‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: The Complete Series’ Reviewed: A Love Letter To New York City

“Complete Series” might be premature, since an interactive special (like the “Bandersnatch” episode of Black Mirror) should be coming out soon-ish from Netflix, but Mill Creek Entertainment’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt set is the first-time seasons three and four have been available on DVD.
The same thing happened with Masters of Sex and The Mindy Project (except it was seasons five and six of The Mindy Project that never came out on DVD). When Mill Creek released complete series sets for those shows, fans had to either double buy the seasons they already owned or go without buying the later seasons that were never sold individually.
At least Mill Creek is making them available at all, which means if you don’t have a Netflix account or prefer physical media (or both), you can add Kimmy Schmidt to your home library. Mill Creek’s set doesn’t come with any bonus features and the packaging is iffy. Not that plastic cases haven’t caused problems before (they have!), but each disk is housed in a cardboard sleeve (two disks per sleeve).

Co-created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock (Fey created 30 Rock and Carlock was an executive producer), Kimmy Schmidt is a half-hour comedy about a woman who was kidnapped and held in a bunker for fifteen years. The series premiere is her being found and the “Mole Women,” as the media have come to calling them, appearing on the Today show for a joint interview.
Instead of returning home to Durnsville, Indiana, Kimmy (The Office’s Ellie Kemper) decides to stay in New York City, where people are less likely to recognize her. Moving on isn’t as simple as saying your last name is Smith, when it’s really Schmidt, though, and the reason Kimmy Schmidt works is because it doesn’t ignore the fact that Kimmy went through a traumatic experience. The jokes get to be more specific (like Kimmy being amused at what people find scary in horror movies) and her PTSD is something she deals with all the time, not just for a special episode.
The comedy comes from Kimmy’s unwavering optimism. Second to being about Kimmy, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a love letter to New York, and while Kimmy’s naivete might be mistaken for vulnerability, it’s actually the source of her “unbreakable” spirit (that and her bright wardrobe). The more you know the easier it is to live in fear and, having lost fifteen years already, Kimmy isn’t about to be disheartened.
Broadway is also well-represented. Both Tituss Burgess and Jane Krakowski (Kimmy’s roommate and boss, respectfully) are Broadway veterans and besides providing some of the show’s most iconic moments (like Titus singing “Pinot Noir”), you never want to skip the closing credits because sometimes they include songs, like “Daddy’s Boy,” from the show’s made-up musical.
Carol Kane is electric as Kimmy’s landlord, Lillian. Dylan Gelula is wonderful at playing Xan’s frustration whenever Kimmy is pleased at herself for a cheesy comeback. Other notable guest stars include Anna Camp, with a fresh spin on the head room parent, and James Monroe Iglehart, as Titus’ rival, Coriolanus.
The show starts to slip in season four. Storylines get dropped (like Kimmy’s education and Jacqueline’s heritage) and there are some high concept episodes (like a Sliding Doors parody and a documentary) that don’t work, even if the show can still tell jokes. They’re just more standalone towards the end.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: The Complete Series is available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment.