When we met up with Jane Krakowski at a Bank of America event over the holidays, the star — who plays the excitable Jenna Maroney on “30 Rock” — had just four days of filming left on the NBC?sitcom. She filled us in on those final days on set, and what we can expect from Thursday’s series finale.
Her final table read wasn’t easy: “It was tearful. Everyone was a little choked up because we actually acknowledge the show within the show ending, so it kind of brought it all home for us. We’d kind of been living like, ‘Yeah, I guess it’s gonna end in a few episodes,’ and suddenly we’re here. But I think the writers did a great job finishing the characters the way you want them to, and, of course, in true ‘30 Rock’ wacky style.”
Could her character get any wackier?
Why ending the show is so bittersweet: “I think it’s a mixed bag of emotions. I’m excited to see what’s next. I’m going to miss everybody terribly. It’s just been such a great group of people, and I think that everyone on the show knows that this is as good as it gets. I think we’re all really proud of what we made and that we’ve made it on the air this long — it’s a lot longer than we expected.”
What she’s taking from the set: “It’s funny, because of course you want to have some memento of the seven years — but I like to say stealing is a crime and I will not be partaking in any of that. There are numerous Jenna posters I could take, but I don’t really need those in my home — large pictures of myself. I think Tina’s taking the sign that says ‘The Girlie Show’ before it was named ‘TGS’ that Jenna destroyed by throwing something at, so it’s kind of broken and she’s taking it as it is. I don’t know; I’ll certainly take away all my good memories.”
Why Ice-T is popping up in the finale: “There is a ‘Law & Order’ reference. I think he plays his ‘Law & Order’ character. Coco was there — I think Coco’s always with him. They’re a sweet couple. Everyone on the set was very excited that Coco came, too.”
How she’s saying goodbye: “It’s going to be hard. There’s about
300 people who work on our show, and so to say goodbye to each and every
one of them — there will be days when you’re walking on set and pass
someone and you get really emotional. You think, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize,
I’m gonna miss that guy’ — those people that you see every single day.”
