'Studio 60’ Cancellation Iminent

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 4:49pm

'Studio 60’ Cancellation Iminent

Sunday , October 29, 2006

By Roger Friedman

Here we go: despite receiving an order for three more episodes on Friday, the Aaron Sorkin NBC drama “Studio 60 on Sunset Strip” is about to be put out of its misery.

Cast members are already confiding in friends that the end is near. It’s likely NBC will pull the plug shortly I am told by insiders.

Last week, Studio 60 had 7.7 million viewers. Compare that with competing "CSI: Miami," with 17.5 million. That gap cannot be closed.

But ‘Studio 60’ has trouble internally at NBC, forget its intramural rivals. According to ratings stats, the “Saturday Night Live” behind the scenes soap opera loses almost half the viewers delivered to it a few minutes earlier by another new show, “Heroes,” which has become a surprise cult hit.

On Monday, ‘Heroes’ had 14.3 million viewers. The substantial drop off with 'Studio 60' is probably the last nail in its coffin. The order of the three extra episodes is considered by insiders to be a contractual move, and not one based on faith that they will ever be made or aired. The all important demo situation didn’t help: 'Heroes' had 15 percent of viewers aged 18-49. Studio 60 had 8 percent. The notion that 'Studio 60' is a big draw for NBC among desirables is, sadly, blown on those stats.

Sorkin and friends will argue that NBC has done something wrong, or that the audience isn’t smart enough. Alas, in this case, neither is true. 'Studio 60'—as I wrote on August 7th after viewing the pilot—is just a bad show. There’s nothing wrong with the acting, directing, or dialogue writing. But the premise is faulty. No one cares whether a bunch of over caffeinated, well off yuppies, some with expensive drug habits, put on a weekly comedy sketch show from Los Angeles.

Even worse: no one cares whether or not the people from the Bartlett White House puts on a comedy show. That’s what 'Studio 60' is, essentially: the "West Wing" annual talent show. There’s so much earnestness involved in this endeavour, you start to think that nuclear war will be declared if the 'Studio 60' staff doesn’t air some joke—usually one we don’t hear anyway. The whole thing just feels weighted down and frankly, not entertaining.

There is one winner to come out of 'Studio 60,' however: Matthew Perry. In this show he’s proven himself to be a star on his own separate from "Friends." His comedic timing and ability to ad lib, toss off lines, and give restrained physical reactions is what keeps 'Studio 60' even remotely interesting. We can only be hopeful that someone comes up with a great new show for him quickly—but a comedy that’s funny, not a drama that isn’t.

NBC will probably fill the lost 'Studio 60' timeslot with 'Deal-No Deal: The Next Generation,' or some such thing. So the losers here will be the audience, which is about to be pummelled by more reality and game shows. It’s too bad because around the dial there are good new dramas. Despite its heavy “thirtysomething” feel, “Brothers and Sisters” is worth keeping if only for Sally Field, Ron Rifkin and Rachel Griffiths. (But there a mistake was made, too: killing off patriarch Tom Skerritt in the first episode.)

Oh well: I hope Regis is warming up the holiday edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." We’re ready!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,226092,00.html

It's from Fox News, so take it as you will, but it's not looking good if all the buzz lately points towards cancellation, no matter the quality of the show.

"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008

Updated On: 10/29/06 at 04:49 PM

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 4:54pm

Well, that ruined my day. It's My So Called Life all over. Harry is my new Jordan Catalano. (I know I posted that elsewhere, but it's SO true. Well, I do have better skin now.)

Updated On: 10/29/06 at 04:54 PM

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 5:07pm

*sigh*

watching the pilot, i had a feeling...

american tv is f***ing worthless

[Patronus]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 5:11pm

Very sad news indeed. This is easily the best show on television today.

Posted: 10/29/06 at 5:36pm

How can you say it's the best show on television? I find it incredibly poorly written.

Take the episode where the Black actor suddenly decides that the producers are racist and demands black writers. Previously, we'd seen him given more airtime and the very visible role on "Weeekend Update" or whatever they are calling it. He played a major part in the incredibly unbelievable episode where they steal a sketch from someone. Pretty much every scene he's in shows him getting praise and attention from the new producers--- and then, suddenly they are racist and he demands black writers. Completely unbelievable.

