he agrees to return to the writing staff.

Jonathan

Jonathan (Maulik Pancholy) is Jack's assistant whom Jack hired after mistaking him for M. Night Shyamalan on a flight while on a sedative. Jonathan excessively admires Jack and oftentimes shows vague sexual affection for him. Liz Lemon said Jack was a "bit of a stress eater" in "The Baby Show," Jonathan was very defensive of him, emotionally saying "he puts up with so much," presumably referring to Jack's overbearing mother. His obsessive admiration of Jack is coupled with a disdainful loathing of Liz Lemon, who he considers unworthy of Jack's attention. The show has yet to give Jonathan a last name. In "Secret Santa," it is mentioned that he has a sister who was once imprisoned in a North Korean jail, who Jack had released as a Christmas gift in keeping with his tradition of giving lavish un-toppable holiday gifts. In "Klaus and Greta", Jonathan reveals that he met his "birth parents" leading to the conclusion that he is likely adopted. And in Anna Howard Shaw Day he gleefully tells Jack that he once ran over an elderly woman in Arizona, and just kept driving. In Season 4 episode 11 titled "Winter Madness", it is discovered that Jonathan is Indian when Jack says, "Jonathan, why do I have an Indian assistant if..." Later, in the same season (episode 18 titled "Khonani"), this is reinforced when Jonathan says to janitor Khonani in Hindi, "Popes and princes count their Donaghy time in seconds!" In the season 5 episode Let's Stay Together Jack asks Jonathan to provide a distraction by pretending to be a stereotypical Indian and faking an Indian accent, to which Jonathan objects "But I'm from Palo Alto!" In a later episode in season 5 (Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning), Jonathan gleefully reacted to news of a natural disaster in Pakistan, hopeful it took place in Jammu and Kashmir, referred to by him as "Indian Kashmir."

Grizz

Warren "Grizz" Griswold (Grizz Chapman) is a member of Tracy's entourage.^[15][16] The character was a recurring character in the first two seasons and is credited as a series regular in seasons three and four. Within the entourage, he is said to be in charge of sitting on Tracy when he gets overstimulated.

Grizz tends to make unexpectedly emotional observations about the show's proceedings, such as "this is a really special day!", "it's like a rollercoaster ride of emotion in here!" and "look at me, crying like a baby", but not actually showing any emotion. Grizz was entrusted with keeping Tracy's finances in order, until he invested much of his money in WorldCom. According to Tracy he is "obsessed with telecommunications," and might have been in the Navy, though Tracy Jordan was "on a lying run" when he mentioned this. Grizz has also been credited with teaching Tracy about anagrams. He also runs Griswold Talent Agency, which represents Adam West. In "Greenzo", we find out that for some reason he hopes that TGS cast member Josh will find him cool and that he and Dot Com are the biggest gossips at TGS. Liz sexually harasses him at Kenneth's party; the next day Kenneth tells Liz off, stating that before the party, he had "never seen Grizz or Dot Com cry." When alone with Liz, he, unlike any other character, calls her "Beth". In the season 4 "Argus" episode, we learn Liz and Grizz used to be secret lovers.

In the St. Valentine's Day episode in the third season, it is revealed that Grizz is engaged and Dot Com is in love with his fiancée, named Feyoncé, but the secret remains concealed (for now) when Grizz and Feyoncé married in the Season 4 finale.

Dot Com

Walter "Dot Com" Slattery (Kevin Brown) is another member of Tracy's entourage. The character was a recurring character in the first two seasons and is credited as a series regular in seasons three and four. Dot Com is Tracy's driver and cook. It is also in "Hard Ball" that their last names are mentioned.^[15][16] Dot Com is portrayed as an intellectual; he is a 1993 graduate of Wesleyan University, where he once portrayed Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. He suggests going to Las Vegas to "buy a bunch of sarcophagi" to celebrate the aid of a "de-throned prince of Nigeria," and refuses to join in on Tracy's irrational plan to escape Ridikolous in the episode "The Source Awards." He hopes to one day get an iPhone, because then "e'rybody gon' be jealous." After Jack tells him that his need to be the smartest person in any conversation is off-putting, Dot Com ruefully notes "I guess that's why I'm still single." In "Rosemary's Baby" he revealed he used to be part of Phil Spector's entourage. In "Greenzo", we find out that for some reason he hopes Josh will find them cool and that he and Grizz are the biggest gossips at TGS. Dot Com's father had diabetes and proclaims that he ate whatever he wanted until he "died the day [Dot Com] was born". In the Valentine's Day episode in the third season, it is revealed that Dot Com is in love with Grizz's fiancee. His birthday is September 21. Dot Com is revealed to be just 18 years old in season three, however this could have easily been a one time, non-canon joke.

Lutz

J. D. Lutz (John Lutz) is a lazy, overweight TGS writer who is oftentimes insulted or made fun of by the rest of the staff. Often, when characters enter the room to make an announcement, they will yell, "Shut up, Lutz!" even though he Lutz was not actually speaking at the time. The other characters show little concern for his well-being; when Lutz ran head-first into a wall in "The Ones", nobody made any move to help him until a television mounted on a wall fell on him. Lutz is originally from Alaska, where he hated living, and his grandmother recently died. His first two initials were mentioned in the episode "The Aftermath," where it was also stated that he has a thyroid problem. He also mentions that he attended Oberlin College and that after his junior year there he road-tripped to SXSW. The show has strongly implied that he is gay and in the closet, although it also appears that he has made his interest in men clear, and everyone simply ignores or forgets this because they don't like him. Lutz also continues to mention a girlfriend who lives in Canada, named Karen. No one believes him, so Lutz made a website called JDLutz.com/karen/proof, which is, in fact, a real site on 30 Rock's official website.

Recurring GE/NBC/Kabletown employees

Danny Baker

Jack "Danny" Baker (Cheyenne Jackson) is the newest TGS cast member. Danny is originally from Ottawa, and got his start as a robot street performer, (portrayed by Daniel Genalo). When showing up for his first day of work without his silver clothes and makeup he was told his new name was Danny to prevent any confusion with Jack Donaghy. Danny was picked when Jack held open tryouts for the new TGS cast member. He once had a sexual relationship with Liz Lemon, much to Jack's disapproval, as evident by awkward hand prints of the robot make up which can be seen through ultra-violet light. He has deferred to Jenna when his considerable singing talents made her angry and fearful, going so far as to sing badly during a Christmas special so she can step in and shine. He mentions that he has a hard time recognizing sarcasm because Canada doesn't have a large Jewish population, and was shocked to find out that he was adopted even though his mom is Asian and he is Caucasian.

