This week, EW University takes a look at the people who helped shape the modern TV landscape. Today’s TV auteur is Aaron Sorkin, whose distinct voice pushed network comedies out of the ‘90s and network dramas into the White House. Class is now in session!
When Sports Night premiered in 1998, it was met with critical praise, fanatical devotion on the part of its 10 million or so viewers (which at the time made it the 45th most-watched show), and a revived conversation about the future of the laughtrack for network comedies. Sports Night debuted with canned laughs, but it was so out of place that ABC couldn’t help but eventually side with Sorkin and the show’s fans. Out went the laughtrack, and in came an era where the differences between multicamera and single-camera comedies became normal TV fan knowledge, not just inside-baseball musings.
Sports Night’s contemporaries were Home Improvement; Friends; Fraiser; Spin City; Suddenly Susan; That ’70s Show; Everybody Loves Raymond; King of Queens; Will & Grace; Mad About You; Just Shoot Me; Moesha; Dharma & Greg; Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place; The Drew Carey Show; The Nanny; 3rd Rock from the Sun; and Newsradio. Noticing a pattern here, other than, wowza, there were a lot more comedies on the air 10 years ago? Network comedies of the late ’90s had a particular style and rhythm, and a lot of similar tendencies: a classic sitcom pacing of set-’em-ups and knock-’em-downs, frequent big-name guest stars, a lot of kooky neighbors or catch-phrasey foils. The closest thing Sorkin has to a “holy crap” a la Raymond is “shoe money tonight!” – and that’s only on one episode. (And it’s the name of his production company. Ah, trivia.)
In its first season, Sports Night earned Sorkin an Emmy nomination and a Humanitas prize, and the episodes for which he was recognized reflect some of what Sports Night had that other comedies didn’t: a sense of seriousness and consequence. “The Apology” starts with Dan feeling misrepresented in a magazine article — wah-wah, famous-people problems — but winds its way towards a wrenching on-air apology delivered to his dead brother. (It also marks the first of many occasions that Sorkin, who himself has a history of drug addiction, wrote about substance abuse.)
“Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee” has a similar climax — an unexpected on-air monologue — with an even more political theme: a Confederate flag flying at a college football stadium.
Other episodes that season touched on domestic violence (“Mary Pat Shelby”), religious intolerance (“Ten Wickets”), and a major character’s stroke. For a comedy, Sports Night covered a lot of serious territory, and that, maybe even moreso than rapid talking, is Sorkin’s calling card: finding hilarity in serious situations (“But that’s all going to change once I grow a goatee”) and bringing a level of seriousness to silly ones (“I’ve read Dr. Zhivago cover to cover, but that doesn’t make me the czar”).
Sports Night wasn’t long for this world, though. What made it special also made it relatively unpopular, and the show’s second season slid into slightly darker territory; Dan’s chronic depression becomes an issue, Jeremy and Natalie break up, and the (fictional) network’s ongoing budget issues haunt the staff. By then, Sorkin was already pulling double duty: In addition to the 22-episode second season of Sports Night, he was writing what would become his Emmy golden goose: The West Wing.
The densely written, deeply romanticized drama came on the heels of a culture-consuming sex scandal and carried into a nationwide turn towards social conservatism. Despite the political shifts, Americans remained obsessed with Sorkin’s Jed Bartlet: ethical, intellectual, and, when necessary, intimidating. The show’s mile-a-minute banter (and director Thomas Schlamme’s signature swooping shots and walk-and-talks) set a new standard for jargon-heavy dialogue: Was “OEOB” ever defined on the show? “D triple-C”? Even more than Sports Night did, West Wing relied on viewers not catching every word or understanding every reference.
In its first season, The West Wing was nominated for 18 Emmys, and won nine, including two for Sorkin (both of which he shared; one for writing “In Excelsis Deo,” the first of what became the series’ touchstone Christmas episodes, and the other for best drama, which was shared among all the executive producers). Over the course of his tenure there — Sorkin left the show after its fourth season, but the series continued for three more years — he’d take home three more best drama honors and two Peabodys.
But they can’t all be winners. The much-anticipated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip had the makings for the Next Big Drama — except that it wasn’t good. It turned out the one thing Sorkin couldn’t make funny was an actual comedy sketch series, and the show’s one short season quickly collapsed under the weight of its self-importance. Sadly for Sorkin fans, it emphasized every bad habit from his previous series without compensating as well as they did. Female characters strained credibility in new and degrading ways (which seemed pardonable when it was CJ), politics took precedent over storytelling (which made sense more on West Wing), romance seemed not so much romantic as stalkerish and weird (except that was cute when it was Dan and Rebecca on Sports Night), and the characters just could not get over how clever and charming they were (the characters on Sports Night and West Wing were a lot more clever and charming).
