The pilot episode of the American situation comedy series 30 Rock premiered on October 10, 2006 on the CTV Television Network in Canada, and October 11, 2006 on NBC in the United States. The episode was directed by Adam Bernstein and written by Tina Fey, the series' creator, executive producer, and lead actor.In 2002, Tina Fey, then head writer of Saturday Night Live (SNL), pitched the idea for a series about a cable news network to NBC, who rejected it.