Don Geiss

Don Geiss (Rip Torn) (pronounced /ˈɡaɪs/, US dict: gīs′) is CEO of General Electric (GE) within the show's universe and Jack's immediate boss. Jack considers Geiss to be his mentor and idol. Geiss has a mentally challenged daughter, Kathy Geiss, a secret second family in Canada (a reference to Torn's co-starring role in Eulogy), and a third secret attic family. He is a fan of Tracy Jordan's work and, while turning down Tracy's film pitch for a film about Thomas Jefferson, he expresses interest in making Fat Bitch 2, a sequel to one of Tracy Jordan's previous films. Geiss is characterized as having racist and sexist tendencies.

Geiss is first introduced during his own diabetes research golf tournament, where Jack is anxious to be in a "foursome" with him. After Jack's fireworks disaster in "Fireworks", Geiss demotes Jack to Vice President of East Coast Programming and takes away his Microwave Oven Programming duties. Geiss eventually decides to retire, and chooses Jack as his successor. The CEO slips into a diabetic coma, however, before the appointment can be announced, and the board places Geiss' grossly inept daughter Kathy in charge of GE. When Geiss comes out of his coma, he decides to remain CEO. In the episode "Future Husband", Geiss dies, but (real-world) former GE chairman Jack Welch keeps his death a secret while GE negotiates a takeover with the (fictional) Philadelphia-based cable company Kabletown (which is fairly transparently based on Comcast). Geiss is cryogenically frozen in carbonite at an Episcopal service. In his eulogy, Jack says that Geiss invented the nightlight and the fear of monsters under the bed (to sell more nightlights). Previously, Jack had also credited to Don Geiss raising one finger to stop someone talking, the abrupt conversational segue, and the phrase "Make him/her an offer he/she can't refuse."

Josh Girard

Josh Girard (Lonny Ross) is a young and immature TGS writer and co-star, known for his impressions, who was the male star of the show before Tracy Jordan was hired. Liz found him while he was opening for a puppet. He, Tracy and Jenna Maroney were the three main actors on the show. It has also been said that his character is based on SNL alumnus Jimmy Fallon.^[17] Apparently, Josh formerly acted as a writer as well as star of the show, and was frequently seen in the writers room brainstorming, whereas Jenna and Tracy are not, though his appearances decreased as the series progressed until Ross was finally written out in season four, with most of the characters forgetting his existence. Danny somehow obtains his memories in "100" while under the effects of a hallucinogenic gas leak.

Kathy Geiss

Kathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot) is Don Geiss' daughter. She is somewhat pudgy, red-faced, and 40-something years old. She has an affinity for unicorns and Mark Wahlberg and really enjoys soap operas. She has been shown putting toy race cars in her mouth, eating flowers, and demonstrating an impressive vocal talent, in homage to Susan Boyle. She rarely ever speaks, however, she speaks three simple one-word phrases "kiss kiss kiss" in the episode Do-Over. During the time her father, Don Geiss, was in a coma she held the title of Chairman and CEO of GE and President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming, however she was more of a figurehead, as her fiance, Devon Banks, called most of the shots. She made Jack her chief business advisor after a soap opera-style twist with Liz, replacing Devon.

Devon Banks

Devon Banks (Will Arnett) is the former Vice President of West Coast News, Web Content, and Theme Park Talent Relations for NBC. In a 2008 interview with Fortune magazine, Tina Fey said that the Devon Banks' character was based on former co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, Ben Silverman.^[18] Devon serves as the nemesis of the older Jack Donaghy, and is first seen in the episode "Fireworks", when his surprise visit from Los Angeles leads Jack to believe that Devon is trying to take his job as Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. At one point, Devon goes so far as to attempt to cause Jack to have another heart attack so that Jack will look weak in front of Don Geiss, the head of NBC's parent company, General Electric (GE). Upon learning that Devon is gay, Jack sends Kenneth (to whom Devon is attracted) to seduce Devon in an unsuccessful attempt to make him late for an important meeting. Devon is also attracted to Kenneth's cousin, Clay Aiken. Devon becomes engaged to Don's mentally-challenged daughter, Kathy, claiming to have been cured of his homosexuality by the Church of Practicology; this quickly proves to be untrue, as Devon continues to show attraction to men. During Devon's bachelor party, Don Geiss had planned to name Jack as the next CEO, however, Geiss goes into a diabetic coma, and Devon, ignoring Geiss' true wishes, convinces the board to turn over control of the company to the inept Kathy, essentially placing himself in charge. He and Jack concede that they "hate-respect" one another. Devon, desperate to keep the company afloat, explains to Jack that he sold the 'E' from "GE" to Samsung, who is now "Samesung," and reveals that he plans to shut the company down for two years to drive up its profits regardless of the consequences of such actions. Meanwhile, Jack and Liz convince Kathy to hire Jack as a business consultant to oversee all GE affairs. Devon responds by jumping into traffic in order to get hit by a car and sue the driver.

Devon returns in Season 4, having "wormed his way into the Obama inner circle."^{[citation needed]} He becomes head of a committee investigating the incompetence at GE and again attempts to destroy Jack, but Jack undercuts him by accepting a government bailout to keep GE afloat, and presumably the Kabletown acquisition makes Devon's efforts to control Jack moot (at least for matters involving microwaves).

Hank Hooper

Hank Hooper (Ken Howard) is the head of Kabletown. He is a "family man", and also a Vietnam veteran. He often is enraged at Jack's handling of TGS, but always has a very happy mood, characterized by incessant laughter while at the same time directing thinly-veiled insults and threats to Jack and his staff.

Howard Jorgensen

Howard Jorgensen (Brian Stack) is Vice President of Locomotives at GE and a member of the board of directors. A former protégé of Jack's, who is married to a Filipina woman, has two children and owns a house with a pool. Jack stated that people use Jorgensen as a scapegoat.

Donny Lawson

Donny Lawson (Paul Scheer) is the somewhat insane Head Page of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, known for his weak one-liners and bizarre hand gestures. He hates Kenneth because of his excessive cheerfulness and wishes to transfer him to the CNBC network studios in Paramus, New Jersey. Donny is first introduced when Jenna tries to find a replacement jacket for Kenneth and Donny uses this as an excuse to give Kenneth a demerit. He challenges him to a "page-off" (a savage contest mixing physical stamina with NBC trivia), but this is quickly broken up by Pete, who then orders Donny to give Kenneth a new jacket. Later, Donny tries to sabotage Kenneth's opportunity to apply as a page at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by sending a memo to Kenneth telling him the applications were due in two weeks, when they were actually that day. After stalling Kenneth with a fake paper delivery, Pete shoots him in the leg with an arrow (referencing his mention that he made it as an Olympic archer, only to have the U.S. boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics), which gave Kenneth enough time to deliver his application. He states in Rosemary's Baby that he was breast-fed until the age of eleven.

