The Newsroom – Season 2 Review

Hi!

The Newsroom season 2 aired in 2013 on HBO and Sky Atlantic, the show has very high rated individual episodes on sites like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, and I also hold a high opinion of the show. During quarantine I have watched a lot of tv, and this is the first show I can think of that has me watching episode after episode and I am strategically planning when I finish a season so I don’t have to wait long between writing this review and starting the next. After a strong 1st season which you can find reviewed here, I was slightly concerned about how the show could perform in its 2nd season as the format was no longer new to me and I wasn’t sure if it could continue to ‘shock’ or keep my interest. But thanks to a change in the overall narrative, the show moved around in time, with some aspects taking place in the future and then referencing back to the past so the viewer is always wondering what is happening this season and what the end goal is. With a lawyer questioning members of the news team regarding a story that they shared which appears to have been untrue. By sharing the story the news team became liable and the season is all about getting the entire story about what led to the news they broke and how it got past all of the checks that are in place. The show continues to surprise me in what can be made interesting to viewers and I am looking forward to seeing what the final 6 episodes has in store;

Wit & Visuals

The show is one of the quickest I have seen with regard to wit and comments from characters to one another. The writing team seem to pride themselves on the ability to ‘clap’ back with their characters and use this as a chance to develop out the connections between them. Will of course is the main character and his use of wit and comments is second to none, but in this season we can see a marked improvement for people like Sloan and even Jim. It is through the time spent getting to know everyone outside of the work dynamic and how they interact with one another in the pubs, clubs and the way in which they are required to be more than just colleagues. When reporting the news, everything is fluid, and something can be breaking at any moment in time, this results in everyone needing to be on and constantly prepared. Even from the simple interactions between characters such as when Neal has the Occupy Wall Street movement come to the office and the news team try to apologise for their behaviour, three attempts are made. With every single one of these being funny and something that the audience can get a laugh out of, thanks to Sloan, Don and Will.

Normally the show takes place exclusively in New York and predominantly in the news room itself, driving the chance for interesting visuals to appear getting less and less by the day. That is until Maggie decides she wants to go explore Africa for a story with Gary, of course the change of pace is major for her character and what happens there has an effect for the season as a whole and hopefully going forward, but the scenery is amazing. When the duo are getting driven through the country side with nature piling up on either side, the woman carrying sticks, and the way in which the school they get too is based predominantly in one room, with a range of ages. It was a depiction of Africa that from what I am aware was accurate and something fitting with regard to how the show would be expected to show it. Even the looters who arrive soon after being in the dark, was an interesting choice and the subsequent breakdown, all led to an interesting point of view and some great shots outside of the news room.

Connection

While of course Will and Macs’ relationship continues to grow this season and the manner in which they communicate with one another leads to a strong connection based on both past and present, some of the tangible connections between characters where scenes can go past them, is where the show shines. When I think back on the characters, I can say without a doubt by favourite duo has to be Sloan and Will. The comedy timing between the duo and the way in which they speak to one another really does epitomise the roles that they play for one another. Which as they mention is something akin to siblings, they bicker, have snide remarks, but ultimately work together to solve any issues and have each others backs. This is something I hadn’t noticed in the first season and it seems to have become a focus this time around.

The connection between Jim and Maggie had been prevalent and a way for the show to pivot in season 1, but it was not used at all really this time. Instead we got to see how the writers are able to introduce new characters and give them a feeling that they have been around for a while and could stay around for a long time. We knew when Jim went to cover the campaign of Mitt Romney, it was only for a couple of weeks, but despite this, a couple of the characters that were introduced and the way they were written, gave the feeling that they were fleshed out spectacularly. With Taylor and Hallie, the viewer immediately becomes aware of how they are characters that are going to be there for the entirety of the season in some capacity, but of course we cant be sure of how. Initially, I thought that either the season would only take a couple of weeks or that Jims stay would be elongated, but the outcome we got I think was much better and more acceptable to the tone of the series. But in saying all of that, if both characters do not return in the final season, I think it will end up being a bit of a wasted opportunity for all involved.

Election Coverage

Maybe this is only because we are just out of an election cycle with Trump and Biden competing this past November, but I thought the show demonstrated the covering of an election quite well. By having Jim head to the election bus and needing to go on the Romney campaign trail for a bit, we got to see what life is like for journalists while they are covering campaign races, and the difficulty that they can have on occasion with trying to gain access to candidates. Then on election night itself, being able to understand what leads to the ability to call some states or results with the intense mathematics that goes into the modelling, the decision making and the removal of outside forces in an effort to have bias not be a part of the discussion was all very interesting to me. With the little mess up of Jim calling the wrong senate race as well, it all felt so real and possible to be as a viewer and something that kept me entertained throughout even though the results were all previously known. Then getting to see the shows own version of a transfer of power with the threat of Will, Charlie and Mac being removed from the network due to their story which ended up being false, showed the humility that the characters have even when they come across as exceptionally flawed and filled with issues. It was how many of us hope tomorrow is going to go in reality, but the chance that each of them gave to their subordinates demonstrated to me how important it is to trust the people you are working with and respect for your job itself.

Twitter: MattsViews

Instagram: Matts_Views

Until next time 🙂