Network television programming executives must loathe smart, engaged viewers like me.
It’s cool. I despise them, too. Believe me, I’m no player hater. I’m just an irritable, college-educated guy who understands TV execs have a thankless job – one where demographics and tea leaf readings portend what shows will be picked up for every new season, where they will go in the schedule, and how best to gratify both audiences and advertisers alike.
For all involved, it’s a recipe for acid reflux meds at best and antidepressants at worst.
Yet knowing all of these factors, one can’t help but think that lowest common denominator results are aimed at the people who need help deciding which laundry detergent will get their shirts white enough… not at people who truly love to suspend their disbelief to be entertained, as they say.
So what’s got a viewer like me so hot? A bastard stepchild ensemble dramedy called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which, it appears, has finally gotten the axe at NBC that’s been threatened it for months now. I’m sure the "networkies" have got some old Fear Factor reruns to plug in there somewh… er, well, it seems it’s already been replaced by a midseason toss-off called The Black Donnellys. Sorry? The what who?
Everyone from Entertainment Weekly to Salon and Entertainment Tonight has been sounding the Studio 60 death knell recently. A bigger question raised from this rabble should be, "What happened to the gutsy network that took a chance on Sorkin’s rapid-fire political drama The West Wing and oddball comedies like Seinfeld and even the vapid Night Court?" Teams in last place aren’t known for guts, I suppose. Getting by, maybe... but you almost never see the 40-yard pass out of them.
Described as too “inside” and “self-important,” this great Aaron Sorkin vehicle never really had a chance, mainly because it was too smart for its time slot. The perpetually fourth-place-and-panicky NBC wussed out of anchoring their “Must See TV” Thursday revival with it. Instead, the show withered on the Monday night vine… home to football, 24 and Deal Or No Deal. Everyone knows that Monday night is a place where hard-working Joes and Janes get a reprieve from the return to the work week. They don't want clever. They just want their cold MGD or Miller Lite, chips, and idiot box to mentally check out with.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Lisa McKay
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States.
2 - sal m
great piece and a great commentary on the state of a dying network...
3 - Diane Kristine
Before you get dismissive, you might want to read up on The Black Donnellys. It isn't exactly an obscure little show or a "toss off" - it's from the producers/writers of Crash, Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, and it's a thinking person's show too. It's not likely to grab big ratings, either, but is more deserving of a shot than Studio 60 of late. I loved Studio 60 when it started, but it withered on the creative vine long before NBC gave up on its continually plummeting ratings. Smart viewers found the show. Smart viewers fled the show. A smart network is cutting their losses.
4 - Kate
Not sure people have figured out it's still not canceled. Hate to break it to the media outlets but the death knell hasn't happened yet. It's still alive--no cancellation by NBC. The reason there's no return date is they're not sure how The Black Donnellys will do and if it does well they'll move Studio 60, if it does badly, Studio 60 gets its slot back. It's still on hiatus. I mean that with no irony whatsoever. They don't know what night to bring it back on. (And I've seen some of The Black Donnellys--definitely a pass)
5 - Pat
I am a huge West Wing fan (the first 4 seasons) and I have to say that Studio 60 deserved it's fate.
Besides the pilot, Studio 60 was a terrible show. The characters were spoiled-rich Hollywood brats. The story lines were trite. The writing was too self-important.
Good riddance.
6 - El Bicho
I was a huge fan of Sports Night and enjoyed West Wing until Sorkin left, but Studio 60 was boring. I barely made it out of the first episode and wasn't compelled to come back.
It was too inside and I know the business. The characters weren't interesting, the writing was too full of itself, especially considering how obvious the messages were, the comedy sketches weren't funny, and it was all too familiar from having been done better on his previous shows. Plus, Sorkin seems to fail to realize that TV is a visual medium and it gets rather boring watching people talk.
This show would have gotten killed on Thursdays. Where was the audience going to come from? It couldn't keep its audience which left in small chunks each week. When you attend the show's funeral, don't be surprised by the low turnout.
NBC is taking a chance with Friday Night Lights. It's the best show no one is watching from what I hear. And can we please stop with the reality show snobbery. You are certainly entitled to not like them, but they are very successful financially and considering NBC is a business, that matters a great deal.
7 - Sterfish
Diane Kristine hit it right on the nose. I really wanted to like Studio 60 and I tried to like Studio 60 but it disappointed again and again. Even though there is little else on at the same time, I gave up on it.
While I have to give it credit for trying, this show will be known as a spectacular failure by many. Those who think otherwise will likely be rewarded with a nice DVD set and tell the rest of us what a "hidden gem" it was.
8 - Glen Boyd
Heroes also gave it a nice lead-in.
-Glen
9 - Bill Sherman
I watched Studio 60 throughout its run to date, even though the show repeatedly disappointed me. Sorkin has historically said that writing good romantic dialog is a weak spot for him, yet here he gave himself a series where two of the biggest plotlines were romances. Too, like many viewers, I never felt like I was shown what made Sarah Paulson's Harriet such an important part of the setting's sketch comedy show. Dolphin voices? Please.
