Sorkin drew from his own experience as a writer in creating the characters (the Harriet/Matt relationship was based on Sorkin's relationship with Kristin Chenoweth, who played Annabeth Schott on "The West Wing"). In "Studio 60"’s pilot, one of the reasons that Matt and Harriet broke up was Harriet's decision to appear on "The 700 Club" to support her Christian music album. In 2005, Chenoweth made a similar appearance on "The 700 Club", sparking a negative reaction from some of her gay fans because of the views of "700 Club" host Pat Robertson. Unlike Matt and Harriet, Sorkin and Chenoweth did not work together on "The West Wing". Sorkin left after "The West Wing"'s fourth season and Chenoweth joined the cast during season six.