We Almost Got a ’30 Rock’ Spinoff About Jack Donaghy Becoming Mayor

Last month, news broke that Tina Fey's new sitcom starring Ted Danson as rich guy who runs for Los Angeles mayor was heading to NBC. But it turns out that Fey originally wanted to set the series in New York City—and to get Alec Baldwin to reprise his role as Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock, apparently.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the show was first developed to be a 30 Rock spinoff, following Donaghy as he leaves General Electric and heads back into politics, this time becoming mayor of New York. Per the Reporter, Baldwin "was in extended negotiations for the better part of a year before pulling out of the project," and Fey retooled the series for Ted Danson and cut out all the Tracy Jordan subplots or whatever.

Danson apparently didn't want to leave his friends in LA to go shoot in NYC, though, and so the show was relocated to California. "We are thrilled to be back home at NBC and writing for one of the network's greatest stars of all time, Mary Steenburgen’s husband, Ted," Fey and her producing partner, Robert Carlock, said in a statement when the straight-to-series order was first announced last month.

The as-yet-untitled series is now headed into production, presumably after Danson wraps up the last season of The Good Place. Given the massive talent attached, the show is bound to be a hit, but it's still a little sad we'll never get to see Jack Donaghy back on NBC.

It's unclear why, exactly, Baldwin backed out of the show while they were still in talks—maybe the concept just started to hit a little too close to home.