Leap day, that quirk of our calendar that happens every four years, is here today.
Fun fact: It’ll be 2052 the next time a leap day falls on a Thursday, according to scienceworld.wolfram.com.
Inland 360 staff members are celebrating this unofficial holiday by rewatching our favorite leap day-inspired TV show episodes and/or movies:
- Top of the list is “30 Rock,” season six, episode n
ine (2012), when we learned about Leap Day
William and the corresponding movie-within-a-show, “Leap Dave Williams,” starring Jim Carrey as Dave Williams. Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) tells us that Leap Day William lives in the Mariana Trench and emerges every four years to trade children’s tears for candy. This “magical extra day” is a chance to take chances and do things you wouldn’t normally do. We’ll let you discover for yourself how that goes, if you haven’t already had the pleasure. “30 Rock” is streaming on Hulu and Peacock.
- The list also has to include episode 16 from season four of “Parks and Recreation,” when we learn that, of course, Jerry’s birthday is on leap day. If you’ve watched the show, you know if something can go wrong for Jerry Gergich (real name Garry, but that’s another story), it does. This is no exception. You can stream “Parks and Recreation” on Peacock Premium.
- The movie “Leap Year,” from 2010, coincidentally stars “Parks and Recreation” actor Adam Scott as the would-be fiance of a character played by Amy Adams, who plans to propose on leap day, per an Irish tradition. You can rent the movie on a variety of platforms, including Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video, to find out what happens.
- Season three, episode 16 of “Frasier,” from 1996, sees psychiatrist-turned-radio-personality Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) challenging others to “take a leap,” to less-than-desirable results. You can stream the original “Frasier” series on Hulu and the reboot, which debuted last year, on Paramount+.
- “Modern Family” capitalized on leap day in 2012 as a premise for episode 17 of season three, during which, among a long list of shenanigans, Mitchell attempts to throw a surprise party for Cam, whose birthday happens to be Feb. 29. The 10th/40th birthday party plans go predictably, hilariously awry. You can stream “Modern Family” on Hulu.