A Plea for Studio 60

As some of you may know, NBC recently decided to cancel "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." The show stars Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, and Amanda Peet as the head writer, director, and network president, respectively, behind an SNL-like sketch comedy show.

Though I was hesitant to discuss the cancellation of "Studio 60" on this movie blog, it turns out that the show's demise may hold some lessons for Hollywood producers (see below). Moreover, "Studio 60" (created by Aaron Sorkin, who also created "West Wing") is one of those rare high-concept, high-production-value shows that rivals the artistry of motion pictures. So while this post may seem out-of-place, I do believe its tangentially-related to movies.

Anyway, this morning I read an article urging "Studio 60" fans to rally behind the canceled show. Though I agreed with the article's general premise -- that NBC shouldn't have been so hasty to kill such a well-written program -- I took issue with several points the author made. Here is a link to the original article, followed by the response I sent to the author:

Save Studio 60: Fans Need to Take Action by Jack Myers

http://blogs.mediavillage.com/jack/archives/2007/06/save_studio_60.html#more

My response:

As a proud viewer of Sports Night, The West Wing, and Studio 60, I appreciate your defense of Aaron Sorkin's unique brand of TV "high art." Your efforts to spark grassroots movement in support of Studio 60 are praiseworthy. However, I must take issue with several mischaracterizations I found in your article.

First, you claim that "even though Studio 60 was outperforming several other series that NBC retained for another season, Studio 60 represented an enigma to the network programmers." You are certainly correct that, ratings-wise, Studio 60 outperformed numerous programs on NBC's schedule this season. (Not hard to do when you're on a network ranked behind the other three major broadcast nets.) However, Studio 60 is also one of the most expensive programs on NBC's roster. High salaries for its marquee creator-writer (Sorkin) and big-name stars (Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, and Steven Weber, to name a few) mean Studio 60 costs NBC a pretty penny to produce ($2-3 million per episode). Thus, Studio 60's cost-per-viewer average is higher than almost every other show in NBC's prime-time lineup. Think of an analogous situation facing a Hollywood producer: Which is a better investment, a $200 million blockbuster that grosses $250 million at the box office, or a $5 million indie film that grosses $60 million? Studio 60 failed because it was a nightmare to the network accountants, not "an enigma to the network programmers." Studio 60 didn't fail because its viewers "were less likely to stay tuned for the show following Studio 60." After all, the show was on from 10:00-11:00, the final hour of prime time! It's lead-out is local news! In fact, I'm sure NBC was pleased that Studio 60's viewers tended to be older and more affluent, i.e., more attractive to advertisers hoping they'll buy the products advertised during the commercial breaks. Personally, I believe NBC underestimated Studio 60's audience and, in turn, its long-term potential -- it is one of the most-recorded shows, one of the best-selling on iTunes, and one of the most watched among middle- to upper-class viewers targeted by advertisers.

Second, you identify a lack of "compelling storytelling" as the show's biggest flaw, yet Sorkin's storytelling style in Studio 60 closely resembles that of his top-rated, Emmy Award-winning series The West Wing. In my humble opinion, Studio 60 suffered two much more glaring weaknesses not present in The West Wing: (a) a lack of political "gravity" and (b) unsuccessful genre-crossing. The first problem stems from show's subject: a sketch-comedy TV program. Sorkin took an admirable stab at infusing Studio 60 with timely political debates (about censorship, religion, etc.), but in many episodes it was hard to ignore the sense that "it's JUST a sketch-comedy show, so who really cares?" Whereas the decisions made in West Wing's Oval Office affected (fictional) millions, the decisions made in the Studio 60 control room affected the cast, crew, and (indirectly) its viewing audience. (In Sorkin's defense, the kidnapping of Tom Jeter's brother by Afghani insurgents proved to be a compelling late-season, life-or-death story arc.) This leads us to a second failing: Studio 60 couldn't figure out what type of show it wanted to be for much of the season. Is it a comedy? A romantic comedy? A political drama? Rather than a genre hybrid, Studio 60 often felt like a hodgepodge of scenes (and themes). The "on again, off again" relationship between Matt and Harriet was annoying; the Matt-Harriet-Luke love triangle felt forced. Perhaps Sorkin should have stayed true to the West Wing model of "chemistry sans consummation." Sorkin received a lot of press when he said that West Wing fan favorites Josh and Donna wouldn't get together until Sorkin had sorted out his own love life, and what resulted was one of the most complex and interesting relationships in TV history. This also left Sorkin with more time to explore the meat-and-potatoes political/moral issues at the heart of the show. In contrast, Studio 60 frequently got bogged down in romantic melodrama.

Finally, your article mischaracterizes Studio 60's core audience. If they're "intelligent," then why would they be unlikely to respond to your appeal for support? In fact, I think you have it quite backward when you argue that "intelligent" TV viewers won't "take part in political action to support a television series." Intelligent viewers have successfully organized movements to save Family Guy from Fox's trash heap; to resurrect Firefly in the form of the feature-length movie, Serenity; and, as you mentioned, to earn another batch of Jericho episodes from CBS. Whether upset fans will rally together behind Studio 60 remains to be seen, but your half-hearted attempt at reverse psychology in your final paragraph certainly won't be the spark. My suggestion: Fans should encourage NBC to (1) slim Studio 60's budget by limiting the number of episodes produced and cutting some high-priced actors (D.L. Hughley, for starters); (2) replace them with actual up-and-coming sketch comedians; (3) move the show to NBC's cable sister, USA (the #1 cable network), where it could be partnered up with another brilliantly-written NBC castoff, Law & Order: Criminal Intent.