It’s Been One Year Since We Said Goodbye to Liz Lemon, But Tina Fey Continues to Rock the World of Comedy

Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon won America over before the first season of 30 Rock wrapped in spring of 2007. Played, written, created, and produced by Tina Fey, the show was a weekly favorite for many. And so, with heavy hearts and a gaping void, America bid adieu to the 30 crew one year ago.

As a woman who – literally – does it all, it’s hard to imagine what mountain she’ll scale next. While 30 Rock won 6 Golden Globes and 16 Emmys over the years (including last year’s win for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series to Tina Fey and co-writer Tracey Wigfield), Fey has conquered more than just sitcoms.

In 1999, Fey became the first female head writer for Saturday Night Live. And for a younger generation of SNL viewers, her Sarah Palin skits helped to not only reinvent the show, but to refresh it. Six years later, thanks to Fey, hordes of liberals still get excited to see Palin on TV, at least until they realize it actually is the republican politician and not Fey. When Jimmy Fallon’s, Fey’s Weekend Update partner, departed from the show, it was Fey who hired on his replacement. Amy Poehler joined the cast and together the Chicago Tribune called them a “hilarious, pitch-perfect success.”

After nine years of writing and performing for SNL, Fey left the show in 2006 to begin 30 Rock.

But her writing resume spans more than just television shows, and the Mean Girls screenplay. Bossypants, Fey’s tongue-in-cheek memoir-ish, landed on top of The New York Times Best Seller list as soon as it hit the stands in spring of 2011. It remained there for five weeks, and today over 1.5 million copies have been sold.

It’s no stretch to say that Fey has been breaking glass ceilings ever since she landed in Hollywood. While she jokes about being hired on with SNL in her book, saying, “Only in comedy does an obedient white girl from the suburbs count as diversity.” Comedy is genre that has long been dominated by men. As Fey worked her way to the top she dropped enough breadcrumbs for women like Poehler, Kristen Wigg and Maya Rudolp to follow suit.

And now, a year has passed since Fey last graced our prime-time schedules, her fans – a FeyHive perhaps? – are itching to fill the void caused by her television departure. So where is Tina Fey today?

Besides her recent writing and co-hosting duties at this month’s Golden Globes Awards, Fey has a few things in the works. Though she has two movies set to hit theaters this year, The Muppets Most Wanted and This is Where I Leave You, Fey’s most anticipated projects might just be her TV shows.

Yes, according to Deborah Thomas, the senior vice president of NBC Entertainment Publicity, Fey has two new shows in the works. Tooken, which will air on NBC, and FOX’s Cabot College (the “working title,” notes Thomas), both shows are expected to premier in March. However, Thomas also adds that Tooken has not yet started production.

Tooken’s plot line write-up on IMDb simply reads: “a woman escapes from a doomsday cult and starts life over again in New York City.” If that doesn’t sound quirky enough, Ellie Kemper of The Office has signed on to play the starring role. Joining Fey, as her executive producer and writing partner, is Robert Carlock. The pair worked together on 30 Rock for all seven seasons, and also on SNL.

Meanwhile, comedian Margret Cho has also joined the cast of Cabot College. Cho will play the president of an all women’s college (that’s accepting male students for the first time). This is not the first time Fey and Cho have joined forces. In fact, Cho’s 30 Rock cameo won her an Emmy nod in 2012. Writer Matt Hubbard, also of 30 Rock will team up with Fey and Carlock to round out FOX’s team.

And there’s just one more thing – for now. Because Poehler and Fey are the Queens of Comedy, they’ve already signed on to, once again, cohost the 2015 Golden Globes. Have no fear; Tina Fey will be back, making us laugh and breaking down more barriers in no time.

Photos courtesy of Golden Globe Awards © HFPA, Wikipedia, and Bossypants via Little, Brown and Company