It was written by Robert Carlock and Daisy Gardner, and directed by one of the season's supervising producers, Don Scardino.
"The Source Awards" featured appearances by Wayne Brady, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Ghostface Killah, LL Cool J, and Jason Sudeikis.
[3] Actor Jason Sudeikis had a brief appearance, in which Liz tells Jenna she ran into him, though not knowing his name yet refers to him as "Flower Guy".
[3] In its original American broadcast, "The Source Awards" was watched by 5.7 million viewers, according to the Nielsen ratings system.
[5] Julia Ward AOL's TV Squad said that while the episode "delivered plenty of funny" it "seemed a bit off-kilter.
Mitovich noted, "...I can only bow with great reverence to the effort that goes into 30 Rock, where in an episode like this week's, every other line is funny and/or fantastically absurd.
"[7] IGN contributor Robert Canning opined than an episode like this one, with its guest stars and taking on the issue of race, got "some decent laughs", though it "failed to produce a solid half hour."
Canning disliked LL Cool J's guest spot, observing that it was "nothing more than a generic caricature put in the role of a sub-par straight man", but enjoyed Wayne Brady's, as he was "a successful part of the episode's best storyline."
Canning said that Tracy as Oprah was "more weird than funny, unfortunately", but liked that Jason Sudeikis made a brief appearance as "Flower Guy" in the episode.