Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt celebrates nerds and exposes bad men
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt portrays a society on the brink of technological dystopia—in a fun, Kimmy way, as Kimmy herself would probably clarify. Yuko robots have infiltrated not only the workplace but private lives, too. And they seem to have actual lives and agency of their own: C.H.E.R.Y.L. brunches with Titus and Kimmy and talks about her sex life and also maybe has a drinking problem. “Party Monster” subtly revealed that a Yuko robot is an inmate in the same prison as the reverend. The implications there are dark—as is the fact that men programmed C.H.E.R.Y.L. to menstruate. As with its satirization of wealthy lifestyles, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt uses its portrayal of tech and tech bro culture to spin jokes with underlying greater meaning and implications.
This episode throws Kimmy and Lillian into the deep end of rapid technological innovation culture by sending them to a conference in Pittsburgh. Zach asks Kimmy to go to represent Giztoob, and Lillian thinks it’s a great idea to get Kimmy’s mind off the documentary (which works quite well until a DJ recognizes her as the wife of DJ Slizzard). Lillian invites herself along presumably because she’s a huge fan of fries on sandwiches but also because she thinks it’s an opportunity for her to get laid.
Lillian ends up in her own personal version of Black Mirror when her flirtations lead her nowhere. Guys are either too absorbed in virtual reality to pay attention to her or are virtual reality themselves: An older man she hits on turns out to be a hologram programmed to console the elderly. Lillian and Titus are the show’s resident luddites (I’ve often thought it’s quite possible Titus thinks all Yukos are humans), and Lillian’s frustrations with the way technology is destroying human interaction hits its apex after a funny misunderstanding between her and a tech dude who thinks she’s some sort of computer genius and invites her to be on a panel. Lillian, on the other hand, thinks she’s being invited to a group sex party.