That didn’t take as long as I expected: “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” is being yanked off the air after tonight’s episode; pundits speculate that it won’t return.
I gave this show a chance — like most people, on the strength of Aaron Sorkin’s other shows. Perhaps in recognition of that fact, they eased us into Studio 60 with the same sort of Sorkin trademarks in direction: walk and talks, rapid-fire dialogue, and even the typeface used for credits.
But it didn’t work. Tim Goodman of the SF Chronicle gives us a few reasons why:
— The premise wasn’t so much flawed as doomed. It turns out that most Americans didn’t care at all about the career woes and personal crises of pampered Hollywood writers. An inside baseball show about the TV industry, apparently, does not have the same gravitas as the presidential politics of “The West Wing,” where Sorkin’s rapid-fire dialogue, smart speeches and finely tuned dramatic timbre worked especially well.
— It was a drama about a comedy show but the skits weren’t funny. In fact, much of the show was decidedly unfunny.
— The cast was a bad fit. Aside from Matthew Perry (who was a wonderful surprise) and Timothy Busfield (who was underused), not much else worked. Sarah Paulson and D.L. Hughley were not funny in this series playing comics. Nate Corddry is funny in real life and was funny on the show, but his part, like Busfield’s, was too small. Had Amanda Peet, as the fictional network president, flipped roles with Paulson, it would have been a major improvement. Bradley Whitford is a wonderful actor but he at first seemed to be rejiggering his “West Wing” role, then his character became periodically unlikable or annoying. Either way, it’s not the mix you want.
Steven Weber went from bellicose chairman of the network (which didn’t work) to beleaguered chairman of the network (which did, and he became funny while everyone around him went dour by apparent accident.)
…
— When America didn’t care for an inside baseball look at how hard it is to live and work successfully in Hollywood, Sorkin refashioned the series as a romantic comedy. See: “The cast was a bad fit.” The Perry-Paulson relationship/ongoing argument was a deadly dull nonstarter. The Whitford-Peet relationship of convenience was wholly unbelievable. Peet’s real life pregnancy didn’t help Sorkin, clearly, but all the interoffice dating lacked spark and drama.
My reasoning: the character problems posited above by Goodman, combined with a real lack of “behind the scenes” detail. I think the audience would have enjoyed a bit more insight into the production of a late-night sketch show but there was actually little of that in Studio 60. Instead, we’re asked to care about the careers of obviously over-paid and over-hyped sketch comedians, none of whom seem to be at all funny.
The show was also missing intelligence. One of the most compelling things about The West Wing’s characters was that they were all highly intelligent, articulate, and dedicated. Studio 60 needs a CJ Craig. Desperately.
