Studio 60 Stays in the Picture

Fri., Nov. 10, 2006 9:56 AM PST by Gina Serpe

Matthew Perry may have a show in low standing, but he also has friends in high places. And that, at least through the end of the season, has guaranteed him a steady gig.

NBC has quite graciously given the ratings-challenged Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip a back-nine order, guaranteeing it a full 22-episode season.

E! Online's Kristin Veitch first broke the pickup news Wednesday night with Warner Bros. later confirming that the airwaves will be Aaron Sorkin-approved at least through May.

The fate of the sketch-comedy drama has been up in the air in recent weeks, partly due to its dwindling ratings and to the sudden—though brief—removal of the series from its Monday night time slot to test out the prowess of fellow freshman drama Friday Night Lights.

Still, while the Bradley Whitford-starrer is, for the time being, back in its Mondays-at-10 p.m. slot, a few tweaks have been made as part of the season pickup.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the remaining nine episodes will be made at a lower license fee, alleviating some of the financial burden for NBC. The first 13 episodes cost the network close to $3 million to license, slightly less than the cost of producing an episode of the show. The fee to Warner Bros. for the remaining nine episodes will be slightly less pricey for the network.

Additionally, the episode guarantee for each member of the cast has been reduced by one each.

The pickup announcement is something of a surprise for the show which, to its detriment, was billed in the salad days of the fall season as NBC's scripted savior—unqualified hype it has routinely failed to live up to and a burden NBC President Kevin Reilly is quick to acknowledge.

"Studio 60 is a damn good show that deserves attention," he said when confirming the pickup. "The anticipation and expectations surrounding the show were burning too bright...there were stratospheric expectations."

Nowadays, it's a boon if the show makes it into Nielsen's top 10.

Since debuting in September to incredible buzz, the series has averaged just 9.8 million viewers and falling. This past week a new episode of the show pulled in just 7.7 million sets of eyes.

While the show is now guaranteed to remain on air through the end of the season, exactly when and where is slightly less concrete.

Next week, NBC will announce a revised midseason schedule, where Studio 60 will more than likely be granted a time slot switch.