The Newsroom [HBO - Spoilers]

JP Liz V1 · 08-09-2011 9:02pm #1

HBO is giving Aaron Sorkin’s cable news project a green light: The Social Network and West Wing writer’s behind-the-scenes drama about a fictional cable news network just earned a series order at the network.
The series centers on a cable news anchor (Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (Alison Pill, John Gallagher, Jr., Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, Thomas Sadoski) and their boss (Sam Waterston).
The logline: “Together they set out on a patriotic and quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles and their own personal entanglements.” Basically: The backstage cable network drama of Sorkin’s Sports Night combined with a probable dash of West Wing-style media politics.
The project is officially untitled but has been working under the name More as the Story Develops. Sorkin is executive producing along with Scott Rudin and Alan Poul.

Hopefully it does well on HBO I think it should do with Daniels and Waterston in the cast

Skid · 08-09-2011 10:11pm

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Source

Hopefully it does well on HBO I think it should do with Daniels and Waterston in the cast

Looks good, similar enough territory to 'Sports Night' for Aaron Sorkin although the Newsroom setting would give him more scope for meatier plotlines.

Biggins · 08-09-2011 10:14pm

I look forwards to seeing this and how it turns out.

expectationlost · 08-09-2011 10:43pm

i tried to watch sports night but couldn't stand the laugh track and the forced repetitive 'comedy' pity cos there were great polemics in it.

JP Liz V1 · 15-12-2011 2:42pm

Jane Fonda has joined in a recurring role

AnonoBoy · 15-12-2011 6:43pm

Remember The Newsroom from the 90's?

That was a great news TV show. Canadian I believe.

Skinfull · 16-12-2011 11:06am

Sports night was quality TV as was West Wing. Looking forward to this. Any dates or casting details?

The Black Oil · 02-04-2012 9:30am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC8ovJYAU3U

Didn't like the social media blended into it, but it does look good and clearly Sorkinesque. Slightly sweary trailer for those in work, etc.

Kiith · 02-04-2012 10:31am

Looks good. Will definitely give it a shot anyway.

Biggins · 02-04-2012 1:48pm

http://thedailyedge.thejournal.ie/trailer-west-wing-creator-returns-with-new-tv-drama-404214-Apr2012/

IN A WORLD where it’s the on-screen talent that usually takes all the plaudits, it’s rare that a screenwriter becomes so revered that his own name becomes as big an attraction as the actors appearing in their work.

That’s the case of Aaron Sorkin, however, a script writer who was already feted for play-cum-film A Few Good Men, TV series Sports Night and movie The American President before translating leftover ideas for the latter into The West Wing.

That series became one of the most celebrated of all time, winning 26 Emmy awards in its seven-season tenure, with Sorkin writing all but 3 of the first 89 episodes before moving on.

After returning to TV with the short lived ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’, a series on the backstage life at a Saturday Night Live-esque comedy show, he was honoured with an Academy Award for his adapted screenplay for Facebook drama The Social Network.
His latest effort, coming to American screens in June, is another TV-based drama: The Newsroom – a drama on life behind a cable news channel, featuring an ensemble cast led by Jeff Daniels.

I am SO looking forward to this show!

Skinfull · 02-04-2012 1:49pm

Love it but I'm not sure how it will translate into episodic TV. Seems more like movie fodder. but hell, Sorkin? I'm in.

JP Liz V1 · 02-04-2012 2:10pm

Black Oil wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC8ovJYAU3U

Didn't like the social media blended into it, but it does look good and clearly Sorkinesque. Slightly sweary trailer for those in work, etc.

I kinda like the social media blend in the trailer myself

mikom · 02-04-2012 3:23pm

"Arrrgh, Harry, your hands are freezing."

Looks good.

Otacon · 02-04-2012 3:42pm

Is Thomas Schlamme involved in this show?

