30 Rock is an American television comedy series about the goings on behind the camera of the fictional live sketch comedy series, TGS with Tracy Jordan. 30 Rock is set inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Although set inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which currently acts as the headquarters of NBC, interior scenes are filmed at Silvercup Studios in New York City.

The show was created by former Saturday Night Live (SNL) head writer and performer Tina Fey. Fey also acts as an executive producer as well as the star and she has written numerous episodes, including the pilot episode. Lorne Michaels, creator of Saturday Night Live, also acts as one of the series' five executive producers along with Joann Alfano (The Tracy Morgan Show), Marci Klein (SNL) and David Miner (The Tracy Morgan Show). It has aired on broadcast networks around the world, including NBC in the United States, CTV and A-Channel in Canada and Five in the United Kingdom.

Since debuting on October 11, 2006, the series has so far received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, heavy critical acclaim and, a rapidly building fan base. Despite its many accolades, which include a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, the series averaged a low 5.8 million viewers in its first season, in the United States, according to the Nielsen Ratings.

Tina Fey was not originally going to star in the show. However, NBC insisted she appear.

Tina Fey had to leave "Saturday Night Live" (1975) in order to appear in the show. The schedules overlapped.

Influenced by creator Tina Fey's experience while being head-writer for "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

Liz and Jack are both fluent in German.

The title is derived from 30 Rockerfeller Plaza, the New York City street address of NBC Universal.

Jeff Richmond, Fey's husband, composes all of the show's music and also serves as a producer on the show. He also appears in some episodes as the show-within-the-show's piano player.

The show's name is similar to "3rd Rock," the commonly used short title for "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1996), another NBC sitcom created by and starring Saturday Night Live alumni. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Tim Allen mispronounced the show's name as "3rd Rock" when mentioning Alec Baldwin had been nominated for the Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical Award. Both shows featured guest appearances by Elaine Stritch as the mother of one of the main characters.

On December 29, 2006, Nielsen Media Research reported the results of having, for the first time, monitored viewers who use a digital video recorder to previously-record shows for later viewing. According to the Nielsen numbers, 30 Rock had the fifth-largest increase (viewers who use a DVR to record the show and then watch it within a week of its initial airing). According to Nielsen, 30 Rock adds nearly 7.5% to its total audience every week as a result of these "live plus seven" viewers

Thus far, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, and Judah Friedlander are the only actors to appear in every one of the show's episodes.

Liz and Jenna are both from Chicago.

As in real life, the parent company of the show's version of NBC is General Electric. However, in a comedic break from the actual corporate chain of command, the show has General Electric being owned in turn by "the Sheinhart Wig Corporation."