Matthew Perry's Best Role: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Matthew Perry's Best TV Show Isn't Friends Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) staring at something intently in Friends

By Casey Duby Published 20 minutes ago Casey Duby is an avid TV writer, watcher, and reviewer. She graduated from Emerson College in 2021 with a focus in Writing for Film and Television, where she wrote several pilots and watched countless more. She's been working in television ever since. Casey loves thoughtful content that makes her ponder our world and the people in it, and she's learned that any genre can surprise her. With favorites in every genre from horror to politics, family to action, nothing is off limits. Casey has experience working in TV development, as well as writing both narrative and host-driven shows. Currently working as a Writer in Los Angeles, with an AMC A-List membership to boot, she is always hunting for the next good story and great theme song. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Matthew Perry became a household name after being cast as Chandler Bing on Friends, but his best role actually came later, when he led the drama series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Coming on the heels of The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin created Studio 60 around its two leads, Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford.

While Perry was known for cracking jokes and maintaining a self-deprecating demeanor, the character has stood the test of time as a fan-favorite Friend for the sadness that always sat just beneath Chandler's surface. So, it makes sense that Perry would thrive in a show that allowed him to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Matthew Perry's Best TV Show Is Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip

Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford Standing in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Studio 60 is a behind-the-scenes drama following the cast and crew of an SNL-esque late-night variety show as they strive to challenge their audience and raise the bar of American comedy. Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, the writing and directing duo who rose to fame with The West Wing, created the show, which premiered in 2006.

Studio 60's two leads mimicked this off-screen relationship: Matthew Perry played head writer Matthew Albie, a creative genius who wrote the weekly show almost single-handedly, while Bradley Whitford played his best friend and creative partner, producer Danny Tripp, who handled pretty much every other aspect of the show.

Albie's love interest was the star cast member of the show-within-a-show and devout, Christian Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson). The two had an on-again/off-again relationship due to constantly butting heads about religion and politics. Perry's Albie is a staunchly liberal Jew who, around writing the show, constantly wrestled with Harriet's steadfast belief in God.

Tonally similar to The West Wing, Studio 60 is incredibly aspirational, romanticizing the world it takes place in while both lamenting and working to improve the state of America as a whole. While The West Wing portrayed idealist politicians, Studio 60 advocated for "cutting edge political and social satire," which its characters fought a constant uphill battle with their network to produce.

Admittedly, a TV show arguing that American television needs work is a harder sell than arguing that American politics could be improved. Thus, Studio 60 was canceled after one season, despite boasting an all-star cast and a rare big-name screenwriter in Aaron Sorkin, whose smash hit The West Wing had aired its series finale four months prior.

Perry's Studio 60 Character Was A Tragically Perfect Fit

Matthew Albie and Danny Tripp Look Concerned

It's not a coincidence that Matthew Perry shared a first name with his character — Aaron Sorkin wrote the part specifically for him. Before Studio 60, Perry had an under-utilized arc on The West Wing as Republican lawyer Joe Quincy. Perry was primarily seen opposite Bradley Whitford's Josh Lyman, and their dynamic worked so well that Sorkin reignited the pair's chemistry on Studio 60.

In many ways, Matt Albie is an autobiographical character for Sorkin, but the role also speaks to Perry's personality just as much as the character of Chandler Bing, whom Perry often said was practically his own self.

While the characters on Studio 60 rarely laugh out loud, they all care deeply about being funny — none more than Matt Albie. Harriet Hayes confirms that "Matt writes to get people to like him"; after listening intently to the delivery of a joke he wrote, he threw down his pen, concerned that the audience didn't laugh enough.

The actor said in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big, Terrible Thing that "I felt like I was gonna die if the live audience didn't laugh," and Perry also discussed his anxiety in HBO Max's Friends reunion special. Perry's performance as Albie beautifully expresses the genuine inner turmoil caused by the intensity of this feeling.

Perry confirmed in his memoir that he was sober throughout the filming of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

While struggling with a particularly rough breakup with Harriet, Albie develops an addiction to pills, even taking other drugs to mask his dilated pupils. His assistant, Suzanne, whose mother suffered from addiction, notices the signs. She confronts Albie, who insists that he's okay and will stop when he feels better; he believes he needs the drugs to write the show.

Suzanne, worried, tells Danny, who barges into Albie's office looking for the pills. Albie reveals that he was taking "anything," but that he'd since stopped on his own. Danny later reveals Albie's struggle to Harriet, who can't believe she didn't notice. Danny replies, "He's very good at it."

It's haunting to see Perry, who publicly struggled with addiction before his death, portray such a parallel experience. While this element of Albie's character was also a nod to Sorkin, who was once arrested for possession of cocaine (via ABC News), Perry's experiences were potentially a reason Sorkin thought of him for the role, and were certainly why his performance felt so poignant.

Why Matt Albie Is Perry's Best Role

Matt Albie and Danny Tripp Sitting in the Studio

Many of Chandler's most memorable moments on Friends were instances that leaned into emotion — his realization that he identified with the eternally lonely Mr. Heckles, his confrontation with his unorthodox mother after she kissed Ross, his heartfelt apology to Joey after falling for Joey's girlfriend, etc.. Albie and Studio 60's dramatic world allowed Perry's performance to live in this emotional space.

And Matthew Perry didn't just have things in common with Matt Albie on paper; his delivery truly conveyed emotion in the way he anxiously ran his hands through his hair, or explained to Suzanne that his job "isn't putting a hammer to a nail. You can't be depressed while you're doing it. You gotta have energy and you gotta be able to feel joy."

Abstract concepts like the act of writing sketch comedy (which is often done off-screen), the feeling of being in love with someone for a reason that can't be put into words, or the feelings that lead someone to take pills are all, if not relatable, understandable when seeing Albie bang his head against his desk, gaze at Harriet, or carry himself with palpable pain.

Perry identified with Chandler, but the nature of a sitcom only allowed the person behind the character to shine through in snatches. Everyone on a sitcom is funny; this detracts from Chandler's — and Perry's — desperate need to get the laugh. Chandler's under-utilized reverence for cigarettes feels like a stand-in for all substances, and something that drew Perry, who started drinking at 14, to the character.

While Friends hinted at these things largely for comedy — Chandler snuck a long, deeply pleasurable drag of a cigarette to the sound of laughter from the studio audience — Studio 60 not only put those elements front and center, but leaned into the deep-seated angst and pain they cause, making these personality traits really ring true.

More than any other role, Matthew Perry's performance as Matt Albie in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip achieved the acting magic of allowing the audience to see the person behind the character. In a world still feeling Matthew Perry's passing, this is a gift.

6.5/10

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Comedy Drama Release Date 2006 - 2006 Network NBC Directors Thomas Schlamme, Timothy Busfield, John Fortenberry, Andrew Bernstein, Bradley Whitford, Bryan Gordon, Christopher Misiano, David Petrarca, David Semel, Laura Innes

Cast

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Matthew Perry Jordan McDeere
Amanda Peet Uncredited

Genres Comedy, Drama Powered by

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Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Friends
Matthew Perry

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