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The Newsroom

Jeff Daniels is "mad as hell" as news anchor Will McAvoy in Aaron Sorkin's new drama on SoHo.

There’s a moment in the tirade of debates in HBO’s The Newsroom where Jeff Daniels as ACN news anchor Will McAvoy debates whether it’s possible to offer a credible news service and still attract populist ratings.

He’s not convinced the two are achievable (has he been speaking to George Negus?). But it’s one of the more interesting observations in Aaron Sorkin’s new drama on the media, society and America’s morality.

McAvoy is about as unlikeable as they come. His staff are fleeing to a new show and he’s just gone viral because he mouthed off that America isn’t the greatest country on Earth. But he’s also very good at his job: telling stories, asking questions, getting on his soapbox and creating buzz.

ACN news division president Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston) has hired a new executive producer for McAvoy, MacKenzie “Mac” McHale (Emily Mortimer). She may be the best in the biz, but she’s also Will’s ex-girlfriend. She yearns for more creditable news and constantly locks horns with McAvoy on editorial.

She brings an impressive young producer Jim Harper (John Gallagher Jr.), who was embedded in Afghanistan with her. Other office staff include intern / personal assistant Margaret “Maggie” Jordan (Alison Pill), former producer Don Keefer (Thomas Sadoski) and social media expert Neal Sampat (Dev Patel).

On the night when McHale is trying to fight for her job with McAvoy a major news story breaks. It’s a chance for McHale and Harper to show what they are made of (to be more specific would spoil the fun).

There are flashes of Network in McAvoy’s “mad as hell” persona. But The Newsroom is also a fascinating anatomy of personality-driven news. Daniels is on fire as the ANC anchor, whilst Mortimer impresses as the career-driven producer.

Despite some razor-sharp performances, The Newsroom is less than perfect. Sorkin can’t help but overwrite the dialogue, with rapid-fire propaganda pieces. Save for Sam Waterson’s crusty news boss, nearly all of the characters sound the same. It’s an exhausting assault on your senses.

Few of the characters are likeable, which is pretty necessary for series television.

Yet there are plenty of moments of brilliance and satire that make it all so worthwhile and there is enormous potential to challenge American media.

Sure it’s uneven. Yet you can’t help but admire what Sorkin is hoping to achieve here and it is easy to cheer him on from the couch.

The Newsroom premieres 8:30pm Monday on SoHo.

11 Responses

  1. @lkernan You have to keep in mind, the people more likely to comment on a TV news website would also be more likely to access TV by other means.

    They would still be in the minority of people and not offer a wide spread cross section of people.

  2. I love that everyone who’s talking about this series is doing so having already seen it!

    They can’t be expecting super ratings when most people have seen almost all the first season before it even airs here.

  3. I just wish they focused more on the new gathering and the processes of putting a news bulletin to air, rather than the personal lives of the characters.

    I agree with what people, so far, have been saying about episodes 1-4; the fourth, if it’s about “Girl Sloan” going rogue, was definitely a funny episode.

  4. Noone could or should be surprised its a bit preachy with fast-talking back-and-forths. That’s Sorkin. And besides, the observations are spot on, particularly for US audiences. I’m hooked at the moment and I agree it’s at its best when covering the actual news stories.

    Special mention to Olivia Munn who I find quite good in her role. A far cry from her previous correspondent role on The Daily Show.

  5. I really wanted to love this show but I just can’t.

    It’s easy to write a brilliant news team who seem to know more than everyone else when you’re writing about stuff that happened 2 years ago.

    Also considering that they are covering real news stories, there’s no suspense as we know how things turn out anyway.

    This show is preachy even for Aaron Sorkin.

    In saying that though, it still is better than a lot of what is on TV.

  6. Great show, absolutely love this.
    Agree with enzso, episode 1 was great, next two not so much, but episode 4 was superb. How they cover real news stories is fascinating. When they try to make it a comedy though it loses some spark. Satire yes, but not the slapstick getting hit by doors.

  7. Episode 1 got me hooked but 2 & 3 were too dense and politically skewed – my interest started to wane. Episode 4 however is very clever and funny and has some moments where the characters become much more human. Hopefully the series stays on this track.

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