Dramedy

So over the past couple of weeks we have watched all of The Newsroom and I have to say I am very impressed with the show. I tend to dislike drama shows because most of them lack any sense of humor and focus so much and adding more and more drama that they feel joyless in general. The Newsroom bucks that by being one of the funniest shows I have seen while also offering good drama and catharsis. It is one of the few shows that I've watched where I want to watch more after it is done.

The show takes the subject of the news and runs with the idea that "we can do better". It gets a little preachy, but at the same time its a subject that deserves to be discussed like this. For most people in the US, their view of the world outside of the United States is from the news and pop culture. Pop culture is fictionalized anyway so you can't get to mad at them for not fact checking, but the news is supposed to let people know what is going on in the world. Its an important tool that has been hijacked by people who want to sell ad space.

This is the main premise of the show. What if a news program didn't have to worry about ratings? Its a good thought, and The Newsroom tackles it well. The show opens with an amazing speech that is supposed to make you think and inspire you, and this sets the tone of the rest of the show. It focuses on doing this type of work well, because its meant to be done that way.

The cast is excellent, and they all have good chemistry together. I am a fan of Olivia Munn's work from The Daily Show (which also focuses a lot on the news being done poorly) and I am glad to see that she can handle herself well in a pretty major role. Jeff Daniels did a great job as well, and it was fun to see him do a serious role in a funny way. Sam Waterston played the President of the news network and was my favorite character on the show. He was so funny, and I loved how he could go from calm and affable to balls out angry in seconds.

Aaron Sorkin wanted to make a series about competent people doing a good job, and he did well. The series is written phenomenally and was a joy to watch. I tend to binge a little when watching TV shows, but this is one of the only times I felt compelled too. Its a good show that was on the air for 3 seasons on HBO. Amazon has the first two seasons up for free if you have a prime account, give it a try, you will not be disappointed.