The Newsroom's Best Episode Confirms A Sad Reality About Aaron Sorkin's HBO Controversial Show
The first episode of Aaron Sorkin’s award-winning series The Newsroom confirms a sad reality about the show. An HBO original TV show from Sorkin, who had recently finished The West Wing, The Newsroom was somewhat controversial from start to finish. The series offers a look at what happens behind the scenes at a fictional network called The Atlantis Cable News Channel while dealing with real-life events from a couple of years earlier.
The first season of the political drama received mixed reviews, but the two later seasons fared better. The Newsroom had 25 episodes throughout its three-season run, with the best one showing why the series received mixed reviews from critics.
The Newsroom's Pilot Was Amazing – And The Show Was Never That Good Again
The Newsroom's Pilot Saves Jeff Daniels' Career
The Newsroom’s first episode was a masterclass. It perfectly introduced audiences to the characters, the premise of the show, and what to expect in its coming episodes. The pilot not only set the stage for the drama, but it also included a scene that was instrumental in Jeff Daniels' career. Perhaps the most memorable part of The Newsroom's pilot is Daniels’ speech, which has since gone down as one of the greatest moments in a TV show. Everything in The Newsroom's first episode fit perfectly together, and nothing seemed like it was out of place.
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No other episode of The Newsroom surpassed the pilot. The kind of magic that Daniels created with his “America is not the greatest country in the world” speech was difficult to recreate. Although the show's essence and premise remained the same, things started to become repetitive.. Granted, it can be unfair to expect a series to be as good as its first episode, especially for The Newsroom, since the biggest selling point of the show was not something that could be easily replicated for multiple episodes.
The Newsroom's Premise Made It Difficult For It To Work In The Long Run
It Was The Right Move For The Newsroom To End After Three Seasons
The Newsroom’s biggest strength also turned out to be its greatest weakness. Because the HBO drama focused on current affairs, there were only so many times this premise could work before it became boring and repetitive. While The Newsroom has other storylines involving its characters, its main focus was a journalist covering news that had already happened in the world. If audiences were already aware of the events featured in The Newsroom, there doesn't seem to be a reason why they would want to see something they have already covered in a different way.
The Newsroom's Critics' Rotten Tomatoes Scores
The Newsroom Season
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score
The Newsroom Season 1
48%
The Newsroom Season 2
69%
The Newsroom Season 3
61%
If The Newsroom didn't include real news and also focused on other storylines, maybe then it would have worked out in the long run. But given the controversies surrounding the series, delving into such stories, especially if they are recent, was risky. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that The Newsroom is a terrible show. It's just a type of series that couldn’t run for too long. Despite the TV show’s shortcomings, The Newsroom is still worth watching 11 years after it concluded. Sorkin’s witty writing is evident throughout the series, and Daniels gives an incredible performance as Will McAvoy.
Even Aaron Sorkin Has Regrets About The Newsroom
Aaron Sorkin Wished He Could Rewrite The Newsroom
Before the final season of The Newsroom was released, Sorkin shared his thoughts about his award-winning series. Given the premise of The Newsroom, it’s not shocking that it received a lot of criticism, including from journalists. Some didn’t like the fact that The Newsroom seemed like it was telling them how to do their jobs. Sorkin agreed with this criticism and apologized (via Buzzfeed). When talking to Vanity Fair, Sorkin stated that “He wasn't trying to show the pros how it ought to have been done.”
Even Sorkin felt that the first episode had given the wrong impression about what kind of show he was trying to create and the message he wanted to send.
The pilot episode of The Newsroom also confirmed another harsh reality about the series. Daniels’ speech was an incredible piece of television, but some critics felt that it was sanctimonious and condescending. Because of this, the series started on the wrong foot as it came across as being too preachy. Even Sorkin felt that the first episode had given the wrong impression about what kind of show he was trying to create and the message he wanted to send. While Sorkin is a renowned writer, he never felt that he was able to get The Newsroom right.
Sources: Buzzfeed, Vanity Fair
The Newsroom
6/10
Release Date
2012 - 2014-00-00
Network
HBO Max
Directors
Alan Poul, Greg Mottola, Anthony Hemingway, Lesli Linka Glatter, Jeremy Podeswa
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