The Newsroom

I've been watching television for all of my 57 years on the planet. It is a rare thing when I see a show that grabs me from the first moments and holds me to my chair until the very last, but this just happened tonight as I watched the first episode of The Newsroom. Brilliant writing, terrific characters, excellent dialog, smooth and sexy directing that organically brought all the pieces together, and there couldn't have been better casting. Every character just felt exactly right. When it was over, I said this will be the new West Wing. Jeff Daniels shines in this role and what a great opportunity to showcase his effortless acting. I can easily see major Hollywood "A" listers grabbing their telephone's right now making late Sunday night calls to their agents demanding they get a guest appearance on The Newsroom. I was hoping for good when I heard about this show last winter, but what was delivered was excellence. Well done HBO. You've got me hooked. Well done!

This show should mandatory watch in many university courses. Not only it's beautifully written with deeply satisfying and layered story telling, but also aged like a fine wine.

Great acting, great writing, great stories. Even more relevant in 2025 than ever before. I can't really add anything else, short of amazing.

So good!

I just started watching The Newsroom recently with my brother and it's every bit as good as everyone says it is. I'm about a decade late to the party but at least I finally got here. The story is about a fictional cable news network led by lead news anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels). The episodes are written about recent news events by a staff that takes its jobs very seriously but corporate and personal obstacles keep getting in their way. The Newsroom might be Aaron Sorkin's best work of his hall of fame career. It's fascinating from the beginning to the very end. All you have to do is read through the reviews here to see how loved this show really is.

HBO just has it all. Here comes a show about making the news. And it is amazing! Yes, a must watch. No surprise, considering their legacy.

Whenever you hear "I'm Will McAvoy and these are the news." you could think you're actually watching the real news. This is because of an extraordinary production value, we are used to with HBO shows.

The second trademark, brilliant characters played by talented actors is also fulfilled. With Jeff Daniels we have an Emmy Award winning lead, no ANCHORMAN of the show, who managed to succeed against Bryan Cranston's Walter White in 2012. Let that sink in.

Aaron Sorkin, a name I never geard of before pulls out a fresh unused story about journalism that is so captivating, that I am really sad it ended after just three seasons. One message of the show is how journalism should be. It should be telling the truth and only the truth. No clickbait, no fake news just to make more profit. In a time before the social media madness, this show already critizised how the mainstream media operates. Looking back 10 years later it was way ahead of its time.

The show covering real events like the Obama election or the Fukushima incident was great, because you get an impression how real news channels like Fox News or CNN operate.

Last but not least there is trademark number three, the infamous HBO plottwist. This time it hits you from out of nowhere. Sorkin takes profit from establishing his characters so well, that they become like a family. He rips apart one of them and it feels like he took a part of you aswell. Brilliantly written. It makes a perfect ending. Another HBO masterpiece. Thank you very much!

I am watching it for a second time. All of the critics are acting as if Aaron Sorkin kicked dirt in their faces. The critics said nothing of substance- just vitriolic rants. Maybe Sorkin has hit a nerve. In a sea of crap T.V. this is entertaining. Believe me, we all know that the Newsroom characters are no more realistic than President Bartlet or Sam or Toby, Josh,Leo, C.J., Josh, or Donna. I don't think for one minute that the President of the United States has a secretary who doles out cookies, but I desperately need to believe that we are capable of being all of these characters. I desperately need to be quixotic for an hour a week.