10 Best Sitcom Casts Of The 21st Century (So Far)

9. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Netflix

Many of the shows featured on this list contain large, sprawling casts, with a deep bench of comedic characters. It makes sense that the more funny people you have on-screen, the better and funnier a show will be. It also gives the writers opportunities for more storylines, instead of being confined to a couple of characters.

However, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt demonstrates the value of having a smaller group of main cast members. Only having four main characters (played by Ellie Kemper, Titus Burgess, Carol Kane and Jane Krakowski), allows the writers to delve into their rich backstories and give them developed arcs across multiple episodes and seasons.

A smaller cast is also beneficial when a show has a fewer number of episodes per season, than the traditional network television season. If Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt had a cast the size of Veep, it simply wouldn’t be able to service every character across the 13 episodes in a season. With four main characters, no one is side-lined or relegated to a background player.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is also an example of a show that gives each performer a character that brings out their exact strengths. Tina Fey and Robert Carlock created each character with the actors that ended up playing them in mind, which is very apparent on screen. In the titular Kimmy Schmidt, Ellie Kemper has a perfect vessel for her sunny optimism and animated facial expressions.

Titus Burgess is given every opportunity to flex his flamboyant screen presence and musical ability as Titus Andromedon. Carol Kane’s unhinged New Yorker Lillian is a perfect fit for her distinctive voice and delivery. Furthermore, after seven seasons of 30 Rock, Jane Krakowski was an absolute pro at delivering Fey and Carlock’s brand of comedy and made Jacqueline White feel different to Jenna Maroney, despite some superficial similarities.

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