The sitcom inspired by Tina Fey’s time as SNL head writer is 30 Rock.
Created by Fey, 30 Rock turns the pressures of producing a live NBC sketch show into a fictional workplace comedy. Tina Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan, a chaotic program whose backstage arguments, celebrity egos, rewrites, and network interference echo the world Fey knew from Saturday Night Live.
Fey became SNL’s head writer in 1999 and remained in that role until 2006. She first pitched NBC a sitcom about a cable-news network, but NBC executive Kevin Reilly encouraged her to write about her own experience. The concept was reworked around an SNL-style variety program and became 30 Rock.
The title refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, the home of NBC Studios and SNL. The show premiered on October 11, 2006, ran for seven seasons, and ended on January 31, 2013. It is not a fictionalized version of The Office or Parks and Recreation; its central setting is television production.