Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Reading Live From New York gave me impetus to rewatch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.  The show went off the air in 2007 following its first and last season.  I watched it as it aired and probably saw the DVDs via Netflix.  Now the episodes are available on Amazon Prime streaming.

Studio 60 suffered many of the same criticisms lobbed at Newsroom, as well as from unattainable expectations following West Wing's commercial and critical success*.  Critics panned the show for the same qualities they supposedly enjoyed in West Wing.  And when ratings didn't measure up to expectations (Studio 60 placed #63 in ratings that season) critics took more joy in tearing the show down for the lower than expected ratings rather than put any effort into writing about the show's content. Nevermind that it went head to head with CSI: Miami, the #11 show for the season, acted as a non sequitur to its lead, Heroes.  And despite the audience's moderate size, it was particularly affluent (think Mad Men's audience of today). 

*While Sorkin left West Wing in 2004, only a summer separated the series finale of West Wing and series premiere of Studio 60.

Premiering at a time of limbo for quality television, Studio 60 was either too early or too late for its aim.  Reality programming was pushing quality dramas out of broadcast television.  Cable had yet to pilot the high quality shows that define the current era.  The Sopranos and The Shield were on the air but we certainly didn't dedicate the time and energy to dissecting those shows the way we do today.  Had Studio 60 aired in the 90s it may have found similar support as West Wing and had it come a few years later, it may have benefited from a streamlined format with more leeway in what could be included as content. 

Containting three areas of focus for the season, Studio 60 could have done thirteen high quality episodes on two of them.*  The show opened with an assault on reality programming, name checking Network in the series' epic pilot **.  It brought to mind the "raising the level of debate" conversation found so often on West Wing, whether it was on the issues or electing the elite Bartlet or his man of the people opponent.  

* The third (i.e. weakest) area of focus would be a romantic comedy angle which seemingly came as a result from network notes

** I wonder if the pilot would have worked as a movie as well.  It is without a doubt the best pilot of Sorkin's four shows. 

The other quality storyline involved the acceptability of humor and political criticism in a post-September 11th America. Written and produced at a time when George W. Bush had just been elected to a second term on the heels of wrapping himself in the flag and calling anyone who dared lend an opinion unpatriotic, Studio 60 explored what it meant to voice unpopular opinions at tenuous times for the country, including addressing the war and the media's failure to cover and criticize it.  It also covered themes a few years ahead of the political climate like gay marriage, how the FCC chooses to spend its day, and giving everyone an unpleasant and necessary reminder that we should probably still be helping out post Katrina New Orleans. 

Studio 60 was a victim of timing and unrealistic expectations.  In hindsight, the timing makes the show more interesting since I now view it as a good depiction of the political and television climate of 2006.  And if nothing else, it's worth a watch for that.