Jeffrey Weinerslav

Jeffrey Weinerslav (Todd Buonopane) (pronounced "weener-slave") works for GE human resources. He tried to mediate a dispute between Jenna and Tracy, but failed. He is a self-described "overweight transgender." He counseled Liz during her forced leave for sexual harassment, a leave she tried to extend by making a pass at him.

Sue LaRoche-Van der Hout

Sue LaRoche-Van der Hout (Sue Galloway), also referred to as 'girl-writer', is a TGS writer who appears to be fluent in French and Dutch, speaking with a heavy French-Dutch accent. She runs out of the room when Liz Lemon calls for a removal of all pornography, and can be heard commenting that she likes porn when Frank, left temporarily in charge by Liz, decides to remove the firewall so they can surf porn again. She was the only one offended by the French-Dutch pronunciation of the mini-microwave, the Bite Nuker (which Jack said was offensive to people who identify as Franco-Dutch). She also moderated a porn-title competition between Lutz and Frank. In the episode "Black Light Attack", Tracy adds her to his entourage and they develop a relationship mimicking that of an overprotective father and rebellious daughter. She is friends with Cerie and enjoys going to Tasti D-Lite and Pinkberry. In the episode "TGS Hates Women," she appears to be attracted to Abby Flynn, a seductive female comic who joins TGS as a guest writer. In "Plan B," it is revealed that there is a Crime TV show based on her and she appears to be very violent, as she beats up Lutz and breaks Toofer's arm in the episode It's Never Too Late for Now, and it is implied that she murdered the mayor of her hometown.

Greta Johansen

Legreta "Greta" Johansen (Rachel Dratch) is a cat wrangler who works on the show. In the episode The Baby Show, she offered to carry the child that Liz wants, and revealed that she owns a small ferret farm 60 miles north of New York City. Greta also hints towards an obsession with Liz, mentioning that she likes to watch Liz watching TV.

Rachel Dratch left the show after the first season, making it highly unlikely for the character to return. Rachel Dratch also played a large array of different characters in season one. She later appeared as the janitor Jadwiga in the season five episode "Live Show".

Liz's boyfriends

The following characters have at some point during the show been Liz's boyfriend.

Dennis Duffy

Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters) was Liz's boyfriend for three consecutive episodes in the early part of the show's first season, also making appearances in the second, third, fourth, and fifth seasons. He is generally disliked by most of the characters, notably Jenna and often Liz. Dennis claims to be the love of Liz's life, which she disputes. The few good memories she has of him are mostly food-related, but she does admit he makes her laugh. His nickname for Liz is "Dummy".

Dennis acts immature for a man of his age, often exclaiming things that would be expected of a teenage boy. In one episode, he is shown sitting on Liz's bed, presumably playing Halo 3, yelling in anger and throwing the controller down, remarking that the controller is "defective" because "That grenade was right next to him!" He was the last remaining beeper salesman in New York City and was known as the "Beeper King" since the original "Beeper King" killed himself. Liz and Dennis first met in late 2002 or early 2003 at a screening of the film The Hours, when they independently said that it should be called The Weeks. They dated for a few months and then broke up. In the episode "Jack Meets Dennis," Liz takes Dennis back when he is the only person who remembers her birthday. He is a very devoted fan of the New York Islanders, stating that he had no reason left to live when they lost a game. Liz asks Dennis to move in with her, although her original intention was to end the relationship. Duffy's behavior eventually pushes Liz to the breaking point when he starts babysitting a Great Dane, despite knowing that Liz was allergic to it, believing allergies are all mental. He destroys one of the walls in her apartment in an attempt to hang shelves and a television, leading Liz to dump him and order him to leave ASAP; however, he objects, stating he loves her and also believes he has squatter's rights. The following day, Dennis shows up with a good-bye note at her job with an apology, prompting everyone to feel sorry for Dennis, even Jack and Jenna. According to his apology, Liz's leaving him marked the first time he cried since the 1986 World Series. When Liz returns home, she finds her place back to normal with a written apology from Dennis. When he shows up to give her an early Christmas present, she invites him to stay for dinner; however, when she sits down to watch Dateline NBC, she sees a hidden camera investigation that reveals Dennis is an online sexual predator, who was hoping to meet a 16-year-old, claiming he thought she was 22. After Dennis sees Liz watching the program he tries to turn it off, but a fuming Liz throws him out.

In season 2, Dennis turns up once again when he becomes a hero by saving a person who fell in front of a speeding train. At first, Liz isn't happy he's around, but she is forced to deal with him because Jack wants Dennis featured on TGS. Dennis proposes to Liz, and she realizes that's a bad idea and refuses; Dennis's rude, stupid comments afterwards (together with losing the Stanley Cup) return him to pariah status, and Liz is furious after he tries to push her in front of another subway train to be a hero again, telling him to get lost, but Dennis replies "You'll be back, dummy." When Liz has a pregnancy scare in which she believes she's pregnant with Duffy's baby, Dennis announces that they will deliver the baby at the hospital in Coney Island where he was born and will name the baby Morpheus or Judy, respectively after the character in The Matrix and a girl he "used to boff." However, it turns out that Liz had eaten Mexican cheese puffs, which contained an ingredient (evaporated bull semen) that made her home pregnancy tests give false positives.

In the season 3 episode "Apollo, Apollo," Dennis returns to Liz's apartment, telling her that he is a self-diagnosed sex addict with the help of WebMD and is going around to all his former sexual partners asking for forgiveness. He now owns a coffee vending machine located in the basement of a K-Mart near Penn Station. Later, Dennis reveals that he and Jenna had sex in Liz's bed while he and Liz were dating. He claims to have once almost joined the Marine Corps and took the firefighter's exam, which he claims is biased against Irish-Americans.

In season 4, Dennis appears alongside two other ex-boyfriends of Liz's in a hallucination brought on by anesthesia administered during Liz's root canal. Liz later finds him at a park in Queens, trying to duplicate the balloon boy hoax with a kid he met through a program "that brings together troubled adults with child mentors", and she once again is utterly disgusted and walks away.

