Pete Hornberger

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Pete Hornberger
Pete Hornberger
First appearance	"Pilot"
Information
Gender	Male
Age	30s
Occupation	Producer on TGS
Relationships	Mrs. Hornberger (first name unknown)
Children	Kyle Hornberger Kaleb Hornberger
Portrayed by	Scott Adsit
Created by	Tina Fey

Peter "Pete" Hornberger is a fictional character played by Scott Adsit on the American television series 30 Rock.

[edit] Role on the show

Pete is a producer for the fictional television show TGS with Tracy Jordan. He works closely with head writer Liz Lemon, who, in "Blind Date", he mentions that he has known for ten years. In the pilot episode, new network executive Jack Donaghy fired Pete without even consulting Liz, but she managed to convince him to hire Pete back. Like Liz and much of the show's staff, Pete was frustrated when Jack made them hire unpredictable actor Tracy Jordan as the show's new star.

Liz often confides in Pete and, at times, he seems to be the only competent person that she works with. Much like Liz, Pete generally plays straight man to the other characters, especially to Liz when she is temporarily pushed over the edge. Therefore, his role on the show is often limited, though he was prominently featured in the "B story" of the episode "Black Tie." Most often, he is utilized as a vehicle for receiving exposition in place of the audience. Pete has occasionally displayed a witty sense of humor, as when he called Liz "Captain Needa" in "Jack the Writer."

[edit] Unseen family life

Pete is married and he has at least two sons. Aside from a brief scene in the pilot where Pete appears at home with one of his sons, all the members of his family are unseen characters. In one episode, Pete reveals that he is afraid of his son Kyle, who is apparently very strong and, in "Black Tie," he spoke with his son Kaleb over the telephone, pretending to be Elmo, in order to encourage his son to "aim your pee-pee at the potty."

His unnamed wife is implied to have a rather overbearing personality and Pete often goes to great lengths to make her happy, as in "Up All Night" when he realized that it was Valentine's Day, which also happens to be his wife's birthday. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan," Pete stated that his wife wishes he was not bald and, in "Black Tie," Pete mentions that they were married in a botanical garden. He lied to his wife about getting a vasectomy, but, as of "The Fighting Irish," she's getting suspicious. Therefore, Pete has asked Liz for the keys to her apartment for "my own safety." He is still living with Liz in "Fireworks."

In the episode "Jack the Writer," Pete did not appear to be particularly faithful since he took umbrage when Liz tried to tell the show's nubile receptionist, Cerie, to dress more professionally. He told Liz that, as a bald middle-aged man, he had little joy in his life and asked that he be allowed to have "just this one thing." When she argued that this was inappropriate, Pete became very agitated and screamed that Liz was inappropriate with her big stupid face. However, in "Black Tie," he refused to cheat on his wife, despite Tracy's encouragement. In "Blind Date," he bet his wedding ring in a poker tournament and lost it, though Kenneth later returned it to him.