bartleby
11-07-2006, 04:29 PM
Cancel the Funeral: 'Studio 60' Isn't Heading Off Into the Sunset Just Yet
Despite the assurances from those in-the-know around the blogosphere that the struggling freshman NBC hour "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" was mere hours away from cancellation with its low ratings and extravagant $2 million-per-episode pricetag, the opposite now in fact appears to be true. While not yet official, key industry sources are confident that NBC will, in the next few days, announce the show's pickup for its back nine episodes (giving it a full season complement of 22) in the wake of two consecutive Mondays of upwardly-trending numbers.
I chatted this morning with its producer and chief writer Aaron Sorkin, who thought that word of the show's fate could come as soon as today but likely not until week's end or -- at latest -- next Tuesday. It's thought that NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly was desperately searching for an excuse to renew "Studio 60" -- any sign of life that would indicate even modest traction -- and unofficial word is the show's performance over the past two Mondays has supplied it.
"I'd be very surprised at this point if the show weren't picked up (for the full season) in the next couple of days," noted one source who requested anonymity.
This is naturally music to Sorkin's ears, which have had to endure a running stream of pessimistic pronouncements and predictions over the show's fate since the day after it premiered. Critics, after all, love nothing more than tearing down that which they have built up with glowing praise, particularly when it comes from the writing/production stable of a brand name like Sorkin.
"Hopefully soon people will start paying attention to the show instead of who's making it," Sorkin told me today. "I really look at it as just the cost of doing business. I knew the reaction to the show was going to be a little bit noisier than I'd prefer. But hopefully, we're finally settling in and the audience is seeing the amazing cast and acknowledges the great, committed group of people who are behind this show."
Sorkin insisted that due to the last two weeks of ratings results "we're starting to feel optimistic around here" and reminds us that "The West Wing" also wasn't a hit in its first season. That didn't come until season two.
"But I'm much more comfortable with this feeling (of struggle)," Sorkin said. "It feels like it did when I did 'Sports Night.' 'West Wing' felt starnge to me. This feels normal."
While Sorkin is now confident that the call confirming "Studio 60's" back nine renewal could come any day or hour, he's also convinced that the show's measurement isn't reflective of its actual viewership.
"The Wall Street Journal wrote that when you add in people who TiVo our show and watch it later, our audience grows 18%," he said. "That's almost a full fifth larger. But those people don't get counted and advertisers don't care, because the assumption is TiVo viewers forward through the commercials. But that's still a very significant number for us. It would add close to two rating points to our total. People watch TV differently than they used to, and to be accurate the ratings need to begin taking that into account."
http://www.pastdeadline.com/2006/11/it_looks_like_s.html
Despite the assurances from those in-the-know around the blogosphere that the struggling freshman NBC hour "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" was mere hours away from cancellation with its low ratings and extravagant $2 million-per-episode pricetag, the opposite now in fact appears to be true. While not yet official, key industry sources are confident that NBC will, in the next few days, announce the show's pickup for its back nine episodes (giving it a full season complement of 22) in the wake of two consecutive Mondays of upwardly-trending numbers.
I chatted this morning with its producer and chief writer Aaron Sorkin, who thought that word of the show's fate could come as soon as today but likely not until week's end or -- at latest -- next Tuesday. It's thought that NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly was desperately searching for an excuse to renew "Studio 60" -- any sign of life that would indicate even modest traction -- and unofficial word is the show's performance over the past two Mondays has supplied it.
"I'd be very surprised at this point if the show weren't picked up (for the full season) in the next couple of days," noted one source who requested anonymity.
This is naturally music to Sorkin's ears, which have had to endure a running stream of pessimistic pronouncements and predictions over the show's fate since the day after it premiered. Critics, after all, love nothing more than tearing down that which they have built up with glowing praise, particularly when it comes from the writing/production stable of a brand name like Sorkin.
"Hopefully soon people will start paying attention to the show instead of who's making it," Sorkin told me today. "I really look at it as just the cost of doing business. I knew the reaction to the show was going to be a little bit noisier than I'd prefer. But hopefully, we're finally settling in and the audience is seeing the amazing cast and acknowledges the great, committed group of people who are behind this show."
Sorkin insisted that due to the last two weeks of ratings results "we're starting to feel optimistic around here" and reminds us that "The West Wing" also wasn't a hit in its first season. That didn't come until season two.
"But I'm much more comfortable with this feeling (of struggle)," Sorkin said. "It feels like it did when I did 'Sports Night.' 'West Wing' felt starnge to me. This feels normal."
While Sorkin is now confident that the call confirming "Studio 60's" back nine renewal could come any day or hour, he's also convinced that the show's measurement isn't reflective of its actual viewership.
"The Wall Street Journal wrote that when you add in people who TiVo our show and watch it later, our audience grows 18%," he said. "That's almost a full fifth larger. But those people don't get counted and advertisers don't care, because the assumption is TiVo viewers forward through the commercials. But that's still a very significant number for us. It would add close to two rating points to our total. People watch TV differently than they used to, and to be accurate the ratings need to begin taking that into account."
http://www.pastdeadline.com/2006/11/it_looks_like_s.html