The Newsroom
aired from 2012-2014 on HBO, 25 episodes (all are now on MAX).
The creator/primary
writer was Aaron Sorkin (Syracuse University, Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater).
Writer
of…The West Wing, A Few Good Men, Moneyball, The Social Network, Sports Night,
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The American President, etc. He also adapted “To
Kill a Mockingbird” into a stage production where Jeff Daniels played the lead
role of Atticus Finch.
He’s known
for writing rapid fire dialogue, and “walk and talk” scenes that feature
tracking shots that lead characters down a hallway as they converse.
He has had
challenges in his personal life. He was a chain smoker but quit after having a
stroke. He has battled substance abuse issues.
He has won
one Oscar (The Social Network), three Golden Globes and six primetime Emmys. He has been nominated 174 times for various
awards and has had 104 wins.
The Newsroom
starred Jeff Daniels who played Will McAvoy, a cable news anchor in New York. Other
stars included Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr, Allison Pill, Dev Patel,
Olivia Munn, Sam Waterston, Marcia Gay Harden and Jane Fonda.
This show
did a fantastic job of demonstrating the intensity, manic energy and pressure-cooker
atmosphere that comes with working in TV news. In news coverage, there is the
balance between being first and being right. Multiple sources must be confirmed
before putting a story on the air. This show was excellent since it was a time
capsule of the period in which it took place. Real stories were covered in this
show, such as the BP oil spill, the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and the
explosion at the Boston Marathon. The character development is excellent, and I
wish there would have been more episodes.
Jeff Daniels
won a leading actor Emmy Award for his role in 2014.
The lobby
and exterior shots depicting ACN (Atlantis Cable News), the fictional cable
network, are New York’s Bank of America tower.
The
interiors were shot at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood.
Sorkin
learned about the world of cable TV news by observing Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN newsrooms
first-hand as a fly on the wall.
The role of
Mackenzie McHale (the new executive producer) was offered to Marisa Tomei but
the negotiations fell through.
Jane Fonda
had a memorable role as Leona Lansing, the CEO of the media conglomerate that
owns the ACN cable channel. This is not unlike her third husband, CNN Chairman
Ted Turner.
Surprisingly,
the reviews for season one were mixed. Seasons two and three received better
critical acclaim.
“Newsroom”
stars Jeff Daniels and Sam Waterston starred together in the TV mini-series “Godless”.
The show
aired on the Canadian, European and Indian versions of HBO, as well as on other
networks around the world.
The show has
an imdb rating of 8.6 out of 10. That is very high. For comparison, The
Godfather is 9.2, Schindler’s List is 9.0 and Seinfeld is 8.9. The West Wing,
another Sorkin creation, is 8.9.
*Some
information from imdb.com and Wikipedia.
