Matt Albie

Matt Albie
First appearance	Pilot
Created by	Aaron Sorkin
Portrayed by	Matthew Perry
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Executive producer and head writer of Studio 60

Matthew Albie is a fictional character on the U.S. TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, played by Matthew Perry.

Personal history

Matt began working at Studio 60 in 1997, but remained largely anonymous until 1999, when Harriet Hayes joined the cast. The two propelled each other into success; Matt's writing reached a new standard as he tried to impress Harriet and Harriet gained recognition as she received the lion's share of roles in Matt's sketches. Matt was eventually made a co-executive producer under Wes Mendell's mentorship, while Harriet came to be considered one of the "Big Three" cast members alongside Simon Stiles and Tom Jeter.

He and his former friend and rival Luke Scott are seen chugging down Red Bulls, which they might have both developed a taste for when they shared an office in 1999.

Matt was one of the first people to voice his support for Bill Maher after Maher's controversial on-air remark regarding the September 11, 2001 attacks. The network distanced itself from him as a result. Matt still holds a grudge against writer Ricky Tahoe for telling reporters that "Matt Albie certainly doesn't speak for the cast, crew and staff of Studio 60 whose thoughts and prayers are with the brave men and women who lost their lives on September 11th".

In 2001, Matt quit his job as co-executive producer and assistant head writer of Studio 60 when NBS chairman Jack Rudolph refused to back him up with advertisers after a sketch of his sparked outrage with conservatives. His friend Danny Tripp chose to resign as a show of support for Matt, and the two went on to respectively direct and write what would become a critically acclaimed film, Removing All Doubt. In 2006, he won a WGA Award for the script.

In 2006, Matt and Danny were convinced to return to NBS as executive producers of Studio 60, following Wes Mendell's on-air meltdown. Matt took over Wes' office at Studio 60, although he would have preferred Danny to have it.

MATT: I’m not taking Wes’s office.

DANNY: You need it. It’s got room to pace. You’re very active when you write.

MATT: Listen to me, the man wrote for the Smothers Brothers. He wrote with Pryor and he wrote with Cosby. He invented Studio 60. He gave me my first job and lost his because he tried to put a sketch I wrote on the air.

DANNY: That’s not why he lost his job.

MATT: I don’t care. I’d rather sit in Lorne Michaels’ office.

DANNY: Well, Lorne’s office is in New York and he’s still using it. So you’re gonna use this one.

At that time Matt has recently ended a romantic relationship with Harriet, following a fight over her appearance on The 700 Club to promote her new album of spiritual music. However, Matt, by his own admission, is not entirely over his feelings for her; in "The Christmas Show", he even kisses her. The confusion that the two feel over the status of their relationship builds to a crescendo in "The Harriet Dinner, Part 2", where Harriet decides she is breaking up with Matt 'for good.' This, along with the stresses of writing the show almost single-handed, has led to Matt developing an apparent dependency on prescription drugs.

Though raised Jewish, Matt's religious beliefs are described by Harriet as "East coast liberal Jewish atheist". In "The Christmas Show", Matt ironically observes that he is the only Jew and most fervent supporter of Christmas among the writing staff. Matt has a nephew who's entering college in the fall of 2007, implying the existence of a brother or sister for Matt. When Matt is bidding in an online auction to go to a dinner honoring Harriet, he asks his assistant, after spending a lot of money, to call his parents and ask for his allowance back. This implies that both his parents are still alive.

In real life

Matt and Harriet's relationship is based on Sorkin's relationship with West Wing actress Kristin Chenoweth.^[1]

References

1. ^ Carter, Bill (2006-09-11). "‘West Wing’ to West Coast: TV’s Auteur Portrays TV". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/arts/television/11sork.html?ex=1315627200&en=84ff5d180460f19d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 2006-10-25. 

STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP
EPISODES   |   CHARACTERS
Primary Characters	Matt Albie | Danny Tripp | Jordan McDeere | Harriet Hayes Tom Jeter | Simon Stiles | Jack Rudolph | Cal Shanley
Secondary Characters	Ricky Tahoe | Ron Oswald | Wes Mendell | Martha O'Dell Jeannie Whatley | Samantha Li | Alex Dwyer | Dylan Killington Darius Hawthorne | Lucy Kenwright | Andy Mackinaw | Wilson White
Key creators	Aaron Sorkin | Thomas Schlamme | W. G. Snuffy Walden
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