The Nine, Studio 60, and Men in Trees = More Scripts Ordered

Finally, three deserving shows have been given the greenlight for additional scripts - The Nine on ABC, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on NBC, and Men in Trees, also on ABC. It's not a full season pickup but it is certainly better than getting the ax. After Smith and Kidnapped, two shows with some of the better actors and acting that the new fall season had to offer, were canceled early in their runs, it was unclear what the networks would do with these shows. I can safely say with these three, they have made the right decision.

The Nine, is well, without a doubt, one of the best shows on television right now and the viewership can only go up. This is one compelling drama and I hope everyone is as enthralled by this superb show as I am. The writing is top notch, every week we learn a new facet that makes us doubt the people we have sort of come to know and the bond between The Nine seems to stay so strong and they continue to remain close despite differences they encounter in one another or disagreements they may have. The show is doing an excellent job of exploring what happens to a group of people who share an unbreakable bond due to an experience that no one else who wasn't there can understand. As I said before, I am certainly enjoying Heroes (which already has a full season pickup), but The Nine should win the best new drama. It's that good.

Men in Trees is an adorable, lighthearted comedy that is really just too cute to miss if you enjoy romantic comedies at all. It is perfect Friday night fare, not too serious and makes you laugh and smile. This show is very deserving of a full season pickup and hopefully that will be announced next. ABC has had more than forgettable shows on Friday nights for years, so they definitely need to make sure this one doesn't get away. So many people wrote this show off before it even started, only to tune in, love it, and now they watch it weekly. That says a lot about the quality of the show.

Studio 60, which I have written about several times, is a show with an identity crisis in my opinion, struggling between whether it should be more of a drama or more of a comedy in its world of dramedy and also in desperate need of ditching the skits they seem oh so found of showing us each week. This is a show with a lot of potential, espcially given it's Aaron Sorkin, Bradley Whitford, and Matthew Perry pedigree, which I have no doubt played a huge factor in the show getting more scripts. It was also a critically adored show coming into the fall season, which has since faded a bit.

The ironic thing about the show getting more scripts ordered for those who actually watch the show, there was a scene a couple of weeks ago with Amanda Peet's character trying to convince Bradley Whitford's character of doing the Vanity Fair article. The reason she gave to convince him? She said that one Vanity Fair reader was worth 5 regular viewers because they were consumers who made more and spent more. Turns out the same may be true for Studio 60, the real show, not just the show within a show. I read an article just last week that said Studio 60 ranks 3rd amongst highest salaried viewers.
Could it be that life imitated art and one of the reasons Studio 60 has yet to be pulled despite declining ratings every week and losing close to half of their lead-in Heroes audience be that their viewers are deemed more valuable by advertisers? Seems highly likely.

Make sure you give all three of these shows a fair chance. Studio 60 comes on NBC at 10 p.m. after Heroes on Mondays but is on hiatus this week, The Nine comes on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. after Lost on ABC, and Men in Trees comes on Fridays at 9 p.m. on ABC. You won't be disappointed if you tune in.