Paging Kenneth

Like get paid $7 million to write a book. You have one of those in the works?

I’ve been pitching it for a while. First I have to learn how to write. Maybe I’ll just do a pop-up book. I still can’t believe how Tina does everything she does. She’s pretty good at delegating, but the sheer volume of work on her plate is mind-boggling. A lot of times she’s all over the place, from the writers’ room to the studio. Not to mention that every now and then she likes to see her daughter.

It’s hard to think of anyone who had a bigger year, other than Barack.

Obviously, her Sarah Palin thing was huge. It gave Tina more attention, and us more attention. She took one for the team. It did everyone good, except Sarah Palin. Funny story: I was at a party shortly after the election, and Salman Rushdie comes up to me and says [adopting an imperialist British accent with a Southern twang], “I am such a fan of the show. I am such a fan of Tina Fey. Please tell Tina that I think she deserves the Congressional Medal of Honor for swaying the Americans.” I told her after and she said, “Did you hear the gunshots? I think there’s a fatwa on me now.”

I wonder if Sarah Palin goes to bed every night thinking, “If only that woman didn’t look like me...”

Honestly, she’s probably grinning through her teeth and thinking, “I wanna kill her.” If Palin invites her on a “hunting” trip, someone might have to step in.

I actually think Fey’s success has hurt the character of Liz Lemon a bit. She is a perpetually single woman in her 30s who gorges on junk food. Tina is constantly trying to downplay her sexiness, but she’s hot right now. It makes it harder to buy into the character.

I’ve known her since we were at Second City in Chicago, which is a hands-dirty, T-shirt and blue jeans kind of town. And back then, she was really working hard for that paycheck, and it wasn’t nearly as glamorous, so it’s not hard for me to buy into the character. But for the rest of America, who has just recently caught wind of her, I can see that.

Did you guys do skits together at Second City?

She was coming to New York right when I was getting involved, so we only worked together very briefly. Actually, her husband was my director. He was very instrumental in getting me on 30 Rock.

You don’t hear much about Mr. Fey. He kind of hangs out in the background, à la Todd Palin.

He maintains a low profile. He is just as busy as Tina. He does out musical accompaniments, some editing—I think he’s gonna direct an episode in the near future, too. He’s very talented.

You’re just saying that because he got you hired.

He’s standing right here.

Neel Shah is a reporter at the New York Post. Previously, he was a staff writer at Radar Magazine. He was written for New York, GQ, and Maxim.