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For the past few months, HBO has been talking to Aaron Sorkin about his long-gestating drama set behind the scenes at a nightly cable news show. However, with him busy on the awards circuit with his latest film, The Social Network, negotiations have been going slowly as have been Sorkin’s rewrites. But he has been doing so many press interviews that he recently let the news slip. There is no deal in place but when all is set and done, something expected to happen after the Academy Awards, Sorkin’s project is on track to get a pilot order by HBO. Sorkin has been raking in accolades for his Social Network script and is considered a front-runner for the adapted screenplay Oscar. (The Academy Awards nominations are being announced on Tuesday.) If that happens, he would follow the career trajectory of Alan Ball, who also went on to create an HBO drama series, Six Feet Under, right after winning a writing Oscar for American Beauty. Sorkin’s previous series include Sports Night, The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
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Ugh. Sorkin has already done behind-the-scenes of a sports news show and behind-the-scenes of a sketch comedy show, and how a behind-the-scenes of a cable news show? How about something NOT behind-the-scenes?! His only successful TV show was West Wing, which was about people dealing with the real world, not putting on a show. It worked because there were actual stakes, ones bigger than whether the characters will get ratings or laughs.
The West Wing was about the behind-the-scenes of the Presidency, and if politics isn’t “putting on a show,” I don’t know what is. He knows what he’s good at, so I’m not sure why he would stray. I for one can’t wait.
I bet the show will feature lots of bright young people talking and walking really fast.
Mainly because old people can do neither.
A behind the scenes look at an all news network? Now, Sorkin can rip off all three of his shows for plots and characters.
Wait. Are we not talking about his autoplagiarism until after the Academy Awards presentation?
Is it really plagiarism if you plagiarise your own previous work? Or is it just recycling?
Why the Sorkin bashing? This is his niche. He’s damn good at it.
Would you prefer more vampires, comic books and transforming robots?
How is it “bashing” to merely state the obvious — that his work is derivativbe of itself? Yes, Sorkin is a superior writer, but when it comes to his tv projects, he was “good” at the behind-the-scenes niche for WW. But neither Sports Night nor Studio 60 were successes. And 60 was in fact an out and out failure, so “good” in that insance? Uh uh.
Actually Studio 60 had a much larger audience than Sports Night ever did. Studio 60 just happened to come with an incredibly high budget. The high budget brought incredibly high expectations (or perhaps it was the other way around), and the show ultimately became way too expensive for the network (even though, at the time, they had the largest percentage of viewers earning over $100,000 a year). NBC should never have pulled it from its original Thursday night 9pm time slot (they blinked and moved it to Mondays at 10pm before it even premiered once ABC announced they were moving Grey’s Anatomy there).
Haters, haters, haters. Difference is this will NOT be on a network, which should allow for better storytelling.
It never ceases to amaze me how jealous wanna-be’s are of those with real talent.
Featuring Keith Olbermann
I thought the show was supposed to revolve around a fictional Countdown-like show.
The viewing public is not nearly as interested in the behind-the-scenes goings-on of a television show as Sorkin is.
Talk about a one-trick pony.
That’s probably why THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW was a big flop. Not just behind the scenes at at TV show, but behind the scenes at a local Minneapolis news station! Who cares about that?
“Behind the scenes at a” is also known as “workplace show.” The public likes those just fine, if the characters and the drama (or comedy) are interesting.
This show will be amazing if it makes it to air. Have never seen a bad piece of work from him and his commitment to storytelling that is poetic and relevant is something we can all enjoy… or at least I can!
After seeing Sorkin’s fake, ass-kissing speech on the Golden Globe I really came to dislike the guy as a person.
I’ve read the script. It’s a grownup version of SportsNight, and it’s fucking brilliant.
The dialogue is awesome.
The characters are terrific.
And… best of all, it features a very topical storyline that affected the entire country.
Its will be a show, if HBO greenlights it, that will show what a Newscast is SUPPOSED to be about – telling the news, honestly.
That’s all I’ll say.
He should do a behind-the-scenes of the porno industry. His dialogues and poetry would fit very well into this subject.
same old thing- maybe he needs to retire until he can come up with a real idea. I may be the only one , but I thought TSN was a complete bore
I loved both ‘Studio 60′ and ‘Sports Night’. Can’t wait to see the new one – all of his work has been intelligent, thoughtful and a way of taking things that are inherently difficult to make visual and making it work. It’s like some of the best writing from the 30s and 40s.
The bitching and complaining is just writing envy.
Obviously very similar style throughout all his work, but “The Social Network” looks at a somewhat different social context (though still lots of fast clever talk, soap-y relationships, and white people).
But if he actually does the book for the Broadway musical based on The Flaming Lips’ album “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” as rumored, that’ll be something!
good for Sorkin, at least it’s a break from vampires, teenage hookers and apatow poopy jokes du jour.
What about the Aaron Sorkin show based on the old Yiddish mob Murder Inc. That would be awesome.