Dennis returns in the season 5 episode "100". When a gas leak is seeping into the ventilation system of the sixth floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, it causes strange behavior among the personnel. Later, Dennis, whom Liz had called while under the influence of the gas in an attempt to rekindle their relationship an hour earlier, comes to see her. After learning that she will "love" him again if she is affected by the gas leak, he undoes the repairs to the ventilation system. He tries to trick Liz into signing a lease that will let him move back in with her while she is high on gas, but Jack stops her from doing so. Tom the Janitor reports the sabotaged gas line and Dennis is caught and escorted from the set. Liz then tells Dennis if she ever sees him again, she will murder him.

Floyd DeBarber

Floyd DeBarber (Jason Sudeikis) is a lawyer working in 30 Rock. He first appeared when he accidentally sends flowers to Liz Lemon for Valentine's Day, intending to send them to his girlfriend Liz Lemler. Liz Lemon, who doesn't know his name, calls him "flower guy" and develops a crush on him.^[19] In the episode "The Fighting Irish," Liz fires Liz Lemler and the rest of the accounting staff, so that she can get closer to Floyd with his girlfriend out of the building; however, Jack cleans up Liz's mess by rehiring the accountants and transferring Liz Lemler to a job at GE headquarters in Connecticut, causing Liz Lemler and Floyd to break up. In the episode "Fireworks," Liz follows Floyd into an AA meeting in order to get close to him, revealing that he is alcoholic and that the rules are important to him, stating that the last time he drank he did a man-on-the-street promo for Tarzan on Ice despite never having seen the show. When Liz lies about being an alcoholic in order to hear Floyd openly talk about his secrets, she finds out that members of the same AA group cannot date and confesses she was never an alcoholic and just had a crush on him.^[20] Floyd feels betrayed by this, but Liz makes it up to him by telling Floyd all of her secrets, and the two then begin dating.^[20] Jack becomes very good friends with Floyd and starts calling him "the Floydster," much to Liz's dismay. Floyd eventually seems to want to spend more time with Jack than Liz, making Liz a third wheel on their outings with Jack.^[21] At the end of season 1, Floyd decides that New York City is too much for him, and seeks to move to his hometown of Cleveland. Liz and Floyd go there on a vacation, where Floyd gets a job and decides that he is going to move there; Liz ends up staying at TGS with Tracy Jordan in New York. Despite seeming perfect for each other, Floyd and Liz break up due to the stress of a long-distance relationship.^[20][21] When Floyd visits New York in season 2, Liz confronts Floyd because she had previously called him in Cleveland and heard a woman's voice. Floyd states that he has no idea who Liz is talking about. Before leaving, Liz runs after him and finds him at the airport and gives him her apartment key, as they "never know what might happen." Floyd appears in season 4, when he, Dennis, and Dr. Drew Baird appear together in a hallucination Liz has after having a root canal, and then again when Floyd arrives in New York to tell Liz that he's getting married. Floyd and his fiancee are trying to get married on The Today Show, which upsets Liz. She takes him to a restaurant in hopes of giving him food poisoning, but he accidentally gets drunk on his alcohol-based salmon sauce. This causes him to go on a binge, and make a fool of himself in front of Liz and The Today Show staff. Liz later salvages Floyd's nuptials, but bonds so quickly with his fiancee that she ends up in the wedding party.

Floyd the Barber was a regular character on The Andy Griffith Show.

Drew Baird

Dr. Drew Baird (Jon Hamm) is a pediatrician and is Liz's neighbor. He first appeared in season 3, when Liz accidentally got his mail, eventually reading it and deciding he was perfect for her, leading her to create a false persona in order to make him like her. Eventually, Liz's scheme unravels, and Drew is disappointed in her; however, he reads her mail and tells her that he feels that Liz would have been someone he really would have wanted to know. Eventually, they agree upon a fresh start. He was recently divorced from a woman named Mandy and has one daughter from the marriage, named Bethany, who is a rebellious teenager who drinks wine and frequently starts fires. Their first date was on Valentine's Day 2009, during which not only did Bethany end up at Liz's apartment, but Drew's mother died in the hospital after being ill. On her deathbed, she told Liz that she was not Drew's mother and that the person Drew thinks is his sister is, in fact, his mother. Liz tells Drew this later in the episode. He also has an aunt named Gloria. In episode 15 of the third season, entitled "The Bubble," Liz is concerned with Drew's behavior, as he is outwardly handsome and unintentionally "manipulates" the people around him (with his looks). Liz shows Drew that this is called "living in the bubble" and shows him that this is not how normal people are treated. When Liz beats him in a tennis match, he becomes angry with his "sore-loser" attitude, and eventually apologizes for his behavior asking Liz if she would like to take a ride with him on his new motorcycle. Liz declines, leading the viewer to believe that the relationship has ended. Drew is portrayed as quite stupid, lacking knowledge of such basic medical procedures as the Heimlich Maneuver.

Dr. Drew appears again in season 4 alongside Floyd and Dennis in a hallucination Liz has after having a root canal. The corporeal Baird appears again in "Emmanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" where Liz visits his apartment and learns that Drew's right and left hands were severed on two unrelated occasions, by a helicopter rotor and fireworks, respectively. He hopes to get hand transplants from a strangler facing the death penalty/a woman whose hand got separated from her at a Josh Groban concert. Liz decides he is too imbecilic for her to ever date him again and leaves.

On multiple occasions, Liz has referred to him with the phrase: "So Handsome...so, so stupid!"

Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes (Michael Sheen) met Liz in her oral surgeon's recovery room after her root canal, but does not remember the encounter. Instead, she discovers him on her phone, listed in her contacts as "Future Husband." After a few dates, Liz and Wesley realize they do not belong together. When talking, Wesley often uses misleading Britishisms, which Liz recognizes as made up. He is displeased that the actor Wesley Snipes has his name, saying he (British Wesley) personifies the name much more strongly as a pasty, unathletic British man. Wesley is rude to Liz and mocks her romantic history, and tries to leverage her desperation over being alone into helping him deal with his professional and immigration debacles. Even so Wesley believes they are "settling soulmates", and sets the stage for another meeting during "sweeps", (which alludes to the season finale) which he claims is the British version of spring cleaning. In the Season 4 finale, Liz meets a pilot, Carol (played by Matt Damon) who seems to be her actual soulmate, and publicly breaks up with Wesley.

Steven Black

Steven Black (Wayne Brady) was Tracy's manager during season one. He briefly dated Liz during the episode "The Source Awards", but Liz realized that they were completely incompatible after one date. When she attempted to break things off, Steven claimed that she was racist. Liz continued to date Steven, hoping that he would see their incompatibility himself. At The Source Awards, Liz accidentally set off Tracy Jordan's gun, hitting Steven in the upper thigh whilst he was trying to get his phone out of her purse. They broke up afterwards.