PhiloCypher · 02-04-2012 4:07pm

"I'm a republican the only reason I sound liberal is that I believe hurricanes are caused by high barometric pressure and not gay marriage"

Looking forward to this .

Biggins · 02-04-2012 5:03pm

PhiloCypher wrote: »

"I'm a republican the only reason I sound liberal is that I believe hurricanes are caused by high barometric pressure and not gay marriage"

Looking forward to this .

The West Wing was supposedly slanted towards a Democratic point of view so it will be interesting to see how this one goes.
Its not as if the Republican's haven't given him enought material to work with! LOL :pac:

kevohmsford · 02-04-2012 6:30pm

Anyone know when this show is due for release, should be decent show.

Ludo · 02-04-2012 8:47pm

kevohmsford wrote: »

Anyone know when this show is due for release, should be decent show.

June 24th is current scheduled date.

Really looking forward to this. Enjoy all of Sorkins stuff.

Biggins · 02-04-2012 8:48pm

kevohmsford wrote: »

Anyone know when this show is due for release, should be decent show.

I think its June 24th.
...According to this: http://gawker.com/5898403/the-newsroom-aaron-sorkin-loathes-the-internet-youth

Another write-up about the show: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/apr/02/the-newsroom-trailer-aaron-sorkin-hbo

expectationlost · 02-04-2012 8:48pm

he's obviously going for the decent republican thing.

cml387 · 02-04-2012 8:51pm

Good heads up-thanks.

Now the fears that the Republicans will be too nice like Alan Alda and that it all falls into a kind of mushy love in.

Skid · 02-04-2012 10:10pm

cml387 wrote: »

Good heads up-thanks.

Now the fears that the Republicans will be too nice like Alan Alda and that it all falls into a kind of mushy love in.

That's the one thing I don't like about Sorkin's work (The West Wing and Sportsnight, anyway). He is prone to drifting into sentimantility at times which can ruin a great episode. You can gloss over it because everything else is so good, but it is annoying.

Skinfull · 02-04-2012 10:26pm

Skid wrote: »

That's the one thing I don't like about Sorkin's work (The West Wing and Sportsnight, anyway). He is prone to drifting into sentimantility at times which can ruin a great episode. You can gloss over it because everything else is so good, but it is annoying.

Agreed, kinda. But with Alan Alda (love that guy!) playing a republican (also in the audio book version of WWZ!) I think its playing against cast. And I like it. I mean they cant all be gun toting Alaskans, or nutjobs like Colbert. There has to be some intelligent "easy to love" republicans, and it will be really interesting to see how Sorkin writes them, we all know he can write democratic.

My only wish is for Bradley Whitford to make an appearance.

And I wouldn't hurt anyone is Timothy Bushfield also arrived!

Biggins · 02-04-2012 10:30pm

Skid wrote: »

That's the one thing I don't like about Sorkin's work (The West Wing and Sportsnight, anyway). He is prone to drifting into sentimantility at times which can ruin a great episode. You can gloss over it because everything else is so good, but it is annoying.

No one is perfect.
Writers sometimes allow (too much?) sentimentality when they are writing about something they partly feel strong about.
We all can be prone to it, by accident or design.
So far Sorkin has done a damn good job of using sentimentality to good effective effect rather than bad effect more often than others.
The serious amount of awards, respect and accolades he has gained over decades is testament to this alone.

Skid · 02-04-2012 11:18pm

Biggins wrote: »

No one is perfect.
Writers sometimes allow (too much?) sentimentality when they are writing about something they partly fell strong about.
We all can be prone to it, by accident or design.
So far Sorkin has done a damn good job of using sentimentality to good effective effect rather than bad effect more often than others.
The serious amount of awards, respect and accolades he has gained over decades is testament to this alone.

