List of Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip Characters - Supporting Roles

Supporting Roles

Ricky Tahoe (Evan Handler) and Ron Oswald (Carlos Jacott) are writers and, as part of their $30,000-an-episode contracts, current co-executive producers of Studio 60. They stepped into the creative void left by Danny and Matt when the pair were fired and in the pilot are portrayed as poor writers, "hacks" and command little professional respect from the stars of the show. Matt refers to them as "Beavis and Hackboy". It is revealed that Matt harbors a grudge against them because when he came out in support of Bill Maher after he made a controversial on-air remark, Ricky released a statement hanging Matt out to dry. They may have won an Emmy for writing in the past (Matt mentions this in the context of a disparagement of which other parts were made up). In "The Option Period", Ricky and Ron leave the show to pursue a spin-off pilot on Fox of "Peripheral Vision Man", a Studio 60 sketch.

Wes Mendell (Judd Hirsch) is the former executive producer and creator of Studio 60. His power is dwindling and he is furious with the network for bowing down to the FCC and religious groups. In the events of the pilot, he is the catalyst that brings Matt and Danny back to the show, fired on the night for the hijacking of the live broadcast of Studio 60 and ranting an improvised tirade, similar to that in the film Network (which is commented on in the pilot itself), venting against bureaucratic control, the influence of minority groups in the censorship of the network, and the nature of the broadcast industry. It is stated that he has worked with many of the great comedy writers and performers, such as Richard Pryor. He is referenced in various episodes, but appears only in the pilot.

Wilson White (Edward Asner) is the Chairman of Tunney Media Group, the parent company of the National Broadcasting System. This may be a (thinly) veiled reference to Jack Welch, the former head of General Electric, the parent company of NBC (Via NBC Universal), the network carrying the actual show. His interest in Studio 60 is usually minor, although at times uses it for business ventures, such as in "Nevada Day" when in order to secure a deal he arranges for Tom Jeter of Studio 60 to entertain Kim Tao, the daughter of a potential business client.

Jerry Jones (Michael Stuhlbarg) works for NBS as network censor. He is in charge of Standards and Practices and responsible for cutting a controversial sketch in "Pilot". The cut results in a furious on-air rant from Wes. Jerry later appears during flashbacks in "K&R Part II" asking Matt and Danny to cut a sketch about Karl Rove in the show following the beginning of the war in Afghanistan.

Jeannie Whatley (Ayda Field) is a cast member who sleeps with Matt from time to time. This revelation leads Harriet to blow up at Matt in front of the show's writing team. She is considered a gossip on set; in "The Option Period", she leaked the news that Harriet was considering posing for a lingerie spread in a men's magazine, and Matt quipped that he didn't think there was such thing as the Internet, there was only "Jeannie telling people stuff".

Alex Dwyer (Simon Helberg) is one of the cast members of Studio 60. He is not a member of the "Big Three", but is recognized as the complement to Harriet Hayes, being the lead male impressionist in the cast. He has at least one recurring sketch, The Nicolas Cage Show, in which he plays the title character, and has also portrayed Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller on the show.

Dylan Killington (Nate Torrence) is one of the cast members of Studio 60. He is a rookie on the show and doesn't appear to have garnered much respect yet from the likes of the Big Three. In "Nevada Day 2", Matt picks Dylan to perform in the "News 60" sketch in case Simon doesn't return from Nevada in time for the show; Dylan is very insecure and self-conscious about his appearance in such a high-profile role until Matt goads Jeannie into flattering and flirting with Dylan to boost his confidence.

Samantha Li (Camille Chen) is one of the cast members of Studio 60. Her most notable sketch is "Samantha Li's Thai Therapy".

Lucy Kenwright (Lucy Davis) is an English junior writer on the show and the only pre-Matt and Danny writer to remain after Ricky and Ron's departure. She then begins a romantic relationship with Tom Jeter.

Marylyn Rudolph (Kirstin Pierce) is the wife of Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber). At some point during the run of the series, they separate.

