10 Best TV Shows Of 2016 (So Far)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was my favourite new show of 2015, and generally one of the best of the entire year as well. Sugary-sweet, whip-smart, and wonderfully weird, it was effortlessly binge-watchable, almost guaranteed to put a smile on your face so big it mirrors that of Kimmy, played superbly by Ellie Kemper. The question going into Season 2 was, with the origins explored and the trial over, could they repeat the trick?

The answer, thankfully, is an unequivocal yes. Originally created for NBC before moving to Netflix, this time around Tina Fey and Robert Carlock knew they were making a show for the streaming service, and adapted it just enough to suit. The episodes were longer, less time was needed to fill in backstory, and the jokes were given much more time to breathe.

Fey and Carlock are responsible for one of the funniest and most cleverly written sitcoms of the last decade in 30 Rock, and the signs are they're starting to repeat that in Season 2 of UKS. The joke rate is phenomenal, and come in various guises, whether it's from Kimmy's lack of understanding about modern society and pop-culture, Titus' failings, Jacqueline's insecurities, an incredible guest role from Anna Camp, physical comedy,or visual gags. There are jokes that reference back to previous episodes, or last season; jokes that don't payoff until later in the season; jokes that pause the narrative, and ones that further it. A personal favourite being Kimmy saying:

"The reverend was a psycho liar who claimed he came up with the 'Buy the World a Coke' Commercial."

The reverend, of course, being played by Jon Hamm, aka Don Draper, who did come up with that commercial. Maybe.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt would be funny anyway, but it's lent added weight by the tragedy of the story, and how much we want to root for Kimmy. Ellie Kemper is just ridiculously likeable in the role, and it's impossible not to want everything to work out for her. And that's where the subtly darker side of the show lies: this season is less focused on Kimmy's time in the bunker, but it's still an important part of who she is, and the fact that she is suffering from PTSD still exists, manifesting in ways that are humorous or heart-wrenching, and the attachment issues that built to that finale.