That noted, when he was on - and he was several times an ep - Sorkin's facility with motormouthed screwball comedy talk kept me coming back for more . . .
10 - Chris Beaumont
I love Studio 60, and hope that it comes back.
I also Agree that FNL uis fantastic, too.
11 - TV and Film Guy
What a lot of other people have said (most notably DK) is correct: 1) Studio 60 has not yet been cancelled (though the odds aren't good) and 2) The Black Donnellys is in no way a "toss off," it has been much and boasts a really good creative team.
I'd also like to add that protecting Studio 60 by not sending it up against Grey's AND CSI was probably one of the best things NBC has done for a show in recent years.
Not only that, but NBC stuck with the lackluster ratings of Ed for almost 4 full seasons. There's no way that said show can be considered as "wrapped up the show with more reckless abandon than a Britney Spears binge weekend in LA."
Am I disappointed that Studio 60 didn't garner the ratings I, personally, felt it deserved? Yes. But NBC did give it a big push and the benefit of the doubt. It was promoed, ballyhooed, and touted, viewers didn't follow. Good shows don't necessarily mean good ratings.
12 - Marie
Sigh. Where is a thinking TV watcher supposed to go? Every time one of the networks launches a well-written show that restores my hope we won't be treated like dummies forever, it gets canceled.
The only ones benefiting from the dumbing down of network programming are network execs and shareholders (if those reality TV shows are really as profitable as they claim).
At least I've got my DVR recordings of The Daily Show and the Colbert Report to watch every night.
13 - Stephen Connolly
I wanted Studio 60 to succeed too but it was doomed by its own self-importance. Aaron Sorkin's a smart guy, granted, but the problem is he thinks everyone else is stupid.
14 - dee
Judging by what's on network television these days, some would say Sorkin's right to think so.
I think the author is right. The show is done. It's all over but the crying.
15 - Chris Beaumont
If only we could get Charlie Jade in the States. I keep hearing how great it is, and how all of the US nets have deemed it "too smart" to air here....
16 - Brad Schader
In today's television environment shows like Seinfeld and Cheers would have died as well. Both those shows were not watched during their first seasons yet changed sitcoms forever. They are too quick to cancel and never let shows get their voice anymore. How can you cancel a show after one or two showings? With the amount of stations out there today it will take most people a few weeks to even know what is on, then a few more weeks to decide on a show. There should atleast be a one season run of any new show. They wonder why network television is dying yet they cancel any show that everyone does not watch.
17 - TV and Film Guy
Everyone is such a big fan of saying Cheers and Seinfeld wouldn't have survived in today's climate, whereas a show like The Office didn't garner good ratings in its first season but NBC brought it back anyway.
18 - Mary K. Williams
I'd hate to see Studio 60 leave. I was disapointed when Sports Night got the axe, I absolutely loved that show.
19 - Brad Schader
TV&FG,
I wish I knew what keeps the Office on the air. I think they sold their souls or something.
20 - Yvonne
My favorite show. Great show. I downloaded "O Holy Night" from the Christmas show and played it repeatedly for many days, with my heart in my throat. Whoever was responsible for bringing those New Orleans musicians on is a genius. Love all the characters. Love that the dialogue shoots at me so fast I miss some of it. Especially love Bradley, Matthew, Amanda, Sarah...can't keep quality in the media anymore. Cannot do it. Thanks to whoever for the precious few moments you gave me of this superb show.
21 - Michael J. West
I like Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. So far I've not missed an episode. But I disagree with just about everything else in this article.
As it happens, I also love 24. And My Name Is Earl, which is absolutely hilarious (that may be why NBC thinks so highly of it). It's not said, per se, but the suggestion is that people who like those shows are mutually exclusive from people who like Studio 60. That's pretentious hogwash.
As for the rest:
What happened to the gutsy network that took a chance on Sorkin's rapid-fire political drama The West Wing and oddball comedies like Seinfeld and even the vapid Night Court?
Two of those, The West Wing and Night Court, were immediate hits. Seinfeld was kept because while it had a tiny audience early on, it was a critical smash. By contrast, Studio 60 is a flop, its audience dwindles by the week, and it's a critical punching bag.
The perpetually fourth-place-and-panicky NBC wussed out of anchoring their "Must See TV" Thursday revival with it....
NBC so obviously feared Studio 60 would get destroyed by CBS's CSI and ABC's Grey's Anatomy...
Which, indeed, it would have been. Putting a new, unproven show on against the Number One show on TV (Grey's) and the flagship of the most profitable franchise on TV (CSI)? That wouldn't have been gutsy. That would have been moronic.
It was smart, insightful, funny, sophisticated
Well, it was smart and sophisticated. Occasionally insightful. Rarely funny.
