The final six episodes of 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' and its season four return sees the madness ramped up to 11, while losing its audience in the meantime.
'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' has undoubtedly not been everyone's cup of tea; its whacky, border lining on insane, and some of the US references will go straight over your head. But going by Metacritic's score of 78%, the show currently ranks higher than 'Brooklyn Nine Nine' and 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' which both have solid fanbases.
However, if you're a fan, you'll know that the show's off-the-wall characters are what make it truly hilarious. Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) "befriends" her rag-tag team of landlord Lillian (Carol Kane), well-to-do Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski), and so-good-he-deserves-his-own-spin-off-show Titus (Tituss Burgess).
The final six episodes of season four picks up where the previous six left us last May; in complete confusion about what the hell is going on. Saying that, that's part of the charm with 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' - it's so bat-sh*t crazy, that anything goes.
The storylines and references on 'Unbreakable Jimmy Schmidt' are always relevant, and the continuation of season four is no different. There's an episode that takes a different approach on #MeToo featuring a sexually-charged puppet; while a gag about the always-relevant 'Sliding Doors' movie continues through a number of episodes.
Starting with the hilarious first two episodes, we were nearly willing to forget the turbulent second and third seasons of the show. Things were looking up. However, all of our worries returned when episode three kicked in.
Taking their 'Sliding Doors' gag to the next level, the hour-long episode takes us back to the moment Kimmy had the choice of whether to get into The Reverent's white mini van all those years ago. In this case, she doesn't, and her life (as well as the rest of the cast's lives for some reason) plays out differently. While interesting to see, none of the episode carries that signature Tina Fey comedy that drew us into the show in the first place. If anything, what unfolds is somewhat boring and underwhelming.
Unfortunately, the remainder of the episodes follow suit; it felt like we were circling around a plot that was obviously going to happen, with few laughs along the way. The plethora of cameo appearances meant we were just waiting to see which ex 'SNL' actor would pop up next to kill some time. There were also some great appearances from Jon Berthan, Busy Philipps, and Greg Kinnear; the latter two reappearing in their previous roles, and are the highlights to take away from the season. That, and anything Titus says.
Netflix, just give the people what they want - a Titus Andromedon spin-off!
All in all, if you're a fan of 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt', and you've watched up until this point, then we'd recommend seeing the season out to the end. The final six episodes didn't quite live up to our expectations, but if you're in need of an unlikely hero, then give Kimmy Schmidt a watch.
The final episodes of season four's 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' will be available on Netflix from tomorrow, Friday 25th February.