Carol Burnett

Carol Burnett (Matt Damon) is a pilot who establishes a relationship with Liz in the season four finale. In season five, the two have a difference of opinion on how serious their relationship should be—Liz likes how casual they are with Carol gone on flights most of the time, but he wants them to become more seriously committed to one another. Despite their difference of opinion on their relationship, they (mostly, but not entirely) have the same quirks and character traits. This becomes a problem factor in the episode "Double-Edged Sword," when Liz and Carol break up, after an extremely heated argument on a plane. His surname is revealed by Kenneth in "Chain Reaction of Mental Anguish" and is a reference to the entertainer Carol Burnett.

Astronaut Mike Dexter

Astronaut Mike Dexter (John Anderson) is Liz's fantasy boyfriend that she compares all other men to. She mentions him in several episodes, and he actually shows up in her fantasies in season four. In "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001", he tells her that he has to go back to space, but "enjoyed the kissing followed by his genuine interest in that TV dance competition." In "The Moms", she reveals that Astronaut Mike Dexter is also the secret King of Monaco. Liz actually meets a man named Mike (although he's a lawyer) who looks exactly like Astronaut Mike Dexter at Floyd's wedding in "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land", although Mike reveals that he is a "plushie" who enjoys having sex (or "yiffing") with people in mascot costumes in state parks. Astronaut Mike Dexter also appears, although not by that name, in Jack's "porn for women", which features handsome men asking women about their day, in "Don Geiss, America and Hope", which Liz is seduced into buying.

Jack's girlfriends

The following characters have at some point during the show been Jack's girlfriend, wife or fiancée.

Bianca

Bianca (Isabella Rossellini) is Jack Donaghy's ex-wife, whose years of marital bliss with the network exec weren't all that rosy, since Jack's mother never liked her from the beginning. She was first introduced in Season 1, Episode 12 and had her second and most recent appearance in the following episode. As of her last appearance, she is engaged to a man named Vincent Foley and in Season 1, Episode 13 she finalised her divorce with Jack (although they had been legally separated since 1989). Jack mentioned that she was too much of a woman for him which is why they divorced. Bianca is able to tolerate most of Jack's meaningless affairs but she seems to have a jealous streak towards women who can actually make Jack happy, as evidenced by Liz pretending to be Jack's fiancée, which resulted in Bianca attacking her at the event.

Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice is implied and later confirmed as one of Jack's more short-lived relationships.

Phoebe

Phoebe (Emily Mortimer) is an art dealer and auctioneer who works at the Christie's branch in Rockefeller Center.^[21] She is supposedly English and claims to have something called "avian bone syndrome," which requires that no one touch her, as well as vertigo. She always introduces herself to Liz every time they meet, and states that her parents were poets.^[21] Jack eventually attracts Phoebe's attention and the two start dating, and after Liz gave the two her blessing, Jack quickly asks Phoebe to marry him and she accepts, stunning Liz.^[21] Jack takes Phoebe to Paris, later finding out that Phoebe is actually a gold digger. Liz discovers Phoebe holding hands with an older man, Phoebe tells Liz that he is a former lover. Liz tells an angry Phoebe that either she tells Jack the truth or Liz will, but while arguing with Liz Phoebe accidentally drops her British accent, revealing herself to be American. When Liz tells Jack about this, he refuses to believe her, apparently, having been warned by Phoebe that Liz was making things up about her. When Jack's mother Colleen shows up in "Hiatus," she takes an instant dislike to Phoebe. After Colleen visits Jack in the hospital, she discovers that Jack wasn't in love with Phoebe as his heart rate monitor becomes a polygraph, and Phoebe notices this and slinks away in defeat. Jack and Phoebe's wedding was subsequently canceled. It is never established whether her "avian bone syndrome" or vertigo was real.

C. C.

Celeste "C. C." Cunningham (Edie Falco) is the Congresswoman for the state of Vermont. She is a Democrat. She meets Jack at a cocktail party honouring Robert Novak, and the two end up sleeping together. Soon after, Jack discovers she is a Democratic Congresswoman from Vermont and she is also trying to sue NBC's fictitious parent company, the Sheinhardt Wig Company, for apparently dumping some "Auburn Fantasy Dye Number 260" into the Chickatagua River which turned the children of Chickatagua orange. Despite Jack and C.C.'s conflicting political beliefs, they decide to pursue a relationship, which is at first kept secret. Jack and C.C. eventually reveal their relationship in Jack's executive dining room. Due to job related commitments, and the fact that Jack lives in New York and C.C. lives in Washington, D.C., they decide to break up. She returns in "Cooter" and approves development of a gay bomb to help get Jack fired from his position in Washington so he can return to 30 Rock, partly because of a favour she owed Jack.

Elisa Pedrera

Elisa Pedrera (Salma Hayek) is a Puerto Rican nurse who is deeply religious and puts a high value on family. She was introduced as a love interest for Jack in Season 3, when she takes care of Jack's mother, Colleen, who had injured both hips. While caring for Colleen, Elisa forms a romantic relationship with Jack. She also cares for another patient, an elderly male Alzheimer's patient. Colleen hates that Elisa and Jack are together, presumably because she hates every woman that Jack has been with. Elisa's grandmother initially hates Jack because he greatly resembles an actor playing a villain on her favorite telenovela, but eventually became quite fond of him after Jack has NBC purchase the rights to the show and changes his doppelgänger's part to appeal specifically to elderly women. Although Elisa and Jack had some relationship trouble on St. Valentine's Day, they made up, partly due to their joint love of McDonald's McFlurries. In the episode "Larry King" Jack proposes to Elisa, which she accepts, but afterward informs Jack that she is going to Puerto Rico, but promises to call Jack. When she returns, she and Jack begin planning their wedding, but it is revealed that Elisa is infamous among Puerto Ricans because she killed her husband when she discovered he was cheating on her. She flies into a homicidal rage when she believes Jack and Liz Lemon are having an affair, but after being dissuaded, she calms down, and agrees with Jack to call off the wedding and end the relationship because she cannot control her jealousy.

Nancy Donovan

Nancy Donovan (Julianne Moore) was Jack Donaghy's high school crush. She and Jack shared a high school German class (in which Jack had the name "Klaus" and Nancy had the name "Greta"), Nancy's voice mail code stands for "Klaus" which means that Nancy does have feelings for Jack. It is discovered that she and her husband are separating. Jack confesses his feelings to her and she replies with a kiss. Most of her lines are written to showcase her heavy Boston accent. She is a devout Roman Catholic.