And the Kristen Chenoweth "Christian" character. We're told repeatedly she's a right wing christian, but actually, she's always been portrayed as a progressive liberal. We always see her doing things and the other characters react with a "Wow, I can't believe she did that-- she's a christian conservative!" No she's not. She's an unbelieveable plot point. She was shown leading prayers before the show one time, a situation that would never ever happen. There's no way that cast-- christian Jew and atheist-- would gather for group prayer. No one skips it? No one? Ridiculous.

And of course, the recent episode where her Baseball player boyfriend hits on her boss. Talk about a one dimensional charater! The horndog baseball player hits on his girlfriend's boss-- at a party his girlfriend invitd him to? He doesn't think that maybe she'll find out about that? It's the sort of plot that you'd laugh at on "Married With Children" but people think is daring and well-written when it comes from Sorkin.

The recent episode where the young writer's parent's visit and don't understand the complicated career he's chosen played like something from an afterschool special.

I had high hopes for this show, but gave up on it. I think it's a premise worth exploring and a great cast, but sadly, it stinks.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 5:38pm

Well, group prayers before shows are common and completely non-secular. You've never been involved in a theatre production, Joe? Prayer circles happen all the time. Not to any deity but just praying to some sort of force for a good show.

And the pilot was easily the best pilot I've seen since ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT's back in 2003, another show that came and went too quickly.

Posted: 10/29/06 at 5:54pm

I've never seen a professional production where 100% do, no. And even in college shows, some people might pray and others would pass. In my work experience (Theatre and otherwise) any time you're paying people and you ask them to take part in a group prayer you have HR trouble.

And yes, I thought the pilot showed great promise. Which is why I watched it week after week, hoping it would come together.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 5:56pm

NO! I love this show! Personally, I think it has some of the best writing on television. Maybe the plot points aren't the best, but I just love listening to the dialogue. And I don't think the baseball player thing was bad. He's barely had two lines- he's not supposed to be this complex, deep character. I kind of saw this coming, but I really don't want them to cancel it.

[shiksa_goddess]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 6:03pm

I watched two episodes of this and it was painful to watch. I thought the characters were all blithering morons. I had expected it to have some of the wit of TWW, but nope.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 6:31pm

Cher prays in a circle with her dancers and musicians. Madonna does the same. And they all participate. I am sure if anyone had a problem they wouldn't have to. We used to have a group prayer before productions in our community theatre. Black, white, gay, straight, spiritual, religious, atheist, and whatever else you might categorize yourself as, it didn't matter. It was kind of a ritual that brought us all together. It would happen and does. Perhaps not on every show, but it happens.

Simon was looking for representation of black writers on the show. He said that the white writers might be afraid to make racial jokes, which it seemed they were. And he told a story about why he wanted to help a struggling comedian out. Made sense to me.

I guess I am just an idiot because I feel the show is well written. (I did think last week's show kind of jumped around a bit.) I enjoy all the characters. Maybe it can make that HBO leap.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 7:06pm

That's unfortunate, but I'm not really surprised. I think that it's a show that's still getting its kinks worked out, and probably eventually would've become compelling television. But so far, it wasn't. I was optimistic and I watched the first few weeks' episodes, and while they were suitably entertaining, there wasn't anything that really grabbed my attention. It seems like it was just too big -- lots of characters, not a lot of development for any individual ones. And... despite having a few brilliant moments, it could have been much funnier. I guess I'll chalk it up to being a show that didn't have enough time to find its rhythm (if it ever would have).

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 7:21pm

JerseyGirl, would you be the one person to tell Madonna or Cher you didn't want to participate in their prayer circle?

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 7:23pm

I don't think that it's perfect. I can't remember what The West Wing was like out of the gate, but I feel like there weren't as many kinks as Studio 60 has to work out. I know it will be cancelled soon. I just feel like it has a lot of potential. Meh.

ETA: Ha ha. Probably not.

