Lights out for drama Studio 60?
By the time you read this it probably will be official. Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip will be cancelled by NBC.
Getting pulled this Monday night to test low-rated rookie Friday Night Lights in the time slot was the kiss of death. The season’s most hyped (and expensive) drama crashed and burned because of high expectations and low ratings, always a killer combo.
Studio 60 started out last month with some 14 million U.S. viewers but has slid to fewer than 8 million.
What went wrong? A brilliant pilot was followed by five uneven episodes. While there were flashes of style and wit, the sketch-show-within-a-show at the core of this series never for a second seemed funny. Aside from Matthew Perry, who was brilliant, not all the cast members clicked (although Steven Weber as a pissy network boss worked for me). And while critics raved about Aaron Sorkin’s clever dialogue, the inner workings of a TV show was probably just not that interesting to the average viewer,
For those of you who loved it, like I did, wait for the DVD.
The news comes as another blow to CTV which has gone 0-for-this-fall. Of their four rookie dramas, one is cancelled (Smith), one is probably cancelled (Studio 60) and the other two are faltering (Justice, The Nine). Of their five new comedies, two are cancelled (Happy Hour, Twenty Good Years), one is postponed (Knights Of Prosperity) and two are bombing (30 Rock, The Class). Even worse, one of their mid-season shows, Waterfront, has been cancelled even before it premieres.
Meanwhile, three of the highest-rated new shows south of the border — Heroes, Shark and Brothers & Sisters — are all on Global. CHUM also has two of the U.S. Top 5: Jericho and Ugly Betty. All five have won full-season orders.
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