The Newsroom: The Verdict

The Newsroom. The newest series from HBO which revolves around the people behind a fictional news network - ACN. The show centers on the  news anchor - Will McAvoy -  of the News Night.

As an added twist, the news being included/discussed in the show are real life news and the events on the lives of the characters are patterned and related on such news. 

For ten episodes, the audience were engulfed on these characters on how they struggle to face their personal and professional problems. To make the show less serious, the writer/creator - Aaron Sorkin - added some small yet effective humor which sometimes appeared as irrelevant and over the top. Despite all of these, The Newsroom was intellectually fulfilling and emotionally satisfying. The addition of relevant news and the inclusion of various perspectives of the "newsroom people" regarding a particular event are both riveting and fresh.

I may not be familiar with how the American politics work or with the news discussed in the show, it was still beautifully written. There are some cliche scenarios here and there and some unnecessary humor, but the seriousness and inert professional environment about journalism in the show over compensates for these negative features of the series.

My initial reaction between the romance between Maggie and Jim was forced and spontaneous. However, I realized that as the series goes on, their relationship builds up. However, it did not end well as Maggie chose her boyfriend Don. 

I personally adore the whole Will-getting-fired-for-being-too-straightforward plot. I'm pretty sure that many news anchor/reporters all over the world experience this. Moreover, the whole Will-Mackenzie hate-love relationship was okay for me. It did not excite me as much as I loved Maggie and Jim's affair, but still, it was sweet and perfectly written.

Over all, the show may have some eyerolling moments but it still delivered well. The Newsroom may not be the best show ever created, but the poignant writing and the effective acting are definitely worth something. 

So, I'll give The Newsroom season 1 a rating of...

4/5

The second season of The Newsroom will premiere on July 2013.