News > Tommy Schlamme Knows What Life On Mars Is Like!
May 30, 2007
Via:
Written by: Noah Sanders
You know, even with all of its awful, awful problems, I was sort of sad to see Studio 60 go. It had some really good parts (okay, just Matthew Perry) and I can the redundant pitter-patter of Sorkin-speak never tires. But, in the end, it was a cliche mess of pointless stories, and unanswered questions all squeezed together in to a gooey-ooey ball. Bleck.
The death of Studio 60 does bring something good though - the freedom of former-showrunner Tommy Schlamme. The West Wing veteran, and longtime Sorkin companion, is now going to step in to the director's chair for another television heavyweight - David E. Kelley. The Ally McBeal scribe has Life on Mars scheduled for next season, and he wants Schlamme to direct the pilot.
The show is based on a BBC program (what isn't these days?) of the same name that follows a hard-boiled detective who somehow ends up in the 1970s and has to solve a daunting case that could affect the future as we know it. Sounds...er...weird.
Schlamme isn't a Kelley-virgin, he directed the Boston Public pilot and has even pumped out a few episodes of Ally McBeal and The Practice. Schlamme is a great television director, and now that he's gotten Studio 60 out of his system, I'm ready for something great. Maybe this is it.
