Academy Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/politicalpulse/5483814793/
Twitter is all atwitter with the release of the first trailer for much-vaunted screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s new HBO drama, The Newsroom, starring Jeff Daniels as a trusted and supposedly objective news anchor whose fed-up rant about how America is not the greatest nation in the world goes viral.
Sorkin, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for The Social Network, is treading some familiar ground here – The Newsroom is, like his other TV work, is a behind-the-scenes portrait of a very public institution. It’s a formula that’s worked both well and poorly for Sorkin: The West Wing, the programme that made him a recognisable name, was a much loved and honoured series that lasted seven seasons, but his follow-up, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, was a much less loved and honoured series that only lasted one. Then there’s also Sorkin’s first foray into TV, Sports Night, a critically acclaimed series that no one watched.
Unsurprisingly, critics are already wondering which The Newsroom will be. “So, is this SPORTS NIGHT ramped up to 11 with a WEST WING chaser? Possibly, but it’s hard to tell from a lone trailer. Either way, it’s exciting to see Sorkin’s signature dialog and style back on TV, even if it ultimately proves to be incapable of evolution,” concluded Jason Tabrys at VeryAware.com.
The Newsroom comes to HBO in June and also boasts a stellar cast, including Emily Mortimer, Sam Waterston, Dev Patel and Alison Pill; Jane Fonda has a recurring role.
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