Riding High

Missy and I are thrilled with the positive feedback we've been receiving for Episode 2! Thank you to those who are following our series and helping us to spread the word. We truly appreciate it.

As we've been enjoying the success of our YouTube series, Netflix has been embracing its own achievements, especially with the help of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Gold Derby points out that this is merely the third year that Netflix has been creating original content, and already "Netflix is tied with HBO for having the most programs up for the top series awards," of course including Kimmy Schmidt which is Emmy-nominated for best comedy. To read more about Netflix's breakthrough success online, see Gold Derby's article here.

Lori, Andrew Ridings, and Missy

With the success of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the show's actors now seem to be popping up everywhere. You can catch Tituss Burgess on the cover of the latest issue of Backstage, a source for actors seeking career information. Plus, hardcore Kimmy fans may recognize Andrew Ridings pictured above, who plays Buckley's tutor on the show. You will now see him as a cast member on NBC's new Coach revival. See more about his upcoming role here.

Episode 2

Episode 2 is up! Thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped to make Episode 2 possible. We are so excited that US national cricket team player Beulah Pidakala was a part of it, and that our Indiegogo supporters provided us with financial support. So much love and gratitude to our friends and family. We hope you enjoy the new episode!

And in news about other new episodes, this time for the original series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, it's just been announced that the new Netflix season will be released on March 6. In the meantime, stay tuned for more Unbreakable Missy & Lori coming soon!

Unthinkably Hilarious

It's amazing how much can happen in such a short period of time! Before digging into some things Missy and I have been up to, I'll share our exciting news of the day:  we have been featured on lifestyle blog The Yellow Spectacles! You can see our awesome interview here. We are so excited that Katelyn Chef included us, and we're honored to have her support. Thank you, Katelyn!

Missy has been hard at work editing Episode 2 which will be launching shortly! In the meantime, not only did she show me her updates for Episodes 2 and 3, Missy also showed me the best bloopers! I know you can't yet tell what's going on in the photo below, but rest assured it's funny; I was laughing so hard my cheeks were hurting!

Episode 3 bloopers

In a recent post, I included a link to Decider's "25 Female Directors You Should Know." I was inspired by the article to watch The Namesake, a Mira Nair film that I had wanted to see ever since I saw the trailer many years ago. I loved the film, and not just because one of its stars Kal Penn is another New Jersey native in Los Angeles (I even had a chance to chat with him about our Jersey roots about a year ago). I loved the film's spirit and inspirational messages.

As I always do after watching a movie, I immediately headed over to the film's trivia section on IMDB. That's when I realized that I've accumulated such a wealth of knowledge on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt at this point that I could fill endless text for the site's trivia section on the show; for now, I've simply become a source of trivia for my friends who want to know more about the show.

Upcoming Episodes

Today, I met with my friend from Shane Mosley's team, where we discussed everything from our shared love for the movie 30 for 30: Broke, learning copyright regulations, Shane's upcoming fight in August, and of course our Unbreakable Missy & Lori episode which will feature a Shane Mosley cameo. As Missy works on editing the episode, you can see a sneak preview of it below.

Missy, Shane Mosley, and Lori

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fans seem to be going crazy today for the most recent Instagram post by Tituss Burgess, with him lip-synching to Beyonce's "Flawless." See for yourself:

Last night, the cast and creators of the show spoke on a Television Critics Association (TCA) panel where they discussed what's in store for Season 2. Mashable presents us with five things to expect from the upcoming season. Will there be more "Peeno Noir" in Season 2? Zap2it has the answer.

It's a Wrap!

Missy and I have had a busy past few days! On Saturday, we spent the day in Anaheim, heading to both VidCon and Vegan Faire. Sunday was a full day of filming, wrapping on production for Episodes 2 and 3. Now Missy is busy editing our next episodes so that we can have them up on our YouTube channel as soon as possible!

I was very happy to see that Ellie Kemper's performance on Friday at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal was lauded, judging by this Montreal Gazette article and the posts I saw on Instagram. I was also excited to find an article that linked lessons from Kimmy Schmidt to those which are beneficial for startups to learn about investors, especially since Missy and I share a common interest in the tech community.

While we were filming on Sunday, a passerby inquired about our production. He was very excited to learn that we have a female director, and said that we need more in the industry. Of course, soon after this conversation, I happened to discover Decider's article "25 Female Directors You Should Know." I was happy to see that I knew many of them.

And in truly bizarre news, in a quest to find one of my past blog articles, I instead came across an article which featured a tweet of mine. "Shane Mosley announces return to ring for bout with Ricardo Mayorga" begins with my tweet and group photo from our filming with Shane Mosley!

Lunch Date

Missy, Lori, and Erin

I had a chance to meet up with Missy and her friend (from Jersey!) Erin for lunch today. Missy and I discussed notes for Episode 2, as we prepare to film our final shots this weekend. Erin mentioned that Missy has shown her a rough cut of Episode 3 - she likes it and can't wait to see it all come together!

When I watched GoldDerby's interview with Tituss Burgess today, I was so happy to hear that he and Ellie Kemper text all the time. I love that they have become real friends. Of course, when it was stated that there was an earlier interview with Ellie Kemper, I had to go ahead and watch that one, too. It made me so sad at the end of the interview when he asks Ellie about the Emmys. She truly did deserve the nomination.

The good news is that Just for Laughs Festival attendees can catch Ellie's gala tomorrow night! I really wish I could be back in Montreal for this. At least CultMTL shared a great interview with Ellie to promote her show. Another Canadian publication The Star also caught up with Ellie. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the correction at the end of the article:  "This article was edited from a previous version that misstated Ellie Kemper's year of birth." I guess they weren't using (my previous employer) Famous Birthdays!

Lastly, yesterday I noted that What the Fangirl's podcast interview that discussed Kimmy Schmidt focused on the show's passing from NBC to Netflix. If you're interested in learning more about the switch, I'd recommend reading "How Netflix Saved Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," written by Scott Christopher who starred in a community theater production with Tituss Burgess 15 years ago. Also, the Variety article "Emmy Nominations: 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' Survives and Thrives" provides more details from series co-creator Robert Carlock.

Funny Business

Original, hand-decorated Unbreakable Missy & Lori bag

I have received confirmation from several of our Indiegogo supporters that the perks have successfully been delivered! Now that it no longer needs to be kept as a surprise, I can share our "Better than Jansport backpack" perk - the original, hand-decorated bag pictured above.

Today I listened to a What the Fangirl podcast interview with Rebecca Johnson from Supergirl Radio, where they discussed Kimmy Schmidt. It was interesting because they actually spent a lot of time on the episode discussing NBC's decision not to air Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and how the show has thrived on Netflix. I'm so happy it went to Netflix because if it actually did air on NBC, I probably never would have seen it!

Also, during the podcast, they mentioned the "comedy rule of three," a term I had never heard of before. I immediately researched it to learn more, and I'm glad I did. Although I've been a professional nonfiction writer for my personal blog, TopMBA, Intuit, and obviously this blog, I've never written fiction or comedy before. Since this web series marks my first foray into the genre, it was great to learn a new principle to incorporate into my writing. I'd start practicing using it now, but I'm too tired from a day of podcast listening, responding to emails, and donating towels to poor people with the same initials as me. How'd I do? I tried.