Thursday night. To the bulk of WJ students that means one thing: The Office. But while The Office is undeniably awesome, at 30 minutes an episode it always seems to be painfully short. To fill the void left after a half hour of hilarity, it’s time to start sticking around for NBC’s 9:30 p.m. slot: the seven-time Emmy winner 30 Rock.

Though both shows revolve around a work environment, 30 Rock takes viewers to a very different world than its nine p.m. counterpart. It is set two and a half hours and about a million miles away from Scranton, Pa. in New York City’s bustling world of television production. It takes place at 30 Rockefeller Plaza where “socially retarded” head writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), narcissistic top executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), mentally unstable actor Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), dumb blonde actress Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) and everyone’s favorite, overly-eager page Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) work to produce a hit variety show. 

The novelty of a show about making a show is part of 30 Rock’s neurotic charm. It is always refreshing to see show business poke fun at itself, but when delivered with the perfect comedic timing of 30 Rock’s talented stars, it’s all but irresistible. The actors nail their exaggerated personas perfectly, making the shows eccentric portrayal of work behind the cameras outrageously funny. The award-winning cast manages to make the zany and often over-the-top story lines thoroughly enjoyable. No matter how stereotypical the material is, be it Jenna going on a ridiculous crash diet, Tracy making a movie “Honky Grandma Be Trippin’,” Jack confronting his drunken, brawling Irish siblings or Liz almost dumping a man for his Catholicism, it always ends up being hysterical rather than offensive.

Though the show is not predominantly plot-driven, the sharp writing, laugh-out-loud one-liners and numerous heavyweight guest stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Steve Martin and the great Oprah make it worth tuning into on a weekly basis. 30 Rock’s intelligence and entertainment factor make it a worthy follow-up to The Office. Together they make for a fulfilling night of side-splitting comedy.