Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

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Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Studio 60 Logo
Genre	Drama/dramedy
Creator(s)	Aaron Sorkin
Starring	Matthew Perry Bradley Whitford Amanda Peet Steven Weber D. L. Hughley Sarah Paulson Nathan Corddry Timothy Busfield
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producer(s)	Thomas Schlamme Aaron Sorkin
Running time	43 Minutes (Approx) Timeslot: 60 Minutes including commercials
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	September 18, 2006 – Present
Links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an American NBC dramatic television series that takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy show (also called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), whose format is similar to NBC's Saturday Night Live. The fictional show-within-a-show is run by head writer Matt Albie (Matthew Perry) and producer/director Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford).

The show was created by Aaron Sorkin and is produced by Thomas Schlamme and began airing on NBC on September 18, 2006. It typically airs in the United States on Mondays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) and one day earlier in Canada on Sundays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on CTV. Studio 60 costs upwards of $2.5 million to $3 million per episode to produce.^[1] As of November 9, 2006, NBC had ordered a full season (22 episodes), though there were reports they had negotiated a lower license fee with Warner Bros. for the final nine episodes.^[2]

As of February 17, 2007, Studio 60 had been pulled from NBC's lineup to be replaced with The Black Donnellys starting February 26. NBC said that they will place it back in the lineup later this season. However, no date has been set for its return. ^[3]

Contents 1 Characters 1.1 Major roles 1.2 Secondary roles 1.2.1 Guest hosts 1.2.2 Guest musicians 1.2.3 Other appearances 2 Episodes 3 Scheduling 3.1 Hiatus 4 Critical and public reaction 5 Influences 5.1 SNL references 5.2 References to other Sorkin works 6 U.S. television ratings 6.1 Standard ratings 6.2 DVR ratings 7 Awards 8 Alternative availability 8.1 Early release 8.2 International broadcasters 9 References 10 External links 10.1 Official site 10.2 Unofficial sites 10.3 Podcasts 10.4 Media 10.5 Script

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip characters

[edit] Major roles

Studio 60 employs a broad ensemble cast that portrays the rotating personnel involved in the production of a late-night comedy show.

• Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford) is a producer who takes over show-running duties with Matt Albie, his longtime friend. He is also a recovering drug addict.
• Matt Albie (Matthew Perry) is a former writer for Studio 60 who is asked to return when executive producer Wes Mendell is fired. He is also Harriet's ex-boyfriend.
• Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet) is the recently hired president of fictional network NBS (National Broadcasting System) of which Studio 60 is the flagship show.
• Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson) is an "effortlessly sexy", "multi-talented"^[4] performer, a devout Christian, and one of the "Big Three" main stars of Studio 60. She is also Matt Albie's ex-girlfriend. The character is partially based on Kristin Chenoweth, whom Sorkin previously dated while she worked on The West Wing.
• Tom Jeter (Nate Corddry) is another of the show's "Big Three". He is from the Midwest and his brother is serving as an engineer on a very dangerous assignment in Afghanistan.
• Simon Stiles (D. L. Hughley) is the final member of the "Big Three". He reached his current status despite growing up in a poor black community. His original intention was to become a dramatic actor, rather than a comedian.
• Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber) is the chairman of the fictional network NBS and Jordan's boss.
• Cal Shanley (Timothy Busfield) is the technical director of Studio 60.

