User Profile

Matt Albie is a writer. More specifically, Matt is the head writer and co-producer of a sketch-comedy show called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. His partner in producing the show is Danny Tripp, who is also his best friend and has been since about 1999. He grew up on the east coast and graduated from Cornell University in 1992. He went to New York and got work as a bartender at the Gershwin while trying to get the plays he was writing produced. He had some highly successful plays between '92 and '97 when Wes Mendel (the executive producer and creator of Studio 60) saw one of his plays and invited him to come work as a staff writer on his show. Matt was eager to get his writing recognized by a wider audience than theater people, and accepted eagerly.

Once he got to Hollywood, however, he found that he wasn't able to write short comedy sketches with the ease he could write good, funny, poignant plays, and that he didn't work well with other writers. Consequently, he didn't really get noticed until 1999, when he started writing for and to impress a new actress on the show named Harriet Hayes. He also started talking to the segment producer who discovered her, Danny Tripp, and a friendship was, unfortunately for everyone's (but Matt and Danny's) sanity, born. Harry and Matt both shot up in the ranks at the show, as Matt produced his best work for her and she performed it beautifully. Within a very short period of time, Wes made him head of the writer's room, and he and Danny were co-senior associate producers on the show, second only to Wes himself.

In early 2001, Matt and Harry began dating, despite Matt's Jewish heritage and liberal atheistic beliefs and Harry's Christianity. After September 11th, Matt and Danny were either fired or quit (depending on who's telling the story), due to Matt's political/comedic beliefs and Danny's refusal to not stand with him. The two went on to write and direct movies, including the critically acclaimed "Removing All Doubt", which won Matt a WGA award. In 2006, after a tumultuous relationship, numerous breakups and reconciliations, and an incident regarding the Star Spangled Banner and the 700 Club, Matt and Harriet broke up.

And then, one night, Wes Mendel snapped and ranted about how television is selling out - on the air - and was fired. Jordan McDeere, the just-hired president of NBS, convinced the chairman of the board to hire Matt and Danny back to take Wes' place, and convinced Matt and Danny to take the job (partially because Danny couldn't get insured 'cause he'd failed a drug test, so they couldn't do their next movie for a year and a half).

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Disclaimer: This journal is for fun and not profit. I am not Aaron Sorkin, Matthew Perry, or NBC, I do not own Matt Albie or any rights to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

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