"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (2006) TV series 2006-2007

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Creator:

Aaron Sorkin

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A behind-the-scenes look at a fictional sketch-comedy TV show.

Plot Keywords:

Television Flop | Television | Television Studio | Homosexual Subtext | Actor Shares First Name With Character

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Matthew Perry	...	Matt Albie (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
Amanda Peet	...	Jordan McDeere (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
Bradley Whitford	...	Danny Tripp (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
Steven Weber	...	Jack Rudolph (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
D.L. Hughley	...	Simon Stiles (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
Sarah Paulson	...	Harriet Hayes (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
Nathan Corddry	...	Tom Jeter (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
Timothy Busfield	...	Cal Shanley (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
Nate Torrence	...	Dylan Killington (19 episodes, 2006-2007)
Lucy Davis	...	Lucy Kenwright / ... (16 episodes, 2006-2007)
Ayda Field	...	Jeannie Whatley / ... (15 episodes, 2006-2007)
Camille Chen	...	Samantha Li (15 episodes, 2006-2007)
Simon Helberg	...	Alex Dwyer (14 episodes, 2006-2007)
Merritt Wever	...	Suzanne (12 episodes, 2006-2007)
Mark McKinney	...	Andy Mackinaw (10 episodes, 2006-2007)
Columbus Short	...	Darius Hawthorne (10 episodes, 2006-2007)
Joey Thurston III	...	Cue card tech (9 episodes, 2006-2007)

Also Known As:

Studio 60 (USA) (informal alternative title)
Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min (including commercials) | USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Dijon Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Television

Trivia:

The law firm of Gage Whitney Pace, which employed Kari Matchett's character, Mary Tate, was also the law firm that Rob Lowe's character on "The West Wing" (1999), Sam Seaborn, worked at before joining the Bartlet administration.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The street sign partly visible in the initial establishing shot of the theatre (seen at the start of "Pilot", et al) reads "6100 Sunset". This is nearly three miles east of the actual Sunset Strip, roughly 8200 to 9200 Sunset Boulevard.

Quotes:

Matt Albie: Look, I hate Los Angeles just like everybody else, but I have to work here because in any other part of the country I'm unemployable.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Dane Cook/The Killers (#32.1)" (2006)

Strong, dialogue driven show.

I've enjoyed Sorkin ever since I saw A Few Good Men. Sports Night gets regular repeats in my DVD player, and while I never quite got in to West Wing because of scheduling problems on my end, what I did see always impressed me. So I was waiting very eagerly for Studio 60 to premiere. It didn't disappoint.

Now, this show is probably not for everyone. Sorkin doesn't lob softballs at us. He wants us to think, he's not going to spell every little thing out for the audience. Some see him as being preachy, but I'm afraid they not seeing for the forest for the trees here. Some also accuse him of anti-whatever propaganda, but fail to acknowledge or account for the existence of counter balance in the show itself (IE anti-Christian sentiments in S60, although one of his main characters is a level headed and likable Christian woman).

The cast is sublime. Matthew Perry pretty much does what he does, but now he can be the edgier actor he wanted to be. Bradley Whitford has always been underrated and he doesn't fail to impress me here. All of the other members of the supporting cast (including Timothy Busfield, who was looking surprisingly John Ritter-esquire in profile) are worthy. I've seen tons of criticism for Amanda Peet as the newly named president of the network, but I honestly can say I'm buying it. She does have a tendency to make the same face for everything, but otherwise, she's playing the part as it's written. Sometimes it's not the actor, it is the character (see Holmes, Katie and Begins, Batman), and I think this is one of those times. She's playing a relatively young powerful female exec like I'd expect her to. Kinda wink wink like, with a poker face.

Overall, I think this show, only 2 episodes in, is already one of the best shows on the network channels today. Hopefully NBC will give it the due course it deserves, even while it openly mocks the network.