[edit] Secondary roles

• Jeannie Whatley (Ayda Field) is a member of the show's ensemble. She has close personal friendships with both Matt and Harriet and is a bit of a gossip on the set.
• Alex Dwyer (Simon Helberg) is a member of the show's ensemble, he is recognized as the complement to Harriet Hayes, being the premiere male impressionist in the cast. He has at least one recurring sketch, The Nicolas Cage Show, in which he plays the title character, and has also portrayed Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller.
• Dylan Killington (Nate Torrence) is a rookie member of the show's ensemble.
• Samantha Li (Camille Chen) is a member of the show's ensemble.
• Ricky Tahoe (Evan Handler) is a former co-executive producer of the show and former head of the writers' room. In "The Option Period", he and Ron left Studio 60 to pursue a pilot show for Fox called "Peripheral Vision Man" - based on a character from an old Studio 60 sketch ; Ricky's departure was marked by a hostile shouting match with Matt.
• Ron Oswald (Carlos Jacott) is a former co-executive producer of the show and former head of the writers' room. In "The Option Period", he left the show with Ricky to pursue a pilot show for Fox called "Peripheral Vision Man" - based on a character from an old Studio 60 sketch.
• Wilson White (Edward Asner) is the head of TMG, the conglomerate that owns the NBS network.
• Lucy Kenwright (Lucy Davis) is a junior writer on the show and the only pre-Matt and Danny writer to remain after Ricky and Ron's departure. Lucy and Darius were supposed to get their first sketch on the air in "B-12". The sketch was about a bungling hostage taker, but was cancelled when a real-life hostage-taker killed his entire family and then himself just after the show started.
• Darius Hawthorne (Columbus Short) is Matt's assistant writer. Matt and Simon hired Darius after seeing his stand-up act in "The Wrap Party".
• Andy Mackinaw (Mark McKinney) was introduced in "B-12" after Ricky and Ron's departure when Matt needed an extra writer's help. Andy was previously a writer on Studio 60 years before, while Matt and Danny were still there. After Matt and Danny's initial departure from the show, Andy's wife and daughter died in tragic circumstances.
• Martha O'Dell (Christine Lahti) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist working on a story for Vanity Fair about the new leadership of Studio 60, and who ends up easily uncovering almost every detail of the cast and crew's personal lives. Martha's character is based on the columnist Maureen Dowd, who once dated Sorkin.^[5]
• Suzanne (Merritt Wever) is a former PA on the show who becomes Matt's assistant in the episode "B-12."
• Hallie Galloway (Stephanie Childers) is the Vice President of Alternative Programming (a.k.a. Reality TV) for NBS and has developed an adversarial relationship with Jordan. She first appeared in the episode "Monday." McDeere has expressed her fear that Galloway is being groomed to take her place after the rocky start to McDeere's tenure as President of the network.

[edit] Guest hosts

• Felicity Huffman played herself in "Pilot."
• Mark Wahlberg, mentioned but never seen, in "The Cold Open."
• Rob Reiner played himself in "The Focus Group."
• Lauren Graham played herself in "The Long Lead Story" and "The Wrap Party."
• Jessica Simpson was mentioned but never seen as hosting the show which ends at the beginning of "The Option Period." Simpson is asked to ad-lib to stretch for time and pleads for "peace in the Midwest."
• Howie Mandel played himself in "B-12."
• Masi Oka plays himself and as Hiro Nakamura of NBC's Heroes television show in "The Harriet Dinner."
• Peyton Manning was named on the board outside the studio but never appeared in "The Friday Night Slaughter."
• Jennifer Love Hewitt was mentioned as the guest host (but never appeared) during one of the flashback scenes in "The Friday Night Slaughter."
• Renée Zellweger was mentioned as the guest host but never appeared in "4 A.M. Miracle."

[edit] Guest musicians

• Three 6 Mafia appeared as themselves, performing "Side 2 Side" in "Pilot".
• The White Stripes did not appear (written into the plot as having cancelled due to Jack White's acute tonsilitis) in "The Cold Open". They were also replaced at the last minute in "The Friday Night Slaughter", although the reason for their failure to appear this time is not explained.
• The Los Angeles Philharmonic with John Mauceri appeared in "The Cold Open" for a sketch featuring a parody of "Major-General's Song" from The Pirates of Penzance.
• Gwen Stefani was mentioned, but did not appear, in "The Focus Group".
• Sting appeared in "The Long Lead Story" and in the first scene of "The Wrap Party" (with Edin Karamazov).
• Jessica Simpson was mentioned as the special musical guest and host in "Nevada Day Part 1", "Nevada Day Part 2" and "The Option Period", though she appeared in none of these episodes.
• Corinne Bailey Rae appeared and performed two songs ("Like a Star" and "Trouble Sleeping") in "B-12".
• The City of New Orleans (represented by musicians from the Tipitina's Foundation) performed "O Holy Night" during "The Christmas Show".
• John Legend is the musical act for the episodes of the week of "The Harriett Dinner". He does not appear in the episode.
• Natalie Cole appears as the musical artist for the honorary dinner for Harriet (though this is not for the show). She performs the Burt Bacharach-Dionne Warwick classic "I Say a Little Prayer."
• Gina La Piana appears in "The Friday Night Slaughter" as a fictional singer named Diana Valdes, another fill-in for The White Stripes.

[edit] Other appearances

• Judd Hirsch as Wes Mendell, the creator of Studio 60 who is fired by Jack Rudolph after going on a long on-air rant against the current state of television.
• Fred Stoller as comedian Lenny Gold in "West Coast Delay".
• Eli Wallach appears in "The Wrap Party" as an old mischievous man with an interesting - and familiar - past.
• John Goodman as a Pahrump, Nevada, judge Robert "Bobby" Bebe in "Nevada Day Part 1" and "Nevada Day Part 2".
• Kevin Eubanks appears as himself in "The Christmas Show."

