History Series / Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip

Nowadays largely known as Aaron Sorkin's FollowUpFailure to ''Series/TheWestWing'' and for being DuelingShows with the aforementioned ''30 Rock''. Funnily enough, this was the show that had NBC's hype machine behind it, while ''30'' was seen as ItWillNeverCatchOn. An understandably miffed Tina Fey included various {{Take That}}s against the show that largely ceased when ''30 Rock'' [[GrowingTheBeard grew the beard]] and ''Studio 60'' was cancelled. [[HilariousInHindsight A decade later]], we can say that Fey was right.

* TakeOurWordForIt: We never see the sketches that are supposed to be bad -- "Peripheral Vision Man"; "Turkey won't Die" -- just informed that they were BAD. If they'd also left the "best" sketches off-screen, the idea that the ShowWithinAShow is generally hilarious would have gone down a lot easier.

* HollywoodAtheist: Heartbreakingly averted by Danny Tripp refusing to kneel to a god that would kill children, after getting the "foxhole" speech from Harriet and with his pregnant fiancee at risk of dying.

''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an 2006 NBC ensemble show about life behind the scenes at a fictional failing sketch comedy show. No, not the one with Creator/TinaFey. You're thinking of ''Series/ThirtyRock''. This one was the one created by Creator/AaronSorkin, was an hour-long, had a much more dramatic slant, and ended up lasting only a single season.

* BabiesEverAfter
* BilingualBackfire

* ADayintheLimelight: "The Disaster Episode," for Cal (and possibly Allison Janney too).
* DeadpanSnarker: Many. This is a Sorkin Drama after all.
* DoggedNiceGuy
* EggSitting - the practice baby. [[EpicFail It explodes.]]

* EpisodeTitleCard

* FoxNewsLiberal Pretty much everyone that is not a progressive or a jerkass.
* HandOrObjectUnderwear - Harriet
* HideousHangoverCure
* HollywoodAtheist - Heartbreakingly averted by Danny Tripp refusing to kneel to a god that would kill children, after getting the "foxhole" speech from Harriet and with his pregnant fiancee at risk of dying.

* KnockKnockJoke

--> [+The regulars continue wisecracking about this as the (real) show continues.+]

--> [+...and finally...+]

* ShowWithinAShow
* {{Showrunner}}
* SorkinRelationshipMoment

* TheTeaser

* InformedHumor: A key criticism of the show is how the characters act as if the in-series sketches are comedy brilliance when what is shown would be considered weak for the last half-hour of a poor ''Saturday Night Live'' episode.

* LowerDeckEpisode: "The Disaster Episode," which has Cal and the cast juggling the latest live show without the help of Danny, Matt, Jordan, or the props crew (who are on strike because of an insult Danny threw at them 10 minutes before taping, resulting in the titular "disaster show"). With the exception of Harriet, none of the show's primary characters appear.

* CelebrityParadox: In the episode ''The Cold Open,'' Jack and Jordan quote the series premiere episode of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show' in which Lou Grant (played by Ed Asner) tells Mary Richards, "You've got spunk.... I hate spunk." Which only becomes an issue because Jack's boss, Wilson White, the head of the conglomerate that owns the fictional NBS network, is also played by Ed Asner. As a recurring character. Also, the ShowWithinAShow has actors and comedians as celebrity guests, but not all of them are more famous than the show's own actors. Best way to tell is if you haven't seen them in a previous episode, they're [[AsHimself As Themselves]].

* CelebrityParadox: The ShowWithinAShow has actors and comedians as celebrity guests, but not all of them are more famous than the show's own actors. Best way to tell is if you haven't seen them in a previous episode, they're [[AsHimself As Themselves]].
** Particulary weird was Allison Janney as herself, as she was (and is) most famous for her role on ''Series/TheWestWing'', a show written and directed by Sorkin which co-starred Bradley Whitford that had Timothy Busfield as a frequent supporting cast member and Janney's love interest.

* AuthorTract: Inevitable with a Sorkin show, although not nearly to the levels of ''The Newsroom'' or the heights of ''TheWestWing''. Mostly it's about the processes of Hollywood and the stupidity of ExecutiveMeddling which, depending on your view, may or may not have helped.

** Particulary weird was Allison Janney as herself, as she was (and is) most famous for her role on TheWestWing, a show written and directed by Sorkin which co-starred Bradley Whitford that had Timothy Busfield as a frequent supporting cast member and Janney's love interest.

