Any of you who were slavishly devoted to 'Sports Night' -- the late, great dramedy that exposed the comic timing and acting chops of stars like Felicity Huffman and Peter Krause early in their careers -- good news! Series creator Aaron Sorkin (who also produced a little somethin-somethin called 'The West Wing') tells TV Guide he's coming back to TV with a series that promises to tread the same juicy, fast-paced behind-the-scenes turf as 'Sports Night.'The catch? That's also the same turf he covered on another series, 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,' which, while also late, is not particularly lamented by anybody.
'It's going to be what turns out to be the third in the trilogy of TV shows that take place behind the scenes of a TV show, but this will be a different kind of TV show,' Sorkin told the site. "That's all I can let out of the bag right now."
Sorkin was, however, willing to dish on a few favorite actors he'd love to work with again. "If you're a writer, when you're find an actor like Josh Malina, Felicity Huffman, Brad Whitford, Matt Perry, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, all these great actors that I've worked with, you just want to stick them in your pocket and work with them forever, so I hope so." He also plans to work with longtime collaborator Tommy Schlamme "for sure."
So, does that mean it's time for all the viewers who still mourn the passing of 'Sports Night' and 'West Wing' into basic cable syndication to bust out the champagne and celebrate? Maybe, maybe not. Sorkin was the mastermind who started the trend of super fast-paced, whip-smart, Dorothy Parker-esque dialogue on TV ('Gilmore Girls' came two seasons too late for that honor), but will Sorkin's style still have the impact it did in the late '90s? With shows like 'Glee' and 'Modern Family' putting surprisingly effective new twists on familiar genres, Sorkin may have to bring more to the table than snappy dialogue and complex characters.
And while we're never ones to shun smart TV (and Sorkin has never delivered anything less), we're not sure his style is the perfect fit for today's audiences, either. In the midst of a global recession and raging unemployment, feel-good shows like 'Glee' are good, escapist fun. Sorkin, whether we like it or not, addresses the bigger issues, even when the topic is "just" a TV show.
Plus, while we'd like to, we can't overlook the massive misstep that was 'Studio 60.' Where 'Sports Night' was light on its feet, 'Studio' was leaden, weighed down with self-importance and dialogue that didn't sing but instead bored us to tears. If the final installment in his trilogy is a miss, it's likely that Sorkin will head back to his successful feature film career (he's working with director David Fincher and Justin Timberlake on 'The Social Network' right now) and call it a day.
The good news is that, if nothing else, Sorkin just may be able to get some of his star players back in play with the kind of sharp, smart material that shows them off best. We haven't seen enough of stars like Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford and Josh Malina (one episode of 'Psych' is not enough, Josh!), and even stars we do see plenty of, like Felicity Huffman, are usually far better than their material (c'mon, 'Desperate Housewives' is soapy fun but it ain't exactly Shakespeare). We'd love to see Janel Maloney flex her acting muscle in something other than 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent,' hear Allison Janney do something more challenging than those Kaiser Pemanente radio commercials, and we're still thinking Sorkin might be the one to give Matthew Perry a role that will finally banish Chandler from the front of our minds.
If nothing else, we're tuning in and setting our TiVos. Bring it on, Aaron, we've been waiting for you.
Add your comments