It’s maybe not surprising, then, that Sorkin’s TV days look like they’re behind him, which is too bad, especially for fans of fandoms. Sorkin notoriously jumped on message boards, and his followers — who he occasionally made fun of — latched on to his shows with the fervor usually reserved for cult classics. It’s enough to leave us, Jed Bartlet-like, wondering what’s next….
More on TV Auteurs in EW University:
Aaron Spelling: The king of guilty-pleasure TV
Joss Whedon: Master of cult TV
J.J. Abrams: Pop-culture polymath
TV industry brass: Why so white?
Photo gallery: From Love Boat to Lost, great shows by four TV titans
Final Exam: Test your knowledge of these auteurs’ best shows
Comments (1-14) of 14 Add your comment
I miss Robert Guillaume.
Thanks for a nice introduction to Aaron Sorkin’s work. I’ve watched the first four seasons of West Wing half a dozen times and Sports Night twice that. The writing never fails to make me feel, think and laugh. I’m also re-watching Studio 60, and while no great next step, I don’t think it’s as bad as the consensus would have it. Amanda Peet was unfortunate casting, she just didn’t have the intelligence or weight of an Allison Janney or Felicity Huffman. However, Matthew Perry was a revelation, and I haven’t thought of him as Chandler since seeing the first episode.
I agree–Matthew Perry on Studio 60 was incredible, and he totally got Sorkin’s verbal rhythms down with no trace of Chandler. I had forgotten how talented he was. Too bad the rest of the show wasn’t as good as the pilot, because Perry could have gone far with it. I remember liking Nate Corddry, too. Studio 60 wasn’t a bad show, but compared with TWW, it paled.
I’m not a big fan of comedies, usually only having one or two I watch a season, but God, I loved Sports Night. It was an intelligent comedy, relying on dialog rather than silly situations. Plus, all of the characters were complex, rather than stereotypical, and the show had heart. I still rewatch the show on DVD (given how little time I have to indulge in repeats overall, that is saying something), and it holds up well. I so miss it.
I tried The West Wing and Studio 60, but never really got into either one. I’m not sure why with The West Wing, as it really would seem to be up my alley.
I loved “Sports Night” so much. ABC was really the wrong network– they didn’t give it much press and cancelled it, I remember well, while keeping the horrible “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place” on the air (sorry, Ryan, it sucked).
Sports Night is perfection!
It’s NewsRadio.
love sports night, so much. the west wing still my favourite show to this date. aaron sorkin writes like no one else, him and tommy schlamme are powerhouses
Seeing as how I had little interest in politics when I was younger, and still no interest today at 23, I never got into “The West Wing”. (and I was 12-13 when “Sports Night” was on TV). I’ve always heard good things about these shows and good things about Aaron Sorking, but I never really took notice until I read Kristin Chenoweth’s sort-of-memoir. She praises him and chides him from her point of view as a friend and lover, and he even writes from his p.o.v about their on-and-off relationship and how they first met. It’s an interesting read when youre able to take a peek into the lives of such hard-working people in show-business.
The show was “Frasier,” not “Fraiser.”
I love Aaron Sorkin’s TV programming and it’s something that’s sorely lacking from the current TV landscape. I love The West Wing (BTW “OEOB” stands for Old Executive Office Building, where the VP traditionally has his offices and “D-triple-C” stands for Democratic Congressional Candidates Committee). I never really understood all the hate for Studio 60, yes, it had some weaknesses (as most programming does) but I found it funny, smart and much more believeable (in a general sense) than 30 Rock. I was introduced to Sports Night much later and while I enjoyed it, I’d watch West Wing over it anytime.
Fortunately, Mr. Sorkin interacts nicely on the web now with his fans (via facebook)! And when he is done with the many movies he is currently contracted to doing and gets an idea, he has said he’ll come back to television!
Can I offer a dissent? Sorkin’s stuff has always been so stiff, so mannered, and (yes) so preachy… I’m sorry, but he’s effectively Tyler Perry for stuffy white people. Except that Perry can consistently develop and hold an audience. Anyways, sorry to intrude, back to the accolades.
You can’t all be serious!? I watched Sports Night and The West Wing and loved them for sure, but Studio 60 is on my show library! I thought that while the ending was somewhat heavy minded and the comedy portrayed on the fictional show wasn’t actually so funny, the characters themselves were. It was witty and smart. Sure at many times politics took a big relevance over what happened between the characters, but isn’t that just how it happens anyways?! Politics in particular, influence comedy shows all the time. Issues and scandals are what make the best cold opens for Saturday Night Live: I don’t know anyone who didn’t tune in or stream the palin-hillary sketch. The West Wing had something that other shows lacked: actual thought and research. The reason why it was so successful was because you actually felt some realism, unlike commander in chief, The West Wing oozed authenticity. Studio 60 was everything I loved about the White House and Sports Night in a shorter and easier-to-understand environment. I don’t think it gets enough credit and when it aired it criticized everything I felt is wrong with television now. Illiterate programming is a plague to television and show creators like Aaron Sorkin are definitely a solution.