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip episodes

[edit] Scheduling

On December 2, 2006 NBC announced that Studio 60 would be sharing the Monday at 10PM timeslot with The Black Donnellys. To accommodate this NBC scheduled Studio 60 to take a 7 week hiatus between December 4, 2006 and January 22, 2007.^[6] It was then scheduled to run non-stop until February 26, 2007 when it would take another hiatus (the length of which has yet to be determined).^[7]

[edit] Hiatus

On February 13, 2007 NBC announced that Studio 60 would go on hiatus one week early and that the last episode would air on February 19, 2007. This is at least partially due to the show delivering its lowest ratings to date on the Monday preceding the announcement.^[8]

[edit] Critical and public reaction

Studio 60, known as Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip during its development stage (and likely renamed because of Studio 7, a game show which aired on The WB in 2004), was already the subject of much discussion before its first episode had aired. NBC and CBS had staged an intense bidding war for the rights to the show in October 2005, with NBC agreeing to a "near-record license fee" in order to obtain the rights.^[9] It was the show most anticipated by media buyers prior to the network upfront presentations, according to MediaLife.^[10] Among the online public the show was also highly anticipated, receiving the most online "mentions" and the most positive sentiment of any new 2006 show.^[11] The positive reception extended to television critics, who named it their "Best Overall New Program" in a poll conducted by Broadcasting and Cable,^[12] based on the pilot episode. In their 2006 year end issue, NY Daily News listed Studio 60 as number 6 on their best "Series of the Year" list, and was also listed in best standout performances as number 9 for Matthew Perry.^[13] Glenn Garvin of the Miami Herald named Studio 60 as number 2 on his list of best "Series of the Year".^[14]

The pilot was seen by an average of 13.4 million total viewers in its initial airing on NBC, although it experienced significant viewer falloff from the first half-hour to the second half-hour,^[15] and the second episode's Nielsen ratings were down by 12% from the pilot.^[16] The erosion continued through episode 5, with a 43% viewer drop off from its premiere, but has since leveled off. (See U.S. television ratings below.)

On October 27, 2006 NBC gave a conditional "vote of confidence" by ordering three additional scripts on top of the initial order of 13.^[17] Despite the order, Studio 60 has performed poorly in the ratings, which led to speculation that the network was seriously considering cancelling the show.

Roger Friedman of Fox News reported on October 30, 2006 that cancellation of the show was imminent.^[18] This was denied the next day by an NBC representative who stated that the show "is profitable at this point" and that rather than a cancellation, it is more likely that the show's time slot will change.^[19]

On November 9, 2006, NBC announced that the show had been picked up for a full season, citing its favorable demographics as the reason.^[20] According to NBC's press release: "Studio 60 has consistently delivered some of the highest audience concentrations among all primetime network series in such key upscale categories as adults 18-49 living in homes with $75,000-plus and $100,000-plus incomes and in homes where the head of household has four or more years of college."

Time magazine in 2006 listed Studio 60 as one of "5 Things That Went From Buzz to Bust", sharing the distinction with other "phenomena that captivated the media for a spell, then turned out to be less than huge."^[21] Entertainment Weekly named Studio 60 the worst TV show of 2006.^[22] Comedy writers have been largely disdainful of Studio 60, with comments like "People in television, trust me, are not that smart", "(Sorkin) wants to get big ideas across and change people's minds. No comedians work that way. They go for the laughs first and the lesson second", and "(SNL) is so dark, they could never show what actually happens there."^[23]

[edit] Influences

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The pilot both alludes heavily and refers directly to the film Network. In early development, Studio 60's fictional network NBS was called UBS, as was the corporation in Network.

As is typical for Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, the crew contains a number of people linked to their previous shows (Sports Night and The West Wing). Bradley Whitford, Timothy Busfield, Evan Handler and Matthew Perry all have a history with The West Wing. Busfield directed two episodes of Sports Night as well. The show's first guest host (appearing as herself) is Felicity Huffman, who starred in Sports Night and did a guest spot on The West Wing.

Sorkin draws from his own experience as a writer in creating the characters. In "The Focus Group", Ron mentions, "Nobody can write 90 minutes of television every week by themselves. They'd be dead by the sixth show." Sorkin is known for having singlehandedly written a majority of the episodes during the first four seasons of The West Wing.

The show also uses the now familiar "Walk and Talks" (also called "pedeconferencing" in fan circles) used so frequently in both previous shows as well.

