What I’m Watching: The Newsroom
The Newsroom, Aaron Sorkin’s new drama on HBO, premiered Sunday to mixed reviews and so-so ratings – but – it’s a masterpiece in my book! Jeff Daniels absolutely nails it as an egomaniacal cable news anchor, who is both charming and a complete ass at the same time. In fact, the entire cast completely embodies the characters that they are portraying; type A go-getters with a thirst for the work that they do, letting no one get in their way…with messy personal lives that can’t help but invade their professional ones. Know what else? They’re smart. Do you know how long it’s been since I liked a show about people with some substance? This is excellent television people!
This show really touched a chord with me because I come from this environment. I worked at two different news stations, and this is all real. The drama, the intense moments, the shouting matches, the secret affairs, the not-so-secret past affairs…it’s ALL real. So I’m not sure why the critics don’t love a show that PERFECTLY captures this profession, but maybe they can’t appreciate something they’ve never experienced.
As someone who secretly dated her co-worker at a television station, witnessed a newsroom spring to action during tragedies and watched an egomaniacal anchor implode in the most public of ways, I can tell you Aaron Sorkin has made a beautiful piece of work and I can’t wait until Sunday night.
