Rarely does a television show come along and sweep you off your feet with brilliant writing, an amazing cast and an actual message that is relevant and inspirational. Aaron Sorkin has done it again with The Newsroom! This show is truly a display of what television can achieve if we have the right people who are willing to break the rules of the mundane drab to make an engaging and intelligent show.
Jeff Daniels plays Will McAvoy, the cautious, veteran news anchor tiptoeing with his career in order to "play it safe", concerned more with keeping his ratings than stepping on toes. He has the smarts, the background and the ability to be something more, a challenger of beliefs and a defender of ideals, but lacks the motivation until Mackenzie MacHale (played beautifully by Emily Mortimer), a woman from his past, reenters his life. She is the spark to ignite his flame and gets him burning with an unquenchable passion once again.
Within the first five minutes of the show, Jeff Daniels delivers a speech of Aaron Sorkin's words about the state of America that is extremely touching, stimulating and brutally true for a vast majority of the population. It's reminiscent of his West Wing days, but with even more flare and aggression. I only hope he can keep the pace that he has set with the pilot; the bar is set high.