The Harriet/Matt relationship is based on Sorkin's relationship with Kristin Chenoweth, who played Annabeth Schott on The West Wing.^[24] In Studio 60's pilot, one of the reasons that Matt and Harriet broke up was Harriet's decision to appear on The 700 Club to support her Christian music album. In 2005, Chenoweth made a similar appearance on The 700 Club, sparking a negative reaction from some of her gay fans because of the views of 700 Club host Pat Robertson.^[25] Unlike Matt and Harriet, Sorkin and Chenoweth did not work together on The West Wing. Sorkin left after The West Wing's fourth season and Chenoweth joined the cast during season six.

The Jordan McDeere character is loosely based on former ABC Entertainment President Jamie Tarses, who is a consultant on the show.^[26]

[edit] SNL references

The show makes several references to Saturday Night Live:

• Recurring elements of the show-within-the-show include News 60, similar to SNL's Weekend Update, and cartoons.
• In the second episode Tom Jeter reads an Internet review saying Studio 60 "seldom approached SNL at its best".
• In the same episode, Matt and Danny are fighting over an office and Matt says he would rather have Lorne Michaels' office, to which Danny replies that Lorne's office is in New York, and Lorne is still using it.
• In the third episode, responding to needling from Danny that he's burying a political sketch in the 12:55 "dump the garbage" slot, Matt counters by saying that's where Wayne's World started.
• In the fourth episode, Danny points out to Jordan that drug usage is common in late-night comedy television; as supporting evidence he references the Coneheads and Toonces the Driving Cat. He also mentions the drug-related deaths of John Belushi and Chris Farley, noted SNL players. Studio 60 writers also note that, along with the late-night talk show hosts, SNL cracked jokes about Jordan's DUI arrest.

[edit] References to other Sorkin works

References to other Aaron Sorkin shows:

• In Matt's Office, there is a "Pirates of Penzance" poster. The same poster is given to Ainsley Hayes in the West Wing episode, "And It's Surely to Their Credit."
• In "The Option Period", when Tom and Simon are talking to Harriet in the cast dressing room (about halfway into the episode), a "Bartlet For America" poster can be seen on the wall.
• "Removing All Doubt" is the name of the fictional film by Matt and Danny, as well as the title of Sorkin's first play.
• In 4AM Miracle, Matt encourages his assistant Suzanne to go home. She replies "I leave when you leave." This is a verbatim copy of a conversation Leo McGarry had with his assistant (Margaret) on The West Wing.
• The law firm Gage Whitney is referred to in 4AM Miracle. On The West Wing, before working for Jed Bartlet, Sam Seaborn worked at a law firm named Gage Whitney.
• In the end credits, Sorkin's production company, "Shoe Money" appears. This references an episode of Sports Night in which Dana plays poker for "shoe money".

[edit] U.S. television ratings

[edit] Standard ratings

Weekly rankings based on Fast National ratings.^{[27][28][29][30]}

#	Episode	Air Date	Timeslot (EST)	Season	Rating	Share	18–49	Viewers	Rank
1	"Pilot"	September 18, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	8.6	14	5.0	13.14	# 22
2	"The Cold Open"	September 25, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	7.5	12	4.4	10.82	# 33
3	"The Focus Group"	October 2, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	6.0	10	3.5	8.85	# 47
4	"The West Coast Delay"	October 9, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	5.8	9	3.8	8.66	# 51
5	"The Long Lead Story"	October 16, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	5.3	8	3.1	7.74	# 55
6	"The Wrap Party"	October 23, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	5.1	8	3.2	7.72	# 60
7	"Nevada Day (1)"	November 6, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	4.8	8	3.3	7.67	# 56
8	"Nevada Day (2)"	November 13, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	5.0	8	3.2	7.58	# 58
9	"The Option Period"	November 20, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	4.7	8	3.1	7.17	# 60
10	"B-12"	November 27, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	4.8	8	3.3	7.27	# 60
11	"The Christmas Show"	December 4, 2006	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	4.9	8	3.0	7.33	# 52
12	"Monday"	January 22, 2007	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	5.3	8	3.2	7.25	# 48
13	"The Harriet Dinner - Part I"	January 29, 2007	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	4.8	7	3.0	6.86	# 53
14	"The Harriet Dinner - Part II"	February 5, 2007	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	4.6	7	3.2	7.00	# 59
15	"The Friday Night Slaughter"	February 12, 2007	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	4.3	7	2.8	6.39	# 68
16	"4AM Miracle"	February 19, 2007	Monday 10:00PM	2006–2007	4.1	7	2.6	6.10	# 63

Key: Rating is the estimated percentage of all TVs tuned to the show, share is the percentage of all TVs in use that are tuned in. Viewers is the estimated number of actual people watching, in millions, while ranking is the approximate ranking of the show against all prime-time TV shows for the week (Monday through the following Sunday).

