Sorkin shifts ‘Studio 60’ toward relationships
PASADENA, Calif. ó Aaron Sorkin wants a little more love for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
When the NBC show returns Monday (10 ET/PT) for a seven-week run, Sorkin says you’ll see less sketch comedy and more romantic comedy. Speaking on the show’s super-sized set to TV reporters at the industry’s semiannual press tour, Sorkin says the new episodes will focus on a couple of couples: Danny and Jordan (Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet) will come together; and Matt and Harriet (Matthew Perry and Sarah Paulson) will fall apart ó and them come back together.
Sorkin hopes the relationship shifts will bring more viewers to the show. But he also thinks the show is doing fine overall, and that the focus on ratings disappointment (Studio 60 averages fewer than 9 million viewers) can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It could just be that 60 was never meant to be an Idol-sized hit.
“Not everything is for everybody. When I compare the size of the Studio 60 audience to the Sports Night audience (an earlier Sorkin behind-the-TV-scenes series), I’m delighted.”
NBC may not be as delighted: The show may not air 22 episodes this season, and it may not stay on Mondays. (The Black Donnellys will take over the slot in March). Still, network entertainment president Kevin Reilly says, “We’re leaving it alone. Let’s see what happens. The show is too good not to give it a full season.”
Good the show may be, but Sorkin also knows it attracts more than its share of viewer complaints. Some he filters out (most anything on the Internet); some he considers. But in the end, it’s his show. “You got to be careful not to let too many voices into your head, or you’re not going to get anywhere. Ö I tried to stay focused and keep writing the show I intended to write.”
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