'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' EP on Native American Jokes

On “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” the very Caucasian Jane Krakowski plays Native American Jackie Lynn, who long ago broke from her tribe’s reservation for the bright lights of New York City, becoming Jacqueline Voorhees. The character is so blonde-haired/blue-eyed that her maiden name is “White.”

At the end of Season 1 and beginning of Season 2, the show’s writers got a lot of mileage out of American Indian jokes after the wealthy Manhattanite went home to find herself. In the process, she took out her blue-colored contacts, quit dying her roots, and donned a ton of turquoise jewelry. Some viewers cried foul over the resulting stereotype-based quips, while others pointed out that most of the punchlines are at the expense of the very obviously white woman.

With a weekend’s worth of Season 2 public reactions to reflect on, series co-creator Robert Carlock explained his and Tina Fey‘s intentions to TheWrap — and they’re certainly “not to offend,” he said.

Also Read: 'Kimmy Schmidt' Reality Check: Did Chuck Lorre Really Write 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Theme Song?

“I prefer to let the episodes speak for themselves,” Carlock began. “Our intention is not to offend — our intention is to be part of an important conversation.”

“I completely understand that for some people there are litmus tests — there’s an either/or. There are some things that you’re just not allowed to do,” he added. “We don’t think that’s true. And we don’t think we’re doing the thing from a context and story point of view that those litmus tests were invented for.”

Season 2 of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” is available in its entirety on Netflix. More from our interview with Carlock will be posted tomorrow.

Kimmy Schmidt and 11 Other Relentlessly Sunny TV Characters (Photos)

Kimmy Schmidt, "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

Ellie Kemper's Kimmy has a remarkable sense of optimism, especially for a young woman who spent the better part of her life kidnapped and trapped underground in a crazy guy's bunker.
Netflix
Sue Heck, "The Middle"

Played by Eden Sher, "The Middle's" socially awkward Sue Heck often fails at the things she sets out to accomplish, but she still manages to maintain a cheerful sense of determination -- and a smile -- throughout it all.
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Chris Traeger, "Parks and Recreation"

Even among a cast of fiercely sunny characters, Rob Lowe's Chris Traeger is the obvious standout. Throughout his four-season run on the NBC sitcom, his relentless positivity was both a frequent source of inspiration and of great annoyance to his co-workers.
NBC
Kenneth Parcell, "30 Rock"

No one has ever loved being a glorified intern as much as "30 Rock's" NBC page Kenneth, played by Jack McBrayer.
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Linda Belcher, "Bob's Burgers"

Just about every character from Fox's most underrated comedy — with the possible exception of Bob himself — could be described as "sunny," but none more so than Linda, whose catchphrase is actually "all right."
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Shirley Bennett, "Community"

Though the show frequently hinted at a darker side to Shirley, Yvette Nicole Brown's character will be remembered as the happy, polite, good Christian mother of the Greendale study group.
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Phil Dunphy, "Modern Family"

Ty Burrell brings a childlike cheerfulness to his "Modern Family" character that provides a stark contrast to Julie Bowen's high-strung Claire.
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Rose Nylund, "The Golden Girls"

Betty White received seven Emmy nominations and one win for her role as the airhead Rose on the classic NBC comedy "The Golden Girls."
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Phoebe Buffay, "Friends"

Despite Phoebe's past hardships — her father abandoned her and her mother committed suicide when she was 13 — Lisa Kudrow's "Friends" character still managed to be the least cynical of the group.
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SpongeBob SquarePants, "SpongeBob SquarePants"

The star of Nickelodeon's longest-running series, SpongeBob has been flipping burgers for a living since 1999, and has somehow never shown an ounce of dissatisfaction.
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Gomer Pyle, "The Andy Griffith Show"

Introduced in the third season of "The Andy Griffith Show," Jim Nabors' slow-witted Gomer Pyle was frequently flabbergasted by the simplest of revelations.
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Andy Bernard, "The Office"

Following the resolution of his anger management issues, Ed Helms' character on "The Office" became the goofy and borderline-annoyingly-sunny counterpart to Steve Carell's Michael Scott.
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