Can ‘Studio 60′ overcome insider curse?

June 4th, 2006 by Hennessy

NBC moved Sorkin’s new comedy/drama from its Thursday lineup to Monday keeping it away from battling “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI” for viewers.

Is it too inside or too smart for viewers? The complaint the similarly themed ‘Sports Night’ had was it was too fast and there wasn’t a laugh track. Despite much critical love, it never really found an audience.

Being the best and being first at least may give it an advantage. Tina Fey’s identical new show has been benched until mid fall. But, do people want to look behind the curtains of sketch comedy shows?

From Variety:

“Studio 60” engages viewers intellectually, which already places the show in rarefied territory. And while that sounds like a long shot, NBC will doom the show from the get-go if it shies away from its strengths, which include challenging the audience to contemplate their media consumption and the state of TV in general. After that, it can be about characters and casting—at which point Sorkin’s latest becomes a big workplace ensemble soap, albeit one peppered with TV terminology instead of scientific or legal jargon.”