NBC Cans Studio 60 for Fall Line-Up

Another spring, another round of shows renewed, brand new titles announced, and a few that are now gone forever. This year on NBC, it's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip that has been stripped from the lineup.

I'd like to take this moment to venture a query: Why God...Why?

After all, if someone came to you and said - here's a show, it's about the backstage happenings of a Saturday Night Live-esque sketch show, a topic that has been part of American popular culture for 25 years now, and it's written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing), with a cast packed like a fantasy football team, all stellar seasoned performers: Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford, D.L. Hughley, Sarah Paulson, Steven Weber, Mark McKinney, and even Ed Asner, doesn't this sound like it just screams Thursday night Must-See TV?

For those of you who have not seen it, (first off, shame on you for not giving a show with these credentials a chance) it is a brilliant show. The writing is superb and the comedic timing of all of these actors (which is crucial for an Aaron Sorkin show) is perfection. As an ensemble, this team has wonderful chemistry. This cast even seemed to find their groove right off, first season. Think back to the first season of X-Files or Friends. The characters are not at all what they come to be in the groove of their 2nd, 3rd and sequential seasons, and yet here in its first season, Studio 60 managed for each character to come into their own. We've had back story on most of them, and those whom we have not yet delved into- you know that it's there. Each of these actors has approached their characters with a history in mind, a life before the pilot episode, and it shows. And it makes the entire show rich and detailed.

It is the West Wing of backstage TV. And that is fabulous.

Understandably, ratings drop, and that's the bottom line of prime time. But is it possible that if NBC had spent as much time promoting this show as they have Deal or No Deal and 30 Rock (which the later, I am a fan of) perhaps Studio 60 would still be afloat?