Darren Wells (Teddy Sears) is a professional baseball player, the pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He started dating Harriet after she sang the National Anthem at a Los Angeles Dodgers game. In "The Wrap Party", Harriet found out that Darren also wrote his phone number on a baseball given to Jordan, which apparently ended the relationship.

Martha O'Dell (Christine Lahti) is a journalist writing a "long lead story" about Matt and Danny's return to Studio 60 for Vanity Fair.

Kevin Yu (Kelvin Yu) is Jordan's assistant.

Wendy (Cyia Batten) is a member of the "Bombshell Babies" (a dance group similar to The Pussycat Dolls) and Matt's former girlfriend. In "The West Coast Delay" she talks Matt out of a plan to have her sign a stiletto boot in an attempt to get back at Harriet, who had given Matt a baseball bat with Darren Wells's phone number written on it. She reappears a few episodes later at the end of a dinner honoring Harriet and helps Matt back to the theater, where she reveals that she is newly engaged.

Shelley Green (Wendy Phillips) is an employee of the network who works closely with Jack Rudolph.

Darius Hawthorne (Columbus Short) is a junior writer who is hired by Matt Albie and Simon Stiles after seeing his stand-up act in "The Wrap Party".

Luke Scott (Josh Stamberg) used to be a writer on the show and is Matt's main rival for Harriet. He is currently directing a movie about The Rolling Stones and he cast Harriet to play Anita Pallenberg.

Lilly Rodriguez (Diana-Maria Riva) is the assistant director of the show.

Andy Mackinaw (Mark McKinney) was introduced in "B-12" after Ricky and Ron's departure (from the prior episode: "The Option Period") when Matt needed an extra writer's help. Andy was previously a writer on Studio 60 years before, while Matt and Danny were still there. After Matt and Danny's initial departure from the show, Andy's wife and daughter died in tragic circumstances. It is revealed in a flashback scene in "K & R, Part I" that Matt never saw Andy smile until he walked into the writer's room in 2001 and announced his daughter's birth.

Suzanne (Merritt Wever) used to be a PA on the show before becoming Matt's assistant. She is the first to confront Matt about his drug use in the episode "Breaking News", revealing that her mother took 20-30 Percocets a day before killing herself when Suzanne was 10.

Hallie Galloway (Stephanie Childers) is the Vice President of Alternative Programming (a.k.a. Illiterate Programming, Reality TV) for NBS and has developed an adversarial relationship with Jordan. She first appears in the episode "Monday". Jordan has expressed her fear that Galloway is being groomed to take her place after the rocky start to McDeere's tenure as president of the network.

Mary Tate (Kari Matchett) is a lawyer from Gage Whitney Pace who is investigating a sexual harassment suit by Karen Salzburg, a writer who was fired from the show. She has an obvious sexual and romantic interest in Matt.

Herb Sheldon (John F. Carpenter) is the announcer for the show.

Zhang Tao (Raymond Ma) is a Chinese businessman who is behind a multi-million-dollar merger with NBS to turn the city of Macau into "the Las Vegas of East Asia." Zhang becomes a key player when the board of NBS attempts to remove Wilson White as chairman and CEO.

Kim Tao (Julia Ling) is the daughter of Zhang Tao and a viola prodigy. She is infatuated with Tom Jeter.

Maisie (Michael Hyatt) was Matt's assistant before she left the show with Ricky and Ron.

Blair (Donna Murphy) was Danny Tripp's personal assistant before he got hired at Studio 60. She appears only in the "Pilot" episode.

Tim Batale was a person who Matt Albie remembered working at Studio 60 when he was originally a staff writer. Tim, in reality, is a false memory of Matt's, created by his subconscious, to serve as another iteration of his own persona. Tim gets fired for being high, and tries to "write his way back onto the show" by having Joe put his sketch in the pile for Wes to read. Matt always remembers him "wearing a blue button-down shirt and khaki pants. Tim is present in the episode "The Friday Night Slaughter" and it is revealed at the end that it was in fact Matt who dressed in a blue button-down shirt and khakis. Tim Batale is an anagram of Matt Albie.