In a chat with NYMag.com, Alec Baldwin casually dropped the bomb that the next season of 30 Rock will be the last (he’s also said it will be his last, no matter what), so Tina Fey can go off and make all the hilarious movies in her head:

“I will tell you one thing,” he said. “And that is our show next year is our last year of the show. […] Our contracts are expired [in 2012], and Tina is gonna have a big career directing films and writing. She’s going to be the next Elaine May. She’ll be great.”

Fey’s and NBC reps declined comment, says the Mag, but TVLine’s Michael Ausiello spoke to an unknown “NBC insider” who insisted nothing is set in stone: “We have had no conversations about 30 Rock ending next season.”

So the jury remains out, but even if 2012 is the last we see of new 30 Rock, six seasons of solid hilarity is nothing to cry about. And there’s something dignified (and unusual) about an American comedy going out on top.

Meanwhile, Vanity Fair has a great list of 30 observations about 30 Rock ending, including all the potential spin-offs.

(Image courtesy of NBC)

Meghan Carlson

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

Meghan hails from Walla Walla, WA, the proud home of the world’s best sweet onions and Adam West, the original Batman. An avid grammarian and over-analyzer, you can usually find her thinking too hard about plot devices in favorites like The OfficeIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and How I Met Your Mother. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys drawing, shopping, trying to be funny (and often failing), and not understanding the whole Twilight thing. She’s got a BA in English and Studio Art from Whitman College, which makes her a professional arguer, daydreamer, and doodler.