The series is a behind-the-scenes look at “News Night 2.0”, a nightly news program at the fictional Atlatis Cable News headlined by Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels), a charismatic but increasingly controversial news anchor and the equally quixotic people that support him in his crusade to deliver quality broadcast journalism.
The series is created and written (mostly) by Aaron Sorkin — the award-winning screenwriter best known for his work on films like “A Few Good Men”, “The American President”, “The Social Network” and “Moneyball” as well as in TV series like “The West Wing” and the criminally underrated “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”.
Characterized by Sorkin’s trademark wit and extended dialogues, “The Newsroom” has been nominated for three Primetime Emmys and two Golden Globe awards, including Best Drama Series.
The versatile Jeff Daniels has been nominated by several award-giving bodies as well for his portrayal of the headstrong but often neurotic McAvoy.
A popular but plain vanilla anchor who was nothing more than just a talking head, McAvoy was initially compared to Jay Leno at the start of the series. But that was until the arrival of idealistic executive producer McKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer) who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend. With Mac reformatting “News Night”, Will is now on “a mission to civilize”.
As Will becomes more opinionated about the news he brings to the public, he often puts the guests he interviews in his program on a very tight spot with his stern but well-researched line of questioning.
As the series is based on actual news that took place as far back as 2010, viewers were fascinated with the way Will and the program as a whole presents and sometimes editorializes events such as the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the ejection of former Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak, the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the Anthony Weiner scandal, the US Republican primary elections and even the death of Osama bin Laden.
Yet, for all the amazing incorporation of those real-life news items, the most captivating thing about “The Newsroom” is the soapy, “will they or won’t they?” storylines of its intriguing characters.
Although obviously still in love with Mac who also happens to harbor the same feelings, Will continues to resist the urge to win her back, on account of what she did that ended their relationship on a sour note.
There’s the love triangle involving news producers Don Keefer (Thomas Sadoski), Maggie Jordan (Allison Pill) and Jim Harper (John Gallagher, Jr). Don and Maggie are a couple but Jim and Maggie have developed feelings for each other even as Don and financial news analyst Sloan Sabbith (Olivia Munn) are beginning to have something going on between them.
And then there’s Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston), the old school news division president of ANC who is constantly at odds with network owner Leona Lansing (Jane Fonda in a recurring role) and her son Reese (Chris Messina) who happens to be ANC’s president.
Along with Dev Patel as resourceful self-made newsman Neal Sampat, the lives of these characters are what made “The Newsroom” such a big hit with audiences in its first season.
Even those who are not news junkies and are not familiar with journalism jargon will enjoy the way the series is presented, which is really not that far off from the successful shows of other TV creators like David E. Kelley (“The Practice”) and Sondra Rhimes (“Grey’s Anatomy”). Even Darren Star’s “Sex and the City” was nicely referenced in the first season.
It gets better. In this new season, Will’s job, as well as that of Mac, is once again in constant jeopardy even as he will find an unlikely ally in gossip columnist Nina Howard (Hope Davis), who almost destroyed his career in Season 1.
Jim and Maggie ease the tension between them when both volunteer to be on the field for different assignments, allowing Don and Sloan to bond a little more in the studio when she becomes the pinch-hitting anchor for the 10PM show that he’s producing.
But there will also be new characters that will rock the ANC boat.
There’s Rebecca Halliday (Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden), a lawyer hired to defend ACN staffers in its wrongful-termination case. There’s Jerry Dantana (Hamish Linklater), who temporarily replaces Jim when he leaves to cover the Romney campaign and Hallie Shea (Grace Gummer), a reporter competing with Jim on the Romney campaign.
And then, there’s Taylor Warren (Constance Zimmer), a Romney campaign press spokesperson who questions the coverage her campaign is getting from the media.
Smart, thought-provoking and yes, very entertaining, the second season of “The Newsroom” premiered in the US last July 14 but began its Asian broadcast only last August 5. It currently airs Monday nights at 9PM on HBO Asia and HBO HD.
source: interaksyon.com
