Tina Fey has admitted that she never expected 30 Rock to last for seven critically-acclaimed seasons.

30 Rock will be airing its one-hour finale tonight (January 31), bringing a close to a sitcom that has won 10 Primetime Emmy Awards and six Golden Globes.

Fey reflected on 30 Rock's history in an interview with TV Guide, where she acknowledged that she expected the series to meet a quick end in 2006.

"This absolutely should have been 12 episodes, so people could say, 'That show was amazing. I can't believe it was canceled'," she quipped. "The fact that we got far enough along that those same people can now say, 'It's not good anymore' is a triumph in itself."

The writer-actress went on to joke that she has learned some very important lessons from playing an ardent feminist like 30 Rock's Liz Lemon.

"I have learned that every woman is responsible for being a feminist example. At. Every. Moment. Or not. I don't know," she teased.

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"I still don't know [what this has taught me], but I have had the pleasure of meeting a lot of women who identified with Liz, and that's been great."

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[Tina Fey and Jane Krakowski on the set of '30 Rock']

30 Rock has rarely garnered high ratings in its seven-season run, but Fey suggested that its numerous awards were enough to please NBC.

"[The awards] kept us alive. I used to look at the ratings as a bummer, but you can't control them," Fey explained. "I think in seven years we've had nine time slots. I begged to be on later every year.

"Our show is inappropriate for 8pm. I have kids! Weirdly, some of the best ratings we ever got were when we were on at 10pm."

Fey took home the 'Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series' prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last weekend and used the event to discuss 30 Rock's legacy.

"I look forward to another generation of nerds finding it and enjoying it. I hope it survives [in syndication]," she said.

30 Rock airs its season finale tonight (January 31) at 8/7c on NBC.

Watch a clip from the series below:

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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.