Avery Jessup-Donaghy

Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks) is a conservative media personality and the host of the political talk-show "The Hot-Box" and commentator on CNBC. She begins a relationship, which begins as a one-night stand, with Jack in Season 4 when he believes Nancy Donovan will not be divorcing her husband any time soon. He winds up dating them simultaneously, eventually choosing Avery over Nancy, shortly after being told that she is pregnant. Originally from Maryland (but is of Swedish descent), she attended Choate Rosemary Hall and then Yale University. They marry in Season 5 in between the events of "Christmas Attack Zone" and "Mrs. Donaghy", but she doesn't know that the priest married Jack and Liz. However, it has already appeared that this problem has been fixed. She gave birth to Jack's baby in "Double-Edged Sword" in Toronto, making her Canadian-American, and named her Liddy Elizabeth Donaghy - in honor of Liddy Dole, G. Gordon Liddy, and Jack's martial arts instructor, Lid E; the middle name is in honor of Liz Lemon. In "Everything Sunny All the Time Always", Avery is on a trip described by Jack as, "a hot blondes in weird places initiative," by NBC News in Asia. However, things don't go well, when she is detained in North Korea by Kim Jong-il and forced to take part in one of his (unrealistic) propagandas involving a Western journalist reporting on how the free world is being conquered by North Korea. Despite Jack's attempts to get her back - including getting help from his ex, Condoleezza Rice - she is stuck in Korea and forcibly married to Kim Jong-un.

Main characters' family

Angie Jordan

Angie Jordan (Sherri Shepherd, formerly Sharon Wilkins in Jack the Writer) is Tracy Jordan's wife. They were married on August 30, 1991. Tracy and Angie frequently use rather odd forms of sexual roleplaying. Tracy implied in the episode Black Tie that he and Angie have an open marriage, but Angie is shown to be less than happy with her husband's extramarital escapades (that are later revealed as stories to boost Tracy's image). She kicked Tracy out of their house in the episode SeinfeldVision, but took him back in Jack Gets in the Game. She seems to have a domineering, bombastic personality and is rather demanding of her husband, both financially and sexually. Like her husband, she always addresses Liz Lemon by her full name. She is rude to Liz, nearly attacking her after Liz stops trying to appease her and orders her off the set. She and her husband were apparently supporting the 2008 Presidential campaign of Dennis Kucinich, although in her absence Tracy has expressed interest in becoming a Republican and also filmed a PSA advising African-Americans to not vote at all. In season 3, Tracy, with Jack's help, got Angie to sign a pre-nup (described as "post-nup," as they are already married), however Tracy decides that she doesn't have to sign it after she states that she will never leave him, she still angrily partly signed the pre-nup form before Tracy stopped her. Tracy states that he has known Angie for 20 years, meeting her when she slipped him a free shrimp cocktail at the restaurant he was residing in, despite his partying lifestyle, he has never once cheated on her, and the numbers he hands out to women at parties belong to other NBC employees such as Brian Williams. Tracy decides he needs a baby girl, and tries to prove he is responsible to Angie by trying to EGOT (win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). Though he initially fails at this (succeeding in a later season), he does write a song that impresses Angie. He later reveals that she is indeed pregnant. In "Mrs. Donaghy," Angie becomes the star of her own Bravo reality program, Queen of Jordan, which plays a large role in subsequent episodes of season five.

In her initial appearance in the episode Jack the Writer, which basically consisted of a non-speaking cameo, she was played by Sharon Wilkins. In all subsequent episodes, starting with "Up All Night," she is portrayed by Sherri Shepherd and is given a more substantial role.

Colleen Donaghy

Colleen Donaghy (née Murphy) (Elaine Stritch) is Jack Donaghy's overbearing, demanding mother, Jack generally wants nothing to do with her, even though it has been shown that deep down, he actually does love her. She first appeared in Season 1, Episode 21 and is generally critical at best of Jack's abilities, and is highly hesitant of showing him any real affection. While in her first appearance she got along well with Liz Lemon, upon meeting her family in the episode "Ludichristmas," she set out to show Jack that the Lemon family's seemingly perfect attitude was, in fact, a lie (at which she succeeded).

In the third season episode "Christmas Special" it is revealed that Colleen went to great lengths to provide happy Christmas memories to Jack despite the family's poverty and lack of a father. This makes Jack state that he loves her. Colleen also injures both her hips in this episode, both caused by Jack. This leads to her being in a wheelchair for the remainder of the episode, and needing a nurse, Elisa, to care for her in following episodes. Elisa soon becomes Jack's girlfriend, which makes Colleen dislike her.

In Season 3, Episode 20, Colleen reveals that her ex-husband, Jim Donaghy, once left her in 1957 and returned in 1959. Jack was conceived in 1958, revealing that Jim Donaghy is not Jack's father.

Milton Greene

Milton Greene (Alan Alda) is Jack Donaghy's biological father, a very liberal college professor from Vermont. He was introduced in the Season 3 episode "Mama Mia." Jack had previously learned that Jimmy Donaghy was not his biological father. The episode is a parody of the eponymous musical where Milton is one of three possible biological fathers for Jack. Milton claims to have been a tenant of Colleen Donaghy when he impregnated her. He left before Jack's birth. Jack expresses no desire to tell Colleen about his discovery. Jack is horrified to learn that his father is a Democrat and (it's strongly implied) Jewish. Milton later reveals that he is in need of a kidney transplant, and implies that he would like Jack to be a donor, however Dr. Leo Spaceman later confirms that Jack is not a compatible donor for Milton. As a last resort to save his father, Jack airs a TV special with the hope that someone will donate a kidney to Milton. Although the success or failure of Kidney Now! has not yet been explicitly revealed, the appearance of his book From Peanut to President (a biography of Jimmy Carter) in future episodes suggests that Jack succeeded in getting Milton a kidney. Milton also wrote a book about the multi-cultural route to raising children, whether the parents are Muslim, Wiccan, LGBT, or handicapped. He later states that his kidney came from Elvis Costello. Jack arranges for Colleen and Milton to realize that Jack knows the whole story about them—and he's overjoyed when they join forces to yell at him for his own duplicity, saying he finally feels like part of a family.

Tracy Jr.

Tracy Jr. (Bobb'e J. Thompson) is the combative son of Tracy and Angie Jordan. The Jordans have another son, George Foreman Jordan, who has yet to speak on the show.

Verna Maroney

Verna Maroney (Jan Hooks) is Jenna's mother. A quintessential stage mother, she manipulates Jenna into forgiving her in order to pitch a reality show to Jack. In the end Jack pays her off to pretend to be a caring mother—the act works, thrilling Jenna. She was spurned by her husband Werner, a burger-server in suburban Santa Barbara, for a curly-haired surfer named Roberta. According to Jenna, it hurt her.