Yeah, to be fair I am being a bit churlish in my criticism. It's just something that bugs me. But Sorkin is a class apart. I just finished The West Wing again, it is unbelievably good. He deserves all the awards, respect and accolades you mention.

bnt · 30-04-2012 9:57am

Trailer #2 is out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgFZbrwmndA

Looks good to me ... :cool:

JohnK · 30-04-2012 10:03am

Really looking forward to this now

The Black Oil · 01-05-2012 8:41pm

Uh oh. I preferred the first trailer. This has me a little concerned that they'll all be too self-aware. Hopefully not.

aidan_walsh · 01-05-2012 9:54pm

The Russians invading Georgia? Was someone looking at the RTE News website?

JP Liz V1 · 18-06-2012 12:55pm

The Newsroom will debut in the UK on the 10th of July on Sky Atlantic just two weeks after it starts in the US on HBO

Skinfull · 23-06-2012 1:01pm

Its on this weekend right? Sunday night broadcast, Monday morning available! WOO! Cant wait!

The Black Oil · 23-06-2012 2:45pm

Apparently it's around, if you know where to look.

'Best and worst of Sorkin' is what I read in one place.

The Black Oil · 24-06-2012 1:35pm

The Guardian has a summary of some of the reviews, mostly in the negative.

Personally, I liked it a lot. The performances are strong - I thought the pilot had good energy and it pulsed along.

The rant

is sort of the main selling point of the trailer, but it's over and done with before they smash to the title credits. It has knock on effects for the rest of the episode, so that's where the meat lies.

On the weak side, well, Sorkin's lofty ideals are there and that's OK in small doses, but he really needs to keep them in check and not let them take over. The behind the scenes banter is more interesting and entertaining.

Thought they did a good job of bringing the characters to life as well.

Richard Dower · 24-06-2012 4:51pm

It's getting a fairly mixed reaction, but even if it pulls 500k it'll get renewed.

VinLieger · 24-06-2012 5:31pm

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

The Newsroom will debut in the UK on the 10th of July on Sky Atlantic just two weeks after it starts in the US on HBO

****ing sky, well guess thats another tv show that i wont be paying to watch

meoklmrk91 · 25-06-2012 8:52am

Just watched the pilot, it is very sorkin-esque, you can feel it the second it starts, but personally thats not a complaint, I wasn't around for the West Wing a bit before my time but loved Studio 60 and The Social Network.The cast is fantastic, if it does well and I think it will, Daniels will definitely will an Emmy/Golden Globe, but he's not the only stand out.

Instead of making up their own news stories they are using real ones, first was the BP oil spill, this I like it's interesting and new. I am interested to see what happens when they get to something more politically charged, it will be fun to see how it plays out. It did get a little sentimental at times but again I think that is Sorkin, it's part of what he does and hopefully won't go so far as to take away from the show itself as a whole.

I think it will do well, it's definitely a stand out for me personally and I will be watching. One thing I didn't like was the opening credits and the theme, just didn't seem to fit or do anything to enhance and seemed a little dated.

FloatingVoter · 25-06-2012 11:16am

Good to have a decent new show to watch. For an opening episode it was top class. The opening rant alone is priceless.

VinLieger · 25-06-2012 11:30am

That opening rant is pretty damn fantastic, really looking forward to seeing if this can last and i really hope it does

don ramo · 25-06-2012 12:40pm

very good start to another show i feel will be on my watch list for some time to come,

sad to see it'll only be 10 eps long, but it'll also be interesting to see if they can pick 10 real news stories that have more than likely been extensively reported on only a year or two ago and still keep us interested,

it kind of reminded me a bit like when the west wing started, when josh was forced to work with his ex, i think they could have played it out better, just have her as a war reporter who just wanted to get behind the scenes, there wasn't much need to make her wills ex,

the whole order to everything was in chaos and it will be interesting to see what the backroom will be like once all the transitions have been done,

pleasant Co. · 25-06-2012 12:51pm

Not a Sorkin fan so I probably won't like this either. I will give it a chance all the same, ignoring his involvement. Blank slate.

squonk · 25-06-2012 2:54pm

I'll give it a chance too. I'm not a Sorkin fan myself. I havne't really watched TWW and I did watch Studio 60 and found it a bit self-aware and generally a bit arsey. You always saw a lot of the bollox and issues surrounding the show they were putting on but never any of the actual show itself. It became very annoying. I'll give this a chance however. Definitely won't hold Sorkin's involvement against the show for a while.

