RATING = 4/5
The Newsroom is a lesser known American-based television series, directed and principally scripted by Aaron Sorkin. Basically, it’s a fictional set of events that happen in Atlantis Cable News (the parent company of whose is Atlantis World Media) throughout the span of 2010 till 2013, which includes the reporting of events such as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Osama bin Laden’s death and the U.S. Presidential elections. Throughout these years, it also depicts the troubles in finding sources, reporting headlines neutrally, getting PR hits, editing snippets of videos a few panicky minutes before they're supposed to be live on air, personal affairs, etc.
Don’t worry, its way cooler than it sounds. In fact, it grabs your attention and explodes into life 5 minutes going into the first season, when the lead anchor of ACN Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) breaks his stance of neutrality to gain more TV viewers upon asked the question, “What makes America the greatest country in the world?”
The Newsroom is a lesser known American-based television series, directed and principally scripted by Aaron Sorkin. Basically, it’s a fictional set of events that happen in Atlantis Cable News (the parent company of whose is Atlantis World Media) throughout the span of 2010 till 2013, which includes the reporting of events such as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Osama bin Laden’s death and the U.S. Presidential elections. Throughout these years, it also depicts the troubles in finding sources, reporting headlines neutrally, getting PR hits, editing snippets of videos a few panicky minutes before they're supposed to be live on air, personal affairs, etc.
Don’t worry, its way cooler than it sounds. In fact, it grabs your attention and explodes into life 5 minutes going into the first season, when the lead anchor of ACN Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) breaks his stance of neutrality to gain more TV viewers upon asked the question, “What makes America the greatest country in the world?”
The Newsroom revolves around Will himself, the protagonist, who is somewhat forced to come out of his shell after ranting on how America has lost its shine. While he earlier used to maintain neutrality in news debates as an anchor to gain more views (and likeability), his recent outburst destabilizes the ACN and forces the head of ACN, Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston) to hire a new executive producer Mackenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer) to keep Will in check.
The first season includes McAvoy’s and McHale’s attempts to do away with passive reporting and instead, focus on reporting the truth to the people and only covering important, valid stories. It also highlights the AWM’s insistence to be partial on parties they have business with and their interference on McAvoy’s ‘mission to civilize’. While the second season is too dramatic and unrealistic for the life of a news broadcasting member, the stakes undoubtedly get much higher and ends with the future of ACN in jeopardy.
The characters in The Newsroom are highly intellectual, elitist and sarcastic, which makes the episodes particularly fun to watch for the learned. While one could make the argument that most of the cast are similar in character, the scripts of the episodes are so witty, knowledgeable and humorous that it makes mainstream sitcoms like Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother seem dull, flat, predictable and pedestrian-paced.
Besides the outstanding actors in The Newsroom, (Thomas Sadoski and Olivia Munn deserve credit) perhaps the reason why it stands out from other TV Serials or sitcoms is because it focuses on current affairs, yet garners a lot of views. Let’s face it, classic sitcoms such as F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Seinfeld relied on popular topics like human intimacy and flamboyant characters to gain attraction.
The Newsroom does neither. On the contrary, it takes a subject as boring as the daily tasks of reporting events and instead makes it engaging, funny and intense. It relies on dialogue delivery and chaotic settings to keep viewers interested, and also highlights the pressures that a news anchor celebrity goes through.
If I had one problem with the episodes, it’s probably that the storyline moves too quickly for one’s liking. Personally, I had to see each episode around three times to completely understand the plot, and watching a 1 hour episode thrice isn’t exactly convenient. I won’t deny that one of The Newsroom’s traits is its ability to overwhelm a viewer within a short exchange of effective retorts, but Sorkin does tend to overdo it sometimes.
For me, The Newsroom is right up there with the best only because it’s a welcome deviation from mainstream sitcoms. It has worked on two seasons now, with each season having around 10 episodes. The third and final installment is set to be launched on HBO somewhere in September this year, something I’m eagerly looking forward to.
If you’re not an American and don’t have any political allegiance towards the Democrats or the Republics, I’d highly recommend catching an episode of The Newsroom, because apart from learning tons about one of the most powerful nations in the world, you would also get a glimpse of how topsy-turvy the world of mass media can be.
-Santi (Follow my football blog 'Gunning From India' and my Twitter account @NeilNagwekar)
The first season includes McAvoy’s and McHale’s attempts to do away with passive reporting and instead, focus on reporting the truth to the people and only covering important, valid stories. It also highlights the AWM’s insistence to be partial on parties they have business with and their interference on McAvoy’s ‘mission to civilize’. While the second season is too dramatic and unrealistic for the life of a news broadcasting member, the stakes undoubtedly get much higher and ends with the future of ACN in jeopardy.
The characters in The Newsroom are highly intellectual, elitist and sarcastic, which makes the episodes particularly fun to watch for the learned. While one could make the argument that most of the cast are similar in character, the scripts of the episodes are so witty, knowledgeable and humorous that it makes mainstream sitcoms like Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother seem dull, flat, predictable and pedestrian-paced.
Besides the outstanding actors in The Newsroom, (Thomas Sadoski and Olivia Munn deserve credit) perhaps the reason why it stands out from other TV Serials or sitcoms is because it focuses on current affairs, yet garners a lot of views. Let’s face it, classic sitcoms such as F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Seinfeld relied on popular topics like human intimacy and flamboyant characters to gain attraction.
The Newsroom does neither. On the contrary, it takes a subject as boring as the daily tasks of reporting events and instead makes it engaging, funny and intense. It relies on dialogue delivery and chaotic settings to keep viewers interested, and also highlights the pressures that a news anchor celebrity goes through.
If I had one problem with the episodes, it’s probably that the storyline moves too quickly for one’s liking. Personally, I had to see each episode around three times to completely understand the plot, and watching a 1 hour episode thrice isn’t exactly convenient. I won’t deny that one of The Newsroom’s traits is its ability to overwhelm a viewer within a short exchange of effective retorts, but Sorkin does tend to overdo it sometimes.
For me, The Newsroom is right up there with the best only because it’s a welcome deviation from mainstream sitcoms. It has worked on two seasons now, with each season having around 10 episodes. The third and final installment is set to be launched on HBO somewhere in September this year, something I’m eagerly looking forward to.
If you’re not an American and don’t have any political allegiance towards the Democrats or the Republics, I’d highly recommend catching an episode of The Newsroom, because apart from learning tons about one of the most powerful nations in the world, you would also get a glimpse of how topsy-turvy the world of mass media can be.
-Santi (Follow my football blog 'Gunning From India' and my Twitter account @NeilNagwekar)