Other recurring characters

Leo Spaceman

Dr. Leo Spaceman (pronounced /spəˈtʃɛmɨn/, US dict: spə·chĕm′·ɪn, except by Tracy, who pronounces it as the English word "spaceman") is a fictional character portrayed by Chris Parnell. Spaceman is a graduate of the Ho Chi Minh City School of Medicine and frequently practices, or attempts to practice, questionable medical actions such as giving a 'medical professional's seal of approval' to a defective 'meat machine'; in spite of this, Jack Donaghy is unwavering in his support of Spaceman's skills. He wrote a bestselling book called "The Cigarette Diet" and found shocking medical abnormalities during Desert Storm that his boss refused to forward a report on to Saddam Hussein, and began dating Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme whom he describes as "difficult".

Lenny Wosniak

Lenny Wosniak (Steve Buscemi) is a private investigator who has been hired by Jack on some occasions. Jack first hired him in the second season episode "The Collection", where, while spying on Jack to determine if he has any skeletons in his closet which could prevent him from being named the new CEO of General Electric, he discovers Jack has a large collection of homemade cookie jars. Jack also hired him in the third season to find out personal information concerning a man his mother was seeing and later the true identity of his father. He is noted for having a strange personal life and belongs to a local gym. He was later hired by Jack to infiltrate Kenneth's page strike, but found him to be incorruptible. He was called "The Chameleon" at some point in his past because of his slender frame and big, wet eyes. He is also not allowed to have a gun by his pastor due to his problems with depression.

Donald

Donald (Michael Benjamin Washington) is an entrepreneur who pretends to be Tracy Jordan's son. Donald is two years older than Tracy. His business ideas consist of money-losing ventures where he picks out corporate names that are already used by major corporations (he wants to create a frozen-yogurt and microbrewery restaurant called Microsoft and a phone line to get updates on the air quality around the U.S. called American Airlines). Tracy knows Donald's not his son but supports his insane ideas anyway, and Jack (who had convinced Tracy to cut Donald off) later tells Tracy to keep being a dad.

Minor characters

The following is a supplementary list of recurring characters, which includes characters that appear briefly in multiple episodes, like a regularly appearing writer, but have little to no real world content to justify an entire section covering their in-universe histories.

Lee (Tom Broecker) - the show's costume manager; appears in eleven episodes. He also works on 30 Rock as an actual costume manager. Stage manager (Teddy Coluca) - appears in six episodes. Rachel Baze (Rachel Hamilton) - one of the writers on the show; in "The Aftermath," Jack mentions her last name and that she just got engaged; she has speaking parts in two episodes. Anthony (Anthony Atamanuik) - one of the writers on the show Donald (Donald Glover) - A stagehand on the show; has a speaking part in one episode. Matt (Matt Dickinson) - Jack's assistant in two season-one episodes in place of Jonathan Stage manager (Brendan Walsh) - shouts "shut it down!" at the end of each of the two episodes he appears in (referred to in credits as "Shut It Down").

Alfonso/TGS Piano Player (Jeff Richmond) - Jenna's piano player. He appears in "Ludachristmas" and "Christmas Special." Richmond also appeared in "The Aftermath" and "St. Valentine's Day." He also appears as the TGS piano player in the first-season episode "Baby Show." Jeff is the main music composer on 30 Rock and is Tina Fey's real-life husband. Tim Grandy (actor unknown) - one of the writers on the show; in "The Aftermath," Jack mentions he is from Bowie, Maryland; he has a brief speaking part in the "The C Word." Grace Park (Charlene Yi) - another NBC page who has a very slight romantic history with Kenneth. Appeared in "The C Word." Moonvest (Craig Castaldo) - Featured homeless man. He appears in "The Head and the Hair," "Audition Day," and "I Do Do." His name Moonvest is presumably a reference to Les Moonves, president of NBC's competitor CBS Corporation.

Cast

Starring

Recurring/Guest

No appearances

Note: An actor's name appearing in italics denotes that they appeared only in flashbacks for that season.

Character	Season
	Season One (2006–2007)	Season Two (2007–2008)	Season Three (2008–2009)	Season Four (2009–2010)	Season Five (2010–2011)
Main cast
Elizabeth "Liz" Lemon	Tina Fey
Jenna Maroney	Jane Krakowski
Tracy Jordan	Tracy Morgan
Kenneth Parcell	Jack McBrayer
Pete Hornberger	Scott Adsit
Frank Rossitano	Judah Friedlander
Jack Donaghy	Alec Baldwin
Cerie	Katrina Bowden	Katrina Bowden
Toofer Spurlock	Keith Powell	Keith Powell
Josh Girard	Lonny Ross	Lonny Ross			Lonny Ross
Grizz Griswold	Grizz Chapman		Grizz Chapman
Walter "Dot Com" Slattery	Kevin Brown		Kevin Brown
Jonathan	Maulik Pancholy		Maulik Pancholy
J. D. Lutz	John Lutz			John Lutz
Other GE/NBC employees
Greta Johansen and other characters	Rachel Dratch				Rachel Dratch
Alfonso	Jeff Richmond		Jeff Richmond		Jeff Richmond
Don Geiss	Rip Torn
Devon Banks	Will Arnett
Sue LaRoche-Van der Hout	Howard Jorgensen	Brian Stack
Kathy Geiss		Donny Lawson				Paul Scheer
Jeffrey Weinerslav			Jack "Danny" Baker				Daniel Genalo Cheyenne Jackson	Cheyenne Jackson
Hank Hooper					Ken Howard
Family and friends
Colleen Donaghy	Elaine Stritch
Dennis Duffy	Dean Winters
Floyd DeBarber	Jason Sudeikis			Jason Sudeikis
Angie Jordan	Sharon Wilkins Sherri Shepherd	Sherri Shepherd
Bianca Donaghy	Isabella Rossellini
Phoebe	Emily Mortimer				Emily Mortimer
Celeste "C. C." Cunningham		Edie Falco
Paula Hornberger		Dr. Drew Baird					Jon Hamm
Elisa Pedrera			Salma Hayek
Tracy Jr.			Bobb'e J. Thompson
Sylvia Rossitano			Patti LuPone
Milton Greene			Alan Alda		Alan Alda
Verna Maroney				Jan Hooks
Nancy Donovan				Julianne Moore
Avery Jessup-Donaghy				Elizabeth Banks
Wesley Snipes				Michael Sheen
Paul Lastname				Will Forte
Astronaut Mike Dexter				John Anderson
Carol Burnett				Matt Damon
Other characters
"Dr." Leo Spaceman	Chris Parnell
Lenny Wosniak		Steve Buscemi
Donald			Matthew Benjamin Washington		Matthew Benjamin Washington
Shane Hunter				Will Ferrell
Dr. Kaplan				James Rebhorn
Sherry					Adriane Lenox