Truth be told, I thought Studio 60 had a better chance than Sports Night when actress and Golden Globe nominee Sarah Paulson was nominated for her role as Harriet Hayes. The air of legitimacy from a Globes win would have carried the show at least another year, giving the Studio 60 writing crew a chance for all of these great stories and subplots they've started in the show to develop. But she was passed over.
You vastly overrated the power of the Golden Globes to influence television ratings. Past "Best Actress in a Drama" winners include Geena Davis for Commander in Chief, Claire Danes for My So-Called Life, and Regina Taylor for I'll Fly Away.
Seeing former American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson winning a Globe was a far better read on network television's (and, more importantly, Hollywood's) barometric pressure these days.
Another implication here: that Jennifer Hudson won the Globe because of her association with American Idol. You seem (again, seem - correct me if I'm wrong) to categorically dismiss the possibility that she deserved the award - which she did. How does giving someone an award they deserve correlate with the likely cancellation of Studio 60?
This same plague killed NBC's smart, small town romantic dramedy Ed, starring perpetual comedic bridesmaid and Love Monkey star Tom Cavanaugh. First, NBC hastily messed with the story to jump start ratings, then moved the show to another time slot
First, as has already been pointed out, Ed hung on for FOUR SEASONS. If after four seasons the show was still not a ratings success, NBC canceled it because it had no other choice. It frankly lasted longer than any other show, no matter how smart, would last without ratings that earned the stay of execution.
Second, you've spent a great dea of time here complaining that NBC put it in a bad time slot; the logical conclusion one would draw is that you thought they should change the time slot. Then you castigate the same network for changing another show's time slot! Geez, no matter what NBC does, you will hate it!
Oy.
22 - Dynamo of Eternia
QUOTE:
"In today's television environment shows like Seinfeld and Cheers would have died as well. Both those shows were not watched during their first seasons yet changed sitcoms forever. They are too quick to cancel and never let shows get their voice anymore. How can you cancel a show after one or two showings? With the amount of stations out there today it will take most people a few weeks to even know what is on, then a few more weeks to decide on a show. There should atleast be a one season run of any new show. They wonder why network television is dying yet they cancel any show that everyone does not watch."
I do not deny that you have a point, but keep in mind, it's not like Studio 60 only ran for two episodes.
NBC promoted the hell out of it when it was first starting. From what I recall from a few months back, there was probably more commericals running for Studio 60 than there was for almost any other brand new show that they had starting last fall (and even more than some of their ongoing/returning shows).
While 10pm/9pm central on a Monday (or any time on Monday's in general) isn't the greatest time slot of all, it wasn't necessarily a mark of death either. Plus, with the huge popularity of Heroes (which in many ways is a pretty smart show, IMO), there has been a solid, highly rated show airing right before Studio 60, giving it a solid lead in, and people still left or just didn't tune in.
I watched Studio 60 pretty consistently last year. My wife just didn't like the show at all. I liked it, I felt it had potential, but in some way or another it just failed to miss the mark.
Since it started up again a few weeks ago, I have recorded all of the newer episodes, but have yet to watch them. I think there's a part of me that wants to like the show and doesn't want to let it go, but then there's another part that saying it isn't that good, don't bother watching it.
I think in many ways it was smartly written, but that's as far as it went. Somehow that smart writing didn't translate as well on screen. It was a great concept on paper, but that's about it.
I admit that these days shows are often canceled way too prematurely and sometimes networks don't give them a fair shake to gain an audience.
But there are still some occasions (as rare as they may be), where networks do all that they can to make a show work. Fox did that with the critically acclaimed but low TV rated Arrested Development (a show which I love and proudly own on DVD). And I think NBC did that with Studio 60 as well. They promoted the hell out of it. They didn't give it the axe after only a few episodes.
Sure, maybe they could have tried a different time slot, but as a whole the network isn't getting tons of ratings and Heroes is one of it's few big hits right now, so what else could they have put it with that would have given it any better of a lead in?
Would Seinfeld surivive today? Who knows. I mean, actually it had a very small initial season, much like The Office did, and that show is still running.
Cheers? It's hard to say. From what I understand (and I was very young when this happened, so I don't remember from direct experience), the ratings were poor during the actual first season, but the reruns the following summer is when people started to pay attention. And these days shows that would do that badly probably wouldn't get many reruns, so I could see that one not panning out.
TV is just a very different beast these days. In some ways for the better, in some ways for the worse.
But, I think NBC did more than enough to try and make Studio 60 a success, and it just didn't pan out. I can't think of what more they could have done. NBC has enough problems that they don't need to add to them by keeping a show on the air that most people don't watch just to satisfy a small handful who do.
23 - El Bicho
How exactly did Cheers "change sitcoms forever"?
First, I've heard that claimed.
24 - jf
I loved Studio 60. You are right, I hope it is pitched to cable.
25 - dee
Cheers changed sitcoms? Nah. M*A*S*H changed sitcoms, Cheers merely heightened and perpetuated sitcoms at the height of that era's proclivity for them.