The Newsroom: One of Aaron Sorkin’s Finest Works

I love Aaron Sorkin. This is not necessarily something I keep secret. I was obsessed with the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip during it’s run and The Social Network is one of my favorite movies. I love television. Again, not a deep, dark secret. There are a lot of new shows I love at the beginning of the season that I stop watching as the season goes on so I don’t get attached before it gets canceled, a process I began after the loss of Pushing Daisies and the aforementioned Studio 60. The Newsroom, which aired its second episode last night, is a combination of two of these things I love. After a superb second episode and a renewal, I felt comfortable in finally writing about how much I love The Newsroom.
Taking place in 2010, the show contains all the classic “Sorkinisms:” news anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) freaks out in a room full of college students at an open debate of sorts. Soon afterwards, he learns that his executive producer is taking most of his show’s staff to a later time slot. McAvoy’s ex-girlfriend, Mackenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer) is brought in to resuscitate the show, bringing in a new, mostly inexperienced staff along with her including Jim Harper (John Gallagher, Jr, playing my new favorite Jim on TV). So far the show has covered ground with the BP oil spill and the Arizona immigration laws, a daring move considering the fact that these are not in the distant past and very much a part of the political discussion today.
There are a lot of issues people have with the show thus far. Many news outlets say it’s too “left,” while others cite Sorkin’s continuing problems with the portrayal of women onscreen. This is something I have noticed. Mortimer’s character, for example, is considered a shrew and Alison Pill’s Maggie Jordan is neurotic, panicky and prone to making mistakes. However, I am a woman who has been in this type of environment. I have had firsthand experience about what the energy is like and how men and women are viewed and treated. For the first time in his writing career, I feel like Sorkin is putting more than just a misogynistic view on the screen. While it is still slightly exaggerated, it’s more realistic than most of his female characters. Maybe the show is too far left, but it also has a grain of truth for how these news stories were handled. The show does not use standard viewer-grabbing gimmicks, either. I had no idea what the pilot was about until halfway through the episode, and the stars of the case are subtle, not the larger-than-life presences seen on most shows today.
I am beyond excited that The Newsroom got picked up for a second season. I know that  people, whether they watch the show or not, will always have issues with its content and its characters, but the writing is phenomenal, and the casting is perfect. I hope this show continues on its hot streak, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in news, politics and good TV.