While the show premiered with high ratings, there was a large drop during the second half. This trend has continued through nearly every episode of the show.

[edit] DVR ratings

On December 29, 2006 Nielsen Media Research reported the results of having, for the first time, monitored viewers who use a Digital Video Recorder to pre-record shows for later viewing. According to the Nielsen numbers, adding these viewers increased Studio 60's ratings the most in percentage terms of all network shows. These ratings, called "live plus seven", include all viewers who use a DVR to record the show and then watch it within a week of its initial airing.

According to Nielsen, Studio 60 adds nearly 11%, or almost a million viewers, to its total every week as a result of these "live plus seven" viewers.^[31]

According to Medialife Magazine, "The live-plus-seven-day rating for NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” is 136 percent higher than its live rating in DVR homes."^[32]

[edit] Awards

Main article: List of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip awards

[edit] Alternative availability

Studio 60 is one of a group of NBC shows this season, some new and some returning, which have been available on one or both of NBC's online forums for alternative distribution of television: free with commercials on NBC.com, and for download without commercials at Amazon.com and the iTunes Store. Studio 60 was also added as a download option via the Xbox 360 video download service. There is no published record of its popularity at the NBC website or on the Xbox, but several Studio 60 episodes have been among the ten most popular on iTunes. The Studio 60 season pass has also steadily remained in the Top 20 since it was made available. The first nine episodes of Studio 60 were also made available on the launch of Xbox Live Media Downloads in fall of 2006, and the service continues to offer the new episodes weekly (3-4 days after the airdate). All episodes of the program have also been made available on CTV's online broadband network.

[edit] Early release

NBC made the pilot episode of Studio 60 available on DVD to Netflix subscribers on August 5, 2006. The DVD also includes the pilot episode for Kidnapped, another show scheduled to debut on NBC in the fall. AOL also premiered the first episode of Studio 60 in its entirety on its online television channel.^[33]

The pilot episode was screened to the general public for the first time at the 31st MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, a British industry and media event held annually over the August bank holiday weekend (25-27 August 2006). The pilot episode was screened outdoors on a "giant billboard style screen" in Conference Square, next to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.^[34]

[edit] International broadcasters

Country	TV Network(s)	Series Premiere	Weekly Schedule
Australia	Nine Network[35]	2007	TBC
Brazil	Warner Channel[citation needed]	June 2007	TBC
Canada	CTV television network	September 17, 2006	Sundays at 10:00pm ET
Denmark	Kanal 5	March 22, 2007	Thursday at 10:30pm
France	TPS Star	April 13, 2007	Fridays at 09:00pm
Hong Kong	TVB Pearl	March 15, 2007[36]	Thursdays after News Roundup
Hungary	HBO	2007	?
Ireland	TV3[37]	February 15, 2007	Thursdays at 10:00pm
Israel	yes stars 1	March 5, 2007	Mondays at 10:00pm
New Zealand	TVNZ (TV 2)[38]	2007	TBC
Philippines	2nd Avenue	March 20, 2007	Tuesdays at 9:00pm
United Kingdom	More 4 & Channel 4	June/July 2007[39]	TBC

[edit] References

• Schlamme, Thomas (director); Sorkin, Aaron (writer). Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Pilot [television]. NBC.
• NBC reacts to ratings slide

[edit] External links

[edit] Official site

• United States: NBC

[edit] Unofficial sites

• Studio 60 Community on LiveJournal
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on TVGuide.com
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip at Wikia
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on BuddyTV
• New Yorker review
• Sunset Studio - UK Fan Website
• Danny Tripp & Jordan McDeere Community on LiveJournal

[edit] Podcasts

Aaron Barnhart. Aaron Sorkin, in his own words TV Barn

[edit] Media

• NBC trailer on YouTube
• Video on TVGuide.com

[edit] Script

• Aaron Sorkin. Early draft of the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip pilot script. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.

STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP
EPISODES   |   CHARACTERS   |   CATEGORY   |   AWARDS
Primary Characters	Matt Albie | Danny Tripp | Jordan McDeere | Harriet Hayes Tom Jeter | Simon Stiles | Jack Rudolph | Cal Shanley
Secondary Characters	Ricky Tahoe | Ron Oswald | Wes Mendell | Martha O'Dell Jeannie Whatley | Samantha Li | Alex Dwyer | Dylan Killington Darius Hawthorne | Lucy Kenwright | Andy Mackinaw | Wilson White
Organizations	National Broadcasting System | Tunney Media Group
Fictional Studio 60	The Studio | The Show | News 60
Key Creators	Aaron Sorkin | Thomas Schlamme | W. G. Walden
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