The series's name refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, where the NBC Studios are located and where Saturday Night Live is written, produced, and performed.

The series stars Fey with a supporting cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Katrina Bowden, Keith Powell, Lonny Ross, John Lutz, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, and Maulik Pancholy.

[2] Tonally, 30 Rock uses surreal humor to parody the complex corporate structure of NBC and its parent companies General Electric and Comcast.

[14] Liz Lemon is head writer and showrunner of the NBC sketch comedy series TGS with Tracy Jordan (originally called The Girlie Show), produced in Studio 6H in 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

She supervises cast and crew, including star Jenna Maroney, her best friend, while working with network executive Jack Donaghy and page Kenneth Parcell.

Episodes often depict conservative Jack and liberal Liz's disagreements, Jenna's attempts to become a film star, Tracy's immature behavior, and the characters' romantic and personal lives.

In later seasons, the show depicts the network being acquired by Philadelphia-based media company Kabletown, a fictionalization of the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast.

[19] NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly felt that "Fey was using the news setting as a fig leaf for her own experience and [he] encouraged her to write what she knew.

[27] In the episode "Gavin Volure", stock footage of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion was used for exterior shots of the home of Steve Martin's character.

[49] Fey explained the change by noting that Dratch was better-suited to playing a variety of side characters,[50] which was suitable when the show intended to feature actual sketches from TGS with Tracy Jordan.

[45] Following SNL's ongoing tradition,[54] 30 Rock had several real-life politician cameos, including Al Gore (twice), Nancy Pelosi (series finale)[55] and Condoleezza Rice (as Jack's former love interest).

[58] Jack Donaghy, the "Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming" at General Electric (GE), is transferred to work at the NBC headquarters, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and retool the late-night sketch-comedy series The Girlie Show.

Jack proceeds to wreak havoc on The Girlie Show, forcing Liz to hire off-the-wall movie star Tracy Jordan.

Other story arcs include Jenna promoting her movie The Rural Juror; Tracy going on the run from the Black Crusaders; Jack's engagement, which was eventually called off, to a Christie's auctioneer named Phoebe (Emily Mortimer); and another relationship of Liz's with Floyd (Sudeikis).

An arc that was established in the first season, but becomes more apparent in the second, regards Jack running for the GE chairmanship against his nemesis Devon Banks (Will Arnett).

The show experienced a large ratings and popularity spike this season after Tina Fey's highly praised performance as Sarah Palin on SNL.

Other guest stars this season included John Lithgow, Kerry Butler, Megan Mullally, Peter Dinklage, and Steve Martin.

The show fictionalizes the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast, announced during the season, by portraying the network being acquired by Philadelphia-based cable company Kabletown.

The season also featured such guest stars as Jeff Dunham, Julianne Moore, Jon Bon Jovi, Cheyenne Jackson, Sherri Shepherd, Will Forte, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Sheen, Matt Damon, and James Franco.

[71][72][73] Season five focuses on Liz Lemon's continuing relationship with Carol Burnett (Matt Damon), Jack's start into fatherhood with fiancée Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks), struggling with the merger of NBCUniversal with Kabletown, Tracy's foray into getting an EGOT, and Kenneth's attempt to get back to NBC.

Aside from featuring the return of Rachel Dratch in "Live Show", other guest stars include Matt Damon, Elizabeth Banks, Susan Sarandon (as Frank's former teacher- who was in prison due to their relationship while he was a student- and present girlfriend), Paul Giamatti (as one of the TGS editors), Sherri Shepherd, Queen Latifah, Rob Reiner, John Amos, Jon Hamm (reprising his role as Drew, Liz Lemon's former love interest who despite being a doctor, she dumped for being too dumb), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (playing the reimagined version of Liz Lemon and also as herself playing this character in "Live Show"), Bill Hader, Chris Parnell, Kelsey Grammer (playing himself), Buck Henry, David Gregory, John Slattery, Daniel Sunjata, Will Forte, Kelly Coffield Park, Elaine Stritch, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Alan Alda, Cheyenne Jackson, Robert De Niro (playing himself), Dean Winters, Ken Howard, Vanessa Minnillo, Brian Williams (playing himself), Richard Belzer, Ice-T, John Cho, Chloë Grace Moretz (as Kaylie Hooper – the granddaughter of Kabletown CEO Hank Hooper and Jack's sworn enemy as heir to the Kabletown throne), Terrence Mann (as oceanographer Bob Ballard), Cristin Milioti (as Abby Flynn in "TGS Hates Women"), Eion Bailey, Adriane Lenox, Michael Keaton, Margaret Cho (as Avery's kidnapper, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il), and Tom Hanks (as himself in "100: Part 1" and "100: Part 2").

Elsewhere, Tracy has found success with his new movie studio, which produces comedy films mostly starring African American actors, similarly to Tyler Perry; Jenna prepares to marry her long-term boyfriend Paul (Will Forte), and Kenneth has started a relationship with Hazel (Kristen Schaal), unaware that she is using him to get her moment on TGS.

"[85] Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune criticized "30 Rock for being less than the sum of its parts, and, as an entry in the single-camera comedy sweepstakes, it fails to show either the inspired inventiveness of Arrested Development or provide the surprisingly perceptive character studies of The Office".

[148] Following Fey's popular impressions of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live, the third-season premiere was seen by 8.5 million viewers, making it the highest-viewed episode in the series.

[150] Two shows debuting on 2006–07 NBC lineup, 30 Rock and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, revolved around the off-camera happenings on a Saturday Night Live-analogue sketch comedy series.

"[151] Kevin Reilly, then president of NBC Entertainment, was supportive of Fey, describing the situation as a "high-class problem": I just can't imagine the audience would look at both shows, choose one and cancel the other out.

[162][163] Like That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore, 30 Rock is a sitcom centering on an unmarried, brunette career woman living in a big city where she works in the television industry.

[166] On June 22, 2020, at the request of Fey and Carlock, NBC announced that four episodes of the series that depict actors in blackface would be removed from streaming services and taken off circulation on TV.

Fey stated: "As we strive to do the work and do better in regards to race in America, we believe that these episodes featuring actors in race-changing makeup are best taken out of circulation.

A number of major NBC affiliate groups declined to air the special, citing concerns over its aim to be a vehicle for promoting NBCUniversal's cable networks and Peacock.