30 Rock: Live Show

"Live Show" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 84th episode overall. It was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller, and co-written by series creator Tina Fey and co-showrunner and executive producer Robert Carlock. The episode originally aired live on the NBC television network in the United States on October 14, 2010, with separate tapings for the East Coast television audience as well as the West Coast. "Live Show" featured appearances by Rachel Dratch, Bill Hader, Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. 30 Rock follows the production of the fictional sketch comedy program The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS). In this episode, on the night of a show, head writer Liz Lemon grows increasingly infuriated when no one seems to remember her 40th birthday. Just before TGS's live taping, Tracy Jordan decides to break character, to his co-workers' chagrin. Meanwhile, television executive Jack Donaghy struggles with the consequences of his promise to give up drinking while his girlfriend Avery Jessup is pregnant with their child. "Live Show" was an experiment for 30 Rock—filming with a multiple-camera setup before a studio audience to broadcast live—and the episode received positive reviews for its boldness as well as the nostalgia it showed for classic sitcom conventions and meta-humor—for instance, guest star Louis-Dreyfus portrays Liz Lemon in some cutaway scenes where it would be physically impossible for series regular Fey to be on two separate stages at once. The episode was also a ratings success, improving upon the audience that 30 Rock had grown since its last season.