It can be hard to keep up with the fast pace of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt . Jokes happen faster than you can track them, and by the time you've googled that Kimmy Schmidt pop culture reference that was clearly a punchline you didn't understand, you've already missed another joke! The sharp references are one of the characterizing features of all Tina Fey's television writing, and it defines Kimmy Schmidt just as much as it did 30 Rock. Pop culture rears its head in the Netflix show in a variety of ways, ranging from quick throwaway jokes and background gags to running jokes that last throughout the series.
There are so many jokes happening in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt that if one happens to fly over your head and fails to land, there will be another joke coming up shortly after that registers. However, for all of those fans that want to know exactly what the show is talking about — who don't want to pause Netflix and google each reference that they didn't understand — here's a list of all the pop culture references in Season 2 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for you to enjoy again and again, whether you missed them the first time or were totally right there with them all along.
1. "Little Bobby Durst"
Throughout the season, Lillian refers to her former crush Bobby Durst and Fred Armisen even appears as Bobby Durst, looking awfully similar to real-life Robert Durst. (Netlfix did not respond to Bustle's request for comment on the similarities.)
2. Mary Hart — Leg Insurance
Jaqueline claimed to have been inspired to get her legs insured by Mary Hart, a television presenter who had her own legs insured for a million dollars each, according to The New York Times.
3. The Ghost Whisperer
After learning that he's legally dead, therefore making him unable to be sued, Titus tells his ex-wife to "call Jennifer Love Hewitt and Phil Ruzotto, because you owe a ghost money!” Love Hewitt and Ruzotto are the stars of the series The Ghost Whisperer.
4. "Kim Blake Nelson"
"Kim Blake Nelso"n is one of many names that Titus calls Kimmy, referencing actor Tim Blake Nelson who appeared in Season 1 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
5. Heroes In A Half Shell
Kimmy Schmidt jokes that whoever wrote the theme song to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles deserves to be a billionaire — before lingering a little too long on a sign that reads "Chuck Lorre Wrote That Song."
6. Disney's Robin Hood
Kimmy talks about one of her first major crushes, the lead character in Disney's adaptation of Robin Hood — who happened to be a talking fox, and a very handsome one at that.
7. Eupolis And Alcibiades
Deirdre Robespierre makes reference to these two real-life figures, a poet and a statesmen from Ancient Greece who harbored a rivalry, according to Oxford University Press.
8. Aisha Tyler On Friends
The characters use the example of "Aisha Tyler can play a white woman on Friends" to justify Titus acting like a Geisha. While Tyler certainly appeared on Friends, she didn't play a white woman.
9. Jeff Koons
Mimi claims Kimmy looks like a "Jeff Koons statue of Ronald McDonald". Koons is a famous artist known for including bright colors in his sculptures.
10. The Reverend = Don Draper
Kimmy claims that "The Reverend was a psycho liar who claimed he came up with the 'buy the world a Coke' commercial!” which exactly what Jon Hamm's most famous character did.
11. "Nathan Lane Bryant"
A "moderately well-received" Halloween costume of Titus' that was a combination of actor Nathan Lane and fashion store Lane Bryant.
12. Different Kinds Of Jams
Kimmy explains that to her, there are only three types of jams. Grape (like fruit jam), Jock (as in the popular compilation series Jock Jamz), and Space (as in the flawless Michael Jordan/Looney Tunes crossover film)
13. A Series Of Tubes
Titus explains to Kimmy that "the internet is not a truck, it's like a series of tubes." — this is the same definition that Senator Ted Stevens gave in opposition of net neutrality in 2006.
14. Mentos Freshmaker Commercials
At one moment in Episode 6, the show suddenly becomes a parody of 90's Mentos commercials, complete with a jingle and smiling faces next to sleeves of Mentos.
15. Smash Mouth
Whilst learning to "drive" in the Bunker, one of the mole women pretends to be the radio and promises "A little bit of the SoCal sound" and gets cut off after the instantly recognizable first word of Smash Mouth's "All Star."
16. Arcade Fire
Lillian asks a couple of hipsters, "Are you now or have you ever been a member of Arcade Fire?" This is actually a perfectly reasonable question, as that band has a lot of members.
17. The Happening
In the bunker, The Reverend pitched a film idea to Kimmy about a movie where "the plants are bad guys but Marky Mark is there," which is a reference to M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening.
18. The Poetry of Lord Tennyson
Deidre, the show's top resource for high-brow references, recites a few lines from Alfred Tennyson's Ulysses at Jacqueline. “How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!”
19. Ecce Homo
Lillian provides a painting to Jacqueline resembling the botched restoration of the painting Ecce Homo.
This list covers some of the more obscure references on the show, but this is barely the tip of the iceberg for pop culture references in the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The only way to catch all of them is to watch, and re-watch, the incredibly dense Season 2. Thankfully, the show is hilarious enough that a second re-watch is far from a pain to do.
Image: Eric Liebowitz (2)/Netflix; Netflix; Giphy (8)