Updated On: 10/29/06 at 07:23 PM

Posted: 10/29/06 at 7:46pm

The West Wing was letter perfect from the start.

I had very high hopes for Studio 60 because of Alan Sorkin, the cast and the pilot. It just seems that each episode is just a bit weaker than the one before.

I agree with Joe about everything he said and all I can add is that the "show within a show" was one of the weakest elements.

[Jon]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 7:46pm

By the way, I was shocked to read an article recently saying that pre-show prayer circles are the norm on Broadway. I've been working at an Equity regional theatre for 31 years - participating in over 200 productions - and not one single cast has ever done any kind of pre-show prayer.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 8:12pm

its aaron sorkin, no alan

[MotorTink]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 8:20pm

Man, I actually liked this show. West Wing is one of my favorite shows, and I was hoping to get my fix with this show. While I don't think it is nearly as good as WW, it definitely satisfied me. I thought Whitford/Perry work well together, similar to Whitford/Lowe. While there are things needing to be improved, I would hate for the show to be canned before it's tried. Shows get canned too easily now a days, it's a shame.

Posted: 10/29/06 at 8:28pm

I can agree with that Tink. So many great shows took months or years to come together-- the Simpsons and Seinfeld come to mind.

[Patronus]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 8:31pm

I suppose I used a bit more hyperbole than I needed.

It might not be the best show on TV, but I've enjoyed it more than anything else I've seen this year.

I though the writing was good as well. It just clicked with me.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 8:35pm

Exactly Joe. I understand rating wars and advertising costs, because I work in a field where that matters. However, money has trumped quality. Product placement and "celebrity" casting runs rampant in mostly any show. It is sad.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 9:03pm

7. something million viewers? Man, Veronica Mars can only dream of ratings like that. But then, VM probably doesn't cost nearly as much as Studio 60 does to produce- all those stars and Sorkin himself can't come cheap.

As a million people have pointed out already, Studio 60 took itself too seriously. When was SNL such a cultural touchstone? Did it ever affect politics beyond the pervasiveness of Will Ferrell's Bush impression? You can't apply all that world-saving earnestness to a TV show; you just can't. Maybe, maybe this would have worked if it claimed to be a behind-the-scenes look at The Daily Show. But I doubt it. This isn't the White House we're talking about, and it's just not the same.

(That's not to say that pure silly comedy isn't a worthwhile endeavor. Just last night SNL scarred my retinas with the sight of Hugh Laurie in a miniskirt. Mental damage like that takes hard work to produce.)

Updated On: 10/29/06 at 09:03 PM

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 9:06pm

The difference between the ratings for Studio 60 and the ratings for VM is that anybody with a working television can pick up NBC--all you need is a pair of rabbit ears. You don't even have to pay for it. Only 80-some % of tv packages carry The CW.

If we could get VM up to 4 or 5 million viewers, I'd feel a lot better.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 9:16pm

Speaking of Veronica Mars, I never got UPN, so with the CW merger with WB, I can actually watch it now. I've become completely obsessed of late, and I really hope that other people catch on as well. I agree, though; UPN/WB/CW shows aren't as widely broadcast, and the shows they carry undoubtedly cost way, way less than a show like Studio 60 does to produce.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 9:22pm

The ratings for VM have been improving. Not very drastically, but given the fact that most shows haven't seen their ratings improve on The CW, it's not too discouraging. America's Next Top Model and Gilmore Girls are the "successes," and they only average around 5 million viewers.

Veronica Mars has been holding steady around 3-3.5 million viewers this season. A definite improvement, but not as high as had been hoped.

I'm fairly confident that the show will get picked up for a full season, if only because the ratings for "Kidnapped" and "7th Heaven" have been so much worse. The CW wouldn't DARE risk having another "Everwood" situation on its hands. Plus Dawn Ostroff worships at the altar of Rob Thomas (as she should).

[Jon]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 10:02pm

Studio 60 caosts $3 million per episode. That seems like alot, but remember, the cast of FRIENDS were getting $500,000 per episode, so that would just cover the star's salaries.

I assume Matthew Perry took a bit of a pay cut to do Studio 60. It's not like he reallty needs the money.