Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a new comedy-drama by Aaron Sorkin, coming to NBC this fall: it’s a behind-the-scenes look at a Saturday Night Live kind of show, set in L.A. I heard part of an ad for this last night during West Wing (Bradley Whitford’s voice caught my ear), and looked it up today: this might be good!
The show’s IMDB page doesn’t list Whitford (though his page does), but it does list D.L. Hughley, Matthew Perry, and Steven Weber. Wikipedia lists Timothy Busfield, Nate Corddry, Judd Hirsch, Evan Handler, and Amanda Peet as some of the other cast members. It was originally titled Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip, and Ain’t It Cool News posted this FAQ back in November.
Anyone else heard about this show? I didn’t see any of last night’s ad for it … did it look good?
Oh yeah, I’ve hear of it. It’s one of the new show I plan on checking out next season, TV junkie that I am.
Fortunately this week is the Upfronts, where the networks present their line-up for next year. NBC goes today and they’ve already announced the line-up:
I have a feeling this will either be really good or really bad – with that cast, and with Sorkin at the helm, I think it has to be one extreme or another! Still, I agree that I don’t want to get my hopes too high…
Well, there are a few things already we can expect:
There will be more dialogue in a half hour of this show than in most 1 hour dramas;
lots of pedeconferencing (the walk and talk);
And after a couple of seasons (if it lasts that long), Sorkin will either fall behind in the scripts or lose interest with this project and leave this one in the lurch.
3 is probably less likely, if they can keep him off drugs this time. That was the real problem with TWW: he got behind a bit on his scripts for season 4 because of his drug problems, and so NBC decided to make a power play.
I got a chance to see the pilot and it looks… all right. I’m not a hug Sorkin fan, so I’m not sure my comments will be that valid. Peet is too young and smirky for the role, and there are way too many selfless, noble set to music moments in the first ten minutes.
Not sure if anyone from SNL is involved, but they are just scaaathing about the show. Audiences (and critics) should have fun figuring out who each character is modelled after.
My first question – what female SNL member prayed before each show? A big deal is made about that in the pilot, and it’s a little odd so I can only imagine that it’s based on a real person.
(It is a COMPLETELY different show, but I think I’m more likely to end up watching Tina Fey’s 30 Rock this fall)
The producers of 30 Rock (comedy) and Studio 60 (drama) are very unhappy about these two shows appearing simultaneosuly, with basically the same plot. I’m planning to give both of them a try, though I almost never watch 60-minute dramas.
It could turn out to be an interesting experiment a la Melinda and Melinda, one dramatic perspective, one comedic. I can only see trouble coming when it comes to guest stars (on both shows and on SNL) and the inevitable storyline about a teen starlet guest host who shows up coked out of her mind (probably Amy Poehler on 30 Rock, Christina Ricci on Studio 60). That’ll be weird if they do it the same week.
I can’t believe I didn’t post on this thread the first time it popped up. Anyways, I’m looking forward to this show more than anything else this fall (well, except maybe for the continuations of Boston Legal and Battlestar). I’m a huge Sorkin fan, the cast looks pretty stacked… yeah, it’ll be nice to have one more thing on TV that I’ll care about catching Also thrilled that it’s going to be on Monday, since it’s that much more likely that it’ll stick around long enough to, well, stick.
Mmmmmm!
30 Rock is going to suck, I have a feeling. For all the talk about how Studio 60 is too “inside baseball,” I really think 30 Rock will be the show that’s too dependent on SNL’s history/quirks/practices. Also, I have my doubts about whether or not Tina Fey can write and star in a 30-minute sitcom.
Maybe we can get her to put a show about dual masterbation on the air?
It’s got to mean something that Thomas Schlamme is working again with Sorkin? I mean, more than just “This will probably bring in some serious change for us for a season or two”.
I’m glad they moved it off of Sunday night too. It shows that NBC is serious about getting this seen by the public.