When thinking of women in comedy, you’d be pretty hard pressed to keep Tina Fey from popping up in your mind pretty quickly. Fey has made her mark on the comedy world as a writer, an actress, and a producer. She is someone who speaks her mind, isn’t afraid to tell it like it is, and someone you couldn’t ignore even if you wanted - and I really don’t know why you’d want to. She’s had some serious bangers over the last 3 decades, and we’ve compiled a list of her best movies and TV shows here and how you can watch them at home.
Saturday Night Live (1997 - 2021)
Of course, we’ve got to start with Saturday Night Live when talking about Tina Fey. The live comedy show has been a TV staple since the mid '70s and has had countless celebrities grace its stage while delivering some seriously iconic sketches and satirical takes on current events. The sketch-based weekly comedy show has been home to many faces of comedy over the years, Fey having been one of them.
Although the show has housed an impressive number of talented comedians and host celebrities, Tina Fey has carved out a pretty big chunk of SNL’s history herself. She has acted as a cast member in over 100 episodes since the late ‘90s, has acted as head writer for 175 episodes, and has come back to host the show six times since her exit in 2006. She was the first female head writer on the show back in 1999 (Season 25) and helped open the door for other women to follow. Bam. All hail the Queen.
Stream Saturday Night Live on Peacock.
Buy Saturday Night Live digitally on Amazon.
30 Rock (2006 - 2013)
Speaking of the Queen, Tina Fey took her vast experience on SNL and created, wrote, and starred in a show based on it. 30 Rock sees Fey, as a kind of version of herself, playing a head writer of a successful comedy-sketch show. The cast of 30 Rock contains Tracy Morgan and Alec Baldwin, who both star opposite Fey in this meta-esque comedy show.
A testament to how truly brilliant Tina Fey is, 30 Rock has won 16 Primetime Emmys and a slew of other awards. Pretty much everything about the show is funny and Fey killed it.
Stream 30 Rock on Peacock.
Buy 30 Rock digitally on Amazon.
Buy 30 Rock on Blu-Ray on Amazon.
Mean Girls (2004)
Now a cult classic, Mean Girls is a vital teen flick about a new girl in town going up against a group of, you guessed it, mean girls. The film stars Lindsay Lohan along with Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried, who were both at the beginning of their successful acting careers at the time.
Tina Fey has a small, but hilarious part as the school principal, but she also wrote the screenplay and acted as a producer for the movie, and is even developing a musical based on the film.
Rent/Buy Mean Girls digitally on Amazon.
Buy Mean Girls on DVD on Amazon.
Date Night (2010)
Date Night is centers on a couple who have been married for quite some time and have fallen into a pretty stale routine together. When indulging in a rare date night, the two are thrown into an unexpected, exciting, and dangerous situation. Tina Fey plays opposite Steve Carrell, and the two comedians are complimented by a pretty hilarious cast and a very shirtless Mark Wahlberg. Yeah, it’s basically a huge cast win all around.
Stream Date Night on Amazon Prime.
Buy Date Night on DVD on Amazon.
Baby Mama (2008)
If you look up “soulmates” in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in Baby Mama. The two funny actresses have been seen together throughout both of their careers, and this movie brings more of that great dynamic to the screen. Poehler’s character is pregnant with Fey’s character’s baby (surrogate situation) and the two polar opposite characters are forced to live together. Hilarity and friendship ensue.
Stream Baby Mama on Amazon Freevee.
Buy Baby Mama on DVD on Amazon.
Only Murders in the Building (2021)
What do you get when you stick a cast of great comedic actors and Selena Gomez into an apartment building? A pretty entertaining show, especially when you add murder into the mix. Only Murders in the Building centers around three neighbors who share a love for a murder mystery podcast, hosted by our girl Tine Fey’s character. The show features Steve Martin, Martin Short, and a number of funny guest stars and cameos from comedians.