* SeriousBusiness: They work on an [[Series/SaturdayNightLive SNL]] ripoff, yet Matt and Danny act as if they are writing an important Social Drama about Society's Ills. Sorkin's usual dramatic style, which worked so well on ''{{The West Wing}}'', might seem a bit jarring in this context... [[RealityIsUnrealistic which isn't to say]] that TV writers ''don't'' act like their job is more important than the President's.
** Definitely a case of RealityIsUnrealistic, since former SNL castmembers have suggested that if anything S60 was too light and fluffy to represent the real thing.
** Skits about religious fundamentalism. Isn't that special?

* ShoutOut: Well, possibly: in "Breaking News," Jack states that they have a "[[Series/{{Lost}} 4.8/15]]" ratings/share.
** The opening episode, with its CreatorBreakdown rant, is a ShoutOut to Howard Beale's similar breakdown in the movie ''{{Network}}''.

* StopBeingStereotypical: Simon is disappointed and almost depressed that a heavily praised black stand up comedian he has gone to see performs nothing but cliched racial humor and WhiteDudeBlackDude jokes(ironic given that those types of jokes are a big part of D.L. Hughley's stand-up comedy in real life). However, the comedian who goes on ''next'', though not very funny in that particular performance, has legitimately witty things to say and is recruited onto the the ''Studio 60'' writing staff to help nurture his talent and bring a new perspective to the show.

** The entire concept of the pilot is a massive Take That towards ABC (which cancelled ''SportsNight'') and NBC (which ran ''TheWestWing'', from which Sorkin ... "quit"). Matt Albie, the Sorkin self-insert, is an incredibly talented writer. People can't get over how talented he is. He's so talented and classy that they've just got to repeat it over and over again. Sadly, his intelligence and outspokenness are far superior to that of the network, which fires him, after which point his show steadily declines until they are forced to come grovelling back to him. Later, Jordan fights to pick up a pilot for a show written about the UN with striking similarities to ''The West Wing'', gushing over the excellent scripting.

* OverlyLongGag: Danny parodies the "Banker" {{Padding}} segments of ''DealOrNoDeal'' in a sketch with Howie Mandell.

* CastingGag: Openly bisexual Creator/SarahPaulson as the conservative Christian Harriet Hayes, whose ambiguous feelings about gay marriage factor significantly into the plot of "Nevada Day."
** Doubly so during a conversation between her and Jordan about fixing the bad press she got from commenting on it.
--> '''Jordan''': Here's what I need you to do to fix it--
--> '''Harriet''' (Sarcastically): By going on the cover of Newsweek and saying I’m gay?
--> '''Jordan''': Would you be willing to do that? I'm kidding!
** There may be a historical allusion here also. The character of Harriet Hayes might have been named after Harry Hay, a pioneer in the gay rights movement.

* UnderminedByReality: One of the main contentions of Jordan's character is that high-budget, high-quality programming is truly what America wants, and the network will be successful if they avoid cheesy trashy reality programming. It turns out it isn't.

And politics. Lots and lots of politics. [[SarcasmMode For some reason.]]

* CommediaDellArte: Rarely seen but often mentioned, a regular sketch on the ShowWithTheShow, starring Jeanie (although it's not clear which of the roles she plays).

Nowadays largely known as Aaron Sorkin's FollowUpFailure to ''Series/TheWestWing'' and for being DuelingShows with the aforementioned ''30 Rock''. Funnily enough, this was the show that had NBC's hype machine behind it, while ''30'' was seen as ItWillNeverCatchOn. An understandably miffed Tina Fey included various {{Take That}}s against the show that largely ceased when ''30 Rock'' [[GrowingTheBeard grew the beard]] and ''Studio 60'' was cancelled. [[HilariousInHindsight Living in 2015]], we can say that Fey was right.

'''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip''' is an 2006 NBC ensemble show about life behind the scenes at a fictional failing sketch comedy show. No, not the one with Creator/TinaFey. You're thinking of ''Series/ThirtyRock''. This one was the one created by Creator/AaronSorkin, was an hour-long, had a much more dramatic slant, and ended up lasting only a single season.

* AuthorTract: Inevitable with a Sorkin show, although not nearly to the levels of ''The Newsroom'' or the heights of ''TheWestWing''. Mostly it's about the processes of Hollywood and the stupidity of ExecutiveMeddling, which makes it less obnoxious.

* SeriousBusiness: They work on an {{SNL}} ripoff, yet Matt and Danny act as if they are writing an important Social Drama about Society's Ills. Sorkin's usual dramatic style, which worked so well on ''{{The West Wing}}'', might seem a bit jarring in this context... [[RealityIsUnrealistic which isn't to say]] that TV writers ''don't'' act like their job is more important than the President's.

** A skit about religious fundamentalism. Isn't that special?

** A skit about Krazy Kristians. Isn't that special?

* ShoutOut: Well, possibly: in "Breaking News," Jack states that they have a "[[{{Lost}} 4.8/15]]" ratings/share.