Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Last night, we finished watching the boxed set of this show, and I have to say that my initial positive impression only grew more positive over time. I loved it. All of us watching it loved it. The acting was uniformly strong, the writing as strong as I've come to expect from Aaron Sorkin, and the characters and setting quite engaging.

Yet it died, canceled after one season.

Clearly, the public at large didn't agree with our assessment. I have read a lot of criticism of the show--too self-referential, too much about Hollywood and TV for most people to care, talking down to the common man--and I obviously don't agree with any of them. At the same time, I can see hints of all those traits in the show--but they didn't bother me at all.

I wish it had been on a cable network, where I like to think it would have had the chance to grow its audience naturally over time.

If you haven't seen it, as I said after having watched only a couple of episodes, I recommend it.