Theboinkmaster · 25-06-2012 3:14pm

squonk wrote: »

I'll give it a chance too. I'm not a Sorkin fan myself. I havne't really watched TWW and I did watch Studio 60 and found it a bit self-aware and generally a bit arsey. You always saw a lot of the bollox and issues surrounding the show they were putting on but never any of the actual show itself. It became very annoying. I'll give this a chance however. Definitely won't hold Sorkin's involvement against the show for a while.

Sorry but you're missing out on TWW - one of the finest TV shows ever.

The Black Oil · 25-06-2012 3:19pm

Save for the swearing, I don't think anything marks this as being a HBO show just yet.

I might go with the Sky pace, keep the bandwidth for Breaking Bad.

Fishooks12 · 25-06-2012 9:09pm

I enjoyed it overall, but it went from the very good to the horribly melodramatic throughout. The first scene kind of sums up the episode, the scathing attack was brilliant, but as soon as the puke inducing patriotism was turned on it was painful viewing.

Richard Dower · 25-06-2012 10:29pm

Very solid opening numbers, exect renewal very soon: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/25/hbos-newsroom-draws-2/139272/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Tvbythenumbers+%28TVbytheNumbers%29

Skinfull · 25-06-2012 10:37pm

I am a Sorkin fan so I may be a little biased but I thoroughly enjoyed this. Its dripping in Sorkin though so if you aren't a fan I'd be surprised if you liked this. I thought Daniels was excellent and Waterson was having a ball! Loved the characters, and for a pilot this was very strong. Cant wait to see it next week.

He really had a go at the media and though its dressed in Conservative chat this is still quote liberal. I could watch that opening scene over and over. Hilarious.

don ramo · 25-06-2012 11:04pm

Richard Dower wrote: »

Very solid opening numbers, exect renewal very soon: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/25/hbos-newsroom-draws-2/139272/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Tvbythenumbers+%28TVbytheNumbers%29

hopefully for a bit more than 10 episodes,

kevohmsford · 26-06-2012 12:15am

Excellent pilot episode, Jeff Daniels is brilliant in it. Looking forward to more.

expectationlost · 26-06-2012 4:09am

so they figured out the whole deep water horizon story in half an hour?

hindsight is great thing

Skinfull · 26-06-2012 8:50am

expectationlost wrote: »

so they figured out the whole deep water horizon story in half an hour?

hindsight is great thing

He had two sources... convenient as it may be, it is plausible. Buddy working as a BP engineer and a sister at the Haliburton site. Thats two people that were presumably in the know from the get go. The bit that jarred with me was the BP safety check guy who came onto the show, that was incredibly unlikely.

I have to say though, the reveal of the date on screen was brilliant. *slow clap. Perfect setting. They have the hindsight to rip up big news stories from the last 2 years.

What happened in 2010?
Haiti earthquakes, Chilean Miners oh god... Wikileaks! He'll have a field day with that!

Otacon · 26-06-2012 8:59am

I am a Sorkin fan. Been watching his stuff since The West Wing and have retrospectively gone back to Sports Night since.

From the first scene, I was enjoying this. Even The West Wing took four or five episodes before I was truly hooked. The dialogue is very good, the acting is also top notch.

The only disappointment for me was

when Will admitted to Mackenzie that ther reason he went on the rant was he thought he saw her in the audience. If they had left it there, I would have been happy. But instead, it turns out that somehow she was there, or something. That completely ruined that moment IMO. No need for it.

I hope it starts to focus on the other characters in the team as some were quite interesting.

The Newsroom [HBO - Spoilers]

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