NBC Spins Numbers & Salvages "Studio 60"
NBC has issued a press release announcing the pick-up of their struggling Monday night drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" for the remainder of the season adding 9 episodes to the original order of 13. The network however indulged in some serious spinning (read: manipulating) the ratings figures in order to give proper reasoning for their decision.The fact of the matter is that the Aaron Sorkin drama set in the world of television premiered to over 13 million viewers back in September and then, over the course of five weeks, it managed to lose almost half of that audience shrinking each week by more than one million.
In the press release, the network claims the drama averages 9,8 million viewers season thus far and cites strong critical praise. What they did not say is that the most recent two episodes averaged a little over 7,7 million viewers who for now seem to be sticking to the show. Given the fact that the show squanders almost 60% of their (albeit non-compatible) lead-in "Heroes" audience, it remains in the loser circle.
The drama is however too expensive and too important to the network to give up on at this early stage. For this reason, NBC will try to nurture "Studio 60" as long as possible hoping it might slowly grow into a minor hit.
And the fact that it is popular among the more affluent $60,000+ audience will also not hurt. Do expect more stunt casting, though. NBC's suitcase man, Howie Mandel is the first in line to give the show a little sweeps boost.
posted by Justin Van De Kamp at
11:36 AM
2 Comments:
I think the show is a very-well written sophisticated drama and it certainly deserved to get picked up. It stands out in the crowd of superficial reality shows and boring procedurals.
Aaron Sorkin's problem is that he spends too much time bashing conservatives and being oh-so-important and not enough time exploring characters. And "Studio 60" is such a snoozefest. Matthew Perry deserves better.
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