The series chronicles the behind the scenes events of a fictional cable news network called Atlantic Cable News (ACN). The anchor, Will McAvoy played by Jeff Daniels is extremely popular and the show, called Newsnight, has fantastic ratings. McAvoy never seems to upset anyone, has no self confessed political affiliation and just stays safely secure in the middle ground of any and every issue. Obviously this does not lead to good dramatic storylines but you need not worry as McAvoy looses it at a college Q&A before the opening credits to the pilot and let's them all know exactly what he really thinks - shock horror - America is not the greatest country in the world - Who Knew, right? (apologies for any offence caused but come on, seriously!!) After a little break he comes back to work to find all his staff stolen by his protege and his ex-girlfriend now as his executive producer. Cue drama....
Year: 2012
Created By: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr and Alison Pill.
Network: HBO
Number of Episodes: 10
Airs on: HBO and Sky Atlantic in the UK
The series is created by Aaron Sorkin who created The West Wing, Sports Night and the cancelled way to early Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Sorkin also penned the films The Social Network, Moneyball, The American President and A Few Good Men. This man is amazing. I am a big fan of Sorkin's work if you hadn't already guessed so I was like a giddy little schoolgirl at the prospect of a new Sorkin creation. It has all the Sorkin traits; smart intellectuals who debate serious issues whilst interjecting said debates with inappropriate personal issues or observations. The trademark long speeches, off centre humour and fast paced dialogue are ever present. Sorkin is known for his memorable lines - who could forget Jack Nicholson yelling 'You can't handle the truth' and whilst The Newsroom is too young to have produced any zingers thus far there is definitely potential.
Jeff Daniels is great as Will McAvoy, he is charming whilst being an ass, caring but also hard, all the contradictions of the trademark Sorkin character. The biggest surprise for me was Emily Mortimer as his ex-girlfriend and new executive producer. I have never been a big fan of Mortimer's but she is really good as MacKenzie McHale she is smart, funny and witty. The rest of the cast are good too; John Gallagher Jr plays Jim, MacKenzie's right hand man who develops a thing for Maggie a fellow associate producer played by Alison Pill. The scenes between Jim and Maggie are hilarious and there is some great Sorkin banter much like in The West Wing. Typically Maggie has a boyfriend Don (Thomas Sadoski) who used to be Will's executive producer but ran off to the 10 o'clock slot with Will's former protege. Finishing off the Newsnight team is Sloan (Olivia Munn) a smart, quirky financial whizz who is hilariously flawed and Neal played by the brilliant Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire/The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). The head of the News Division is Charlie Skinner played by Sam Waterston aka Jack McCoy from Law and Order land. Skinner is almost a more quirky and eccentric version of McCoy and is the puppet master to which the chaos of the staff shift is orchestrated.
The team come together with one simple goal to produce a news show which is not dictated by ratings or politics but rather on giving the electorate the facts they need to make informed choices. As is typical of Sorkin the group of idealistic individuals come together to create something bigger than themselves that everyone around them thinks will fail and is ridiculous. It is a romanticised view of the newsroom and even though there are elements of schmaltzy Americanism it is also witty, funny and smart. The series is set in 2010 and so will cover events we are familiar with to give it a sense of real life - the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in the pilot. Jane Fonda guest stars as the owner of the Cable Channel and works really well with Waterston. The series has a lot of potential and as I am a sucker for anything Sorkin related so I am clearly going to stick with it. Thankfully it has already been renewed for a second series so it will not be a re-hash of the Studio 60 heartbreak.
Final Verdict
I think this is going to be another tick in the Sorkin box for me. The plot is engaging the characters are smart, witty and funny as is the writing. If you are an Aaron Sorkin fan you'll love it, as it has all the usual ingredients and more.
9/10
The Newsroom aired on HBO in the USA and on Sky Atlantic in the UK. No date as of yet for the DVD release.
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