Guest characters

30 Rock features a variety of guest roles including Cameos and featured fictional roles.

• Conan O'Brien as himself.
• Whoopi Goldberg as herself.
• John McEnroe as himself.
• Paul Reubens as Prince Gerhart
• Joy Behar as herself.
• LL Cool J as Ridikulous - music producer.
• Tucker Carlson and Chris Matthews also appear as themselves with Jenna on Hardball.
• Nathan Lane as Eddie Donaghy, Jack's brother.
• Al Roker as himself.
• Lester Holt as himself.
• Jerry Seinfeld as himself, to discuss SeinfeldVision.
• Carrie Fisher as Rosemary Howard, a book author and Liz's idol as a girl, who has become mentally unstable.
• Al Gore as himself.
• David Schwimmer as Greenzo, "America's first non-judgmental, business-friendly environmental advocate."
• Meredith Vieira as herself.
• Kristen Wiig as Candace Van der Shark.
• Fred Armisen as Raheem Haddad, Liz's new neighbor, who she believes to be a Terrorist.
• James Carville as himself.
• Andy Richter as Liz's brother, Mitch Lemon.
• Gladys Knight as herself.
• Michael Bloomberg as himself.
• Tim Conway as Bucky Bright, an idol of Kenneth.
• Matthew Broderick as Cooter, a government employee.
• Megan Mullally as Bev, a worker at an adoption agency.
• Oprah Winfrey as Liz Lemon's hallucination of Oprah Winfrey.
• Calvin Klein as himself.
• Adam West as himself.
• Talib Kweli as himself.
• Michael McDonald as himself.
• Norah Jones as herself.
• Steve Earle as himself.
• John Lithgow as himself.
• Patti LuPone as Sylvia Rossitano, Frank's mom.
• Clay Aiken as himself.
• Beastie Boys as themselves.
• Mary J. Blige as herself.
• Elvis Costello as himself.
• Sheryl Crow as herself.
• Rhett Miller as himself.
• Cyndi Lauper as herself.
• Adam Levine as himself.
• Sara Bareilles as herself.
• Rachael Yamagata as herself.
• Betty White as herself, Tracy attempts to call and scare her to death, but fails.
• Jimmy Fallon as himself.
• Jeff Dunham and Bubba J as Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin respectively, whom Jack finds to be hilarious and demands that he be hired over Liz's objections, until Pumpkin insults Lemon and is then killed by Jack.
• Brian Williams as himself.
• Padma Lakshmi as herself.
• James Franco as himself.
• Matt Lauer as himself.
• Jon Bon Jovi as himself.
• Jack Welch as himself.
• Jennifer Aniston as Claire Harper, a wild college friend of Jenna and Liz.
• Buzz Aldrin as himself.
• Will Ferrell as the lead of "Bitch Hunter"
• Will Forte as Paul Lastname and Tomas.
• Matt Damon as Carol Burnett, a pilot.
• Steve Martin as Gavin Volure.
• Kathie Lee Gifford as herself.
• Hoda Kotb as herself.
• Kelsey Grammer as himself.
• Diane Neal as Erin O'Neal.
• Paul Giamatti as Ritchie.
• Robert De Niro as himself.
• Condoleezza Rice as herself.
• Queen Latifah as Representative Regina Bookman

References

1. ^ Belek, Cassie (2007-09-19). "Rock Solid Comedy Shines in First Season". The Observer. http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/09/19/Scene/Rock-Solid.Comedy.Shines.In.First.Season-2976690.shtml. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 
2. ^ "30 Rock Thursdays on NBC (8:30–9 p.m. ET)" (Press release). NBC Universal Media Village. http://nbcumv.com/entertainment/program_detail.nbc/30rock.html. Retrieved 2008-03-26. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} West, Kelly (2008-04-01). "Interview: Tina Fey Talks About 30 Rock (Part 1)". Cinema Blend. http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Interview-Tina-Fey-Talks-About-30-Rock-Part-1-9723.html. Retrieved 2008-07-08. 
4. ^ 30 Rock Exclusive Video Clips – NBC Official Site
5. ^ "NBC comedy a reunion for Morgan, Fey". The Hollywood Reporter. 2005-12-01. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001657605. Retrieved 2008-04-01. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Fickett, Travis (2006-10-17). "IGN Interview: 30 Rock's Tracy Morgan". IGN. http://au.tv.ign.com/articles/736/736916p1.html. Retrieved 2008-07-08. 
7. ^ "'Ally' Cat Krakowski Joins '30 Rock'". Zap2it. 2006-08-17. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-janekrakowskijoins30rock,0,1779072.story. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Canadian Press (2006-10-09). "Fey hopeful about success of 30 Rock". CTV. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061009/fey_tv_061009. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
9. ^ Rosenblum, Emma (2006-10-16). "Rachel Rolls With It". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/22836/. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2007-02-17). "Baldwin eyes Fey's NBC pilot". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2008-05-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20080505233527/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002034584. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
11. ^ Parker, Ian (2008-09-08). "Why Me?". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/08/080908fa_fact_parker?currentPage=all. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
12. ^ "30 Rock Star Rockets into Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2007-04-19. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07109/777779-352.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-04. 
13. ^ The Apiary: Inside With: Judah Friedlander
14. ^ "Pilot"
15. ^ ^{a b} "Hard Ball". Writer: Matt Hubbard; Director: Don Scardino. 30 Rock. NBC Universal. NBC. 2007-02-22. No. 15, season 1.
16. ^ ^{a b} "SeinfeldVision". Writer(s): Tina Fey; Director: Don Scardino. 30 Rock. NBC Universal. NBC. 2007-10-04. No. 1, season 2.
17. ^ "Michaels, Miner Talk "30 Rock"". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/30-rock/show/58326/news.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=tabssh&tag=tabs;news. Retrieved 2006-10-09. 
18. ^ "The Player", Fortune, October 27, 2008
19. ^ "30 Rock Recap". http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/30-rock-recap-corporate-crush/. 
20. ^ ^{a b c} "Jason Sudeikis Interview about Floyd". USA Today Pop Candy. 2010-08-13. http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2007/04/a_chat_with_30_.html. 
21. ^ ^{a b c d e} "30 Rock and The Office". http://www.film.com/features/story/off-leash-office-30-rock/14144431.