THE NEWSROOM (HBO 2012-14)
While not new, I had not watched before, so its new to me.
I love writer Aaron Sorkin. A Few Good Men. The American President. Molly's Game.
And in my opinion, the first four seasons of THE WEST WING, are some of the best dramatic television ever written.
The nice thing about being sick at home with an ungodly sinus infection, it allowed me to finally binge watch the 25 episode run of Sorkin's The Newsroom. Like The West Wing, it is about optimistic earnest people trying to do the right thing and make the world a better place. The difference between the two shows, everything about the West Wing was fictional... fictional senators, fictional domestic/international conflicts.. Ripped from the headlines, yes. But still fictionalized enough for comfortable, manipulative, inspirational entertainment.
The gimmick of the Newsroom is it is set in one year of the past (the 2012 season takes place in 2011) and all the news, all people, all the events discussed (using real news footage, no actor dramatizations) are real. So for some viewers, depending on their political leanings and beliefs, this may make for uncomfortable viewing.
Some might dismiss this show as just Sorkin's soapbox. As a Canadian, I found the show thoroughly enjoyable. While it leans heavier to the Left, it was not afraid to criticize all sides, all parties and ridicule the insanity of politics and the modern news cycle.
It has all of Sorkin's classic trademarks -- fast paced, fast talking, smart, clever, funny, romantic, quirky -- and despite the subject, hopefulness and integrity. It is what we mythologize journalists and the news used to be and wished they were now. We certainly could use a real life Will McVoy now more than ever.
While no where near the heights of greatest of The West Wing, this Sorkin narrative experiment was addictive television and highly entertaining. Recommended.