Matthew has said they knew by episode 5 it was over “no one was watching”…but he kept working 16hr days to finish the 22 episodes. So they would have tied things up knowing “that’s all folks”☹️. He talks about it a bit in a fun & long interview with kevin pollock, check it out (i love long interviews with ppl i enjoy) and more so in his book. What a bummer cause it was quality. Way too many of the best shows end before they find its audience. So tired of it😮
I love this show. I have it on dvd. I was very upset when it was cancelled. I still remember watching the premiere of the show the night it originally aired.
Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip was such an amazing show. Great writing, casting, acting, good characters, great storylines, very few shows are as good. Miss this show! Wish it had gone on for more than one season.
Not sure I understand the premise of your question. It goes without saying storylines would have been reworked after the cancellation decision was made. How much was already in the can and how much was left to write and produce is the unknown. Most shows are plotted well in advance - seasons, if not the entire series, have a generally understood arc or series of arcs and the writers room and producers work towards that goal. This is important for things the move smoothly. Not just for story but for any number of other concerns central to production. For example if a recurring guest star needs to be available in six episodes schedules will need to be arranged. If an episode requires travel to location this must be coordinated well in advance. The network way force shows to include product placements or tie ins to other corporate initiatives (think of all the times ABC shows have gone to Disney bc Disney owns ABC or how Fox shows always talk about football because of the NFL relationship at Fox.) But none of that mattered here. Sorkin famously was a nightmare when TWW was at its peak. He refused to allow the other writers to write. He would write entire seasons by himself because no one else was as good as he was (in his one mind or not). The Matt as an honorable addict with a heart of gold single handedly keeping a prized franchise afloat while being disrespected and cast aside by the network was a thinly veiled autobiographical sob story and jab at NBC. Sorkin most likely forced the plot in at the end of season 1 because he could see the writing on the wall well before then. Would there have been other storylines? Absolutely. Was there some hidden or lost plot scrapped to make way for this after the cancellation? Not likely given how costly that would have been and how little budget an already dead show gets from the network and studio.
I've always wondered the same thing. I think it must have been re-written because they would have gotten notice that season 1 was the last, so wanted to tie up all the loose ends so it could stand alone as a beginning and ending of a series with one season. Sad - I adored this show.
Maybe Bradley Whitford was playing Danny Tripp as a lapsed Catholic or Atheist... Matthew Perrv was playing it Jewish. He made the comment about being the only Jew in a comedy writer's room in the Christmas episode. His senior writer responded: Take some advice from your Protestant brothers... So religion got mentioned a lot for a Monday 10/9 Eastern/Central show. That was a poor timeslot choice against Monday Night Football. Friday at 9/8 would have been more humane.
