'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' Special Is Now on Netflix

As of 3:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs. The Reverend was streaming on [...]

By Libby Birk

As of 3:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs. The Reverend was streaming on Netflix, meaning that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has finally made its triumphant return after its June 2019 Season 4 finale. The special is not just a new episode, but also the first interactive comedy special on Netflix. Using the same technology seen in Black Mirror's Bandersnatch, but with much funnier results, Kimmy Vs. The Reverend sees the titular character head out on her biggest adventure yet.

As an epilogue to Tina Fey and Robert Carlock's comedy, Kimmy Vs. The Reverend is not wholly essential, but it's much more substantial and satisfying than most post-series projects. Plus, it uses the interactive element to build on themes that fans loved about Kimmy Schmidt in the first place.

Ellie Kemper's Kimmy began the series as a newly freed survivor of a doomsday cult after being abducted by the Reverend (Jon Hamm) at age 14. The frenzied pacing and razor-sharp pop culture jokes drew viewers into the dark, searching series, propelled by the question of how one recovers from and makes sense of such acute trauma. Kimmy Vs. The Reverend continues to explore those themes while staying bright and bouncy. Even with the choose-your-own-adventure options, the story is tightly focused throughout, and is even easy for any viewers who may have jumped ship midway through the series to get back on board.

Best of all, Kimmy Vs. The Reverend brings back all the series' sorely missed cast members, including Kimmy (Kemper); her roommate, Titus (Tituss Burgess); Kimmy's snooty former boss, Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski); and Kim's former landlady, Lillian (Carol Kane). Also back are minor players like Kimmy's fellow mole women, Cyndee (Sara Chase), Gretchen (Lauren Adams) and Donna Maria (Sol Mirana); Jacqueline's son, Buckley (Tanner Flood) and her stepdaughter, Xan (Dylan Gelula); and even a YUKO robot and Jan, Kimmy's backpack.

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