’30 Rock’ Season 7: Could Alec Baldwin’s Pay Cut Mean An Additional Season?

A general feeling of "blerg" permeates the air today, as '30 Rock' gets set for the beginning of the end in premiering its season 7 opener, appropriately titled "The Beginning of the End."  And while the final 13-episode season (with a super-sized finale) has been set in stone by the bigwigs at NBC, our fun with Liz Lemon, Jack Donaghy, Tracy, Jenna and Kenneth almost didn't end with a seventh season.  Alec Baldwin reportedly tried to extend the show's run for additional episodes, possibly even an additional season, but how far did he take it?

Nerds everywhere feel a sting of bittersweet sadness today, as '30 Rock' kicks off its seventh and final season, but series star Alec Baldwin wishes it weren't so.  This morning, the actor tweeted a surprising revelation, namely that “I offered NBC to cut my pay 20% in order to have a full 7th and 8th seasons of 30 Rock. I realize times have changed." Though the NBC comedy unquestionably re-vitalized the actor's career, in recent years it was often questioned from year to year whether Baldwin would remain in his role as GE Kabletown CEO Jack Donaghy.

Series creator and star Tina Fey also chimed in on Baldwin's surprising desire to keep the critically-lauded but underrated series afloat, telling Entertainment Weekly "now not a day goes by that he doesn’t go around to the crew and agitate for a season 8: ‘You’ve gotta change your minds!’ It’s like, ‘It’s not really up to me — and also, no.’”  Indeed, many are surprised the series has lasted as long as it did, given its under-performing numbers.

We'll all shed a bittersweet tear when '30 Rock' finally closes its doors, but for now the new season premieres tonight, and we're happy for all the '30 Rock' we can get.  What about you?