A nerdy nation wonders what Kim Jong Il's death means for 30 Rock

By Sean O'Neal | December 19, 2011 | 5:25pm

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As soon as it was revealed that North Korea’s dear leader Kim Jong Il had at last evolved beyond the human realm and assumed glorious reign over Heaven, where he’s already beaten everyone at golf, the nation immediately began asking itself about the ramifications his promotion held for us—namely, what’s going to happen on 30 Rock now? After all, the last we saw of Elizabeth Banks’ Avery Jessup, she had been kidnapped while on assignment and married off to son and successor Kim Jong Un, sentenced to a life of sunflower picking and eating enough food in an always good time beach party. With her new husband now slotted to assume control over North Korea, would this mean that Avery is now the nation’s First Lady—and what does this mean for her safety and the possibility of her return?

Naturally, fans brought their concerns to Twitter, the social media network where you can mumble things to yourself and then celebrities actually listen sometimes, and Banks gamely responded, “Appreciate all the concern over Avery Jessup's fate now that Kim Jong Il has died. We're at a pivotal moment in history.” Which is pointedly noncommittal, obviously, and all in good fun—except that judging by the below extended preview for 30 Rock’s sixth season, the Kim Jong Il subplot will definitely return, with his real-life absence now potentially complicating the storyline. Also, you know, threatening the stability of the region and possibly the world, but mostly this. [via The Huffington Post]