Tina Fey only has a few short appearances throughout the first season of the Hulu original series, but her absence is filled with other great comedic appearances and fans of the comedy icon will surely appreciate everything the show has going on.
Stream Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015 - 2019)
A wild ride from start to finish, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt stars The Office’s Ellie Kemper as a sheltered girl who just got freed from an underground (literally) doomsday cult. She starts a life in New York City, which is probably the furthest from what she knows from living in her fallout shelter with three other women and the cult leader, a reverend who is flawlessly played by none other than Jon Hamm.
Tina Fey just has a small part in the series, but it actually makes the list because she co-created the show and acted as a writer on all 51 episodes. The series was nominated for a bunch of Primetime Emmys, and won a few other awards as well.
Stream Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix.
Buy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Blu-Ray on Amazon.
Soul (2020)
Soul was one of the first Disney films to miss out on a theatrical run due to the pandemic and go straight to streaming for anyone with a Disney+ subscription. Even so, the animated film about an aging musician who keeps after his dream of hitting it big in the jazz scene was a hit, and for good reason. Soul goes deep in exploring the all the different things that go into a soul as Jamie Foxx’s character Joe goes to another realm where souls are matched with humans. The film won two Oscars and is believed by some to be evidence that Pixar is in its Golden Age.
Tina Fey voices a new soul in the film, and does an amazing job opposite Jamie Foxx. Because she can do practically anything, Fey has, of course, voice-acted before, like in the adorable film Ponyo. It’s refreshing to see her as a central character in a children’s film, especially one so successful as Soul.
Stream Soul on Disney+.
Buy Soul digitally on Amazon.
Buy Soul on DVD on Amazon.
Admission (2013)
How could we turn down a Tina Fey and Paul Rudd film? Admission sees Tina Fey’s character as a Princeton admissions officer who risks her career after she decides to meet one of the applicants who just may be the son she put up for adoption eighteen years prior. Rudd plays the teacher of the maybe-son, who suspects the relation between the two.
Admission got hit pretty hard with bad reviews and both of their critic and audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes seem to find the film lacking. However, Tina Fey and Paul Rudd are brilliant together in the movie, and it’s worth it for fans to give the film a watch for how enjoyable the two are to watch together.
Stream Admission on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Admission digitally on Amazon.
Buy Admission on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.
Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
While Muppets Most Wanted had a less than stellar opening at the box office when it came out, it’s a fun movie, as most Muppet films are. This addition to the Muppet franchise sees the characters get roped into an international crime spree when on a world tour in Europe. Tina Fey, along with Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell join the classic puppeteer cast.
Stream Muppets Most Wanted on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Muppets Most Wanted digitally on Amazon.
Buy Muppets Most Wanted on Blu-Ray on Amazon.
Monkey Kingdom (2015)
It’s no secret that Disney puts out some pretty spectacular nature documentaries. They are visually striking as well as entertaining, and Monkey Kingdom is no exception. The documentary follows the development of a family of Toque macaque monkeys who reside in ancient ruins located in Sri Lanka. The family goes through some serious challenges, like a monsoon and a leopard attack. The story is actually pretty action-packed.
You might be wondering exactly what comedian Tina Fey has to do with a monkey documentary, but she actually pulled a Morgan Freeman and narrated the film. While it’s a totally different kind of project for the SNL vet, it’s definitely worth a watch and is a true example of how much range Fey really has.
Stream Monkey Kingdom on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Monkey Kingdom digitally on Amazon.
Buy Monkey Kingdom on Blu-Ray on Amazon.
Tina Fey has hardcore proven herself to be a staying face in comedy, but interestingly enough has some major range with her roles and talents. Not only is she stellar at writing and actively delivering comedy on screen, but she also voice acts and narrates. The projects she puts her name on pretty much always get a laugh, and her best roles certainly deserve a watch (or even rewatch). Luckily a ton of her work is available to stream, so if you're in the mood for some belly laughs, Fey is only a click or two away.
