HBO's hit drama "The Newsroom" returns for a second season Sunday July 14 at 10pm. The show stars Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy who up until a breakdown made a name for himself as a news anchor that never bothered anyone.
McAvoy's boss Charlie Skinner played by Sam Waterston ("Law and Order") brings in a new executive producer to help McAvoy change the direction of his nightly broadcast "News Night" in hopes of helping McAvoy stop taking it easy on the corruption in politics and focus on keeping the American people well informed.
The kicker is Will's new EP is his former fiancé Mackenzie McHale played by Emily Mortimer. McAvoy is less than thrilled to learn that the woman who cheated on him and broke his heart is going to be running his show. Mac is the best in the business and she comes into "News Night" hoping to ignite the passion for exposing the truth Will McAvoy had before he got popular by not bothering anyone.
The "News Night" crew is made up of young idealistic journalists hoping to change America and her politics for the better. But the crew has some issues of their own like a love triangle between senior producer Jim Harper played by John Gallagher Jr, associate producer Margaret Jordan played by Alison Pill and EP Don Keefer played by Thomas Sadoski.
Jim is crushing hard on Maggie despite the fact he begins to date her roommate. Maggie and Don have a complex on again off again relationship and by the end of season one the love triangle gets more complicated when Sloan Sabbith played by Olivia Munn a sexy economist whose intellect matches her looks confesses to Don that she is still single because he never made a move.
As the character's stories evolve they are covering important, real life American and international news stories, like the BP oil spill, the revolution in Egypt, the radiation leaks in Japan and the death of Osama Bin Laden.
During season one the relationship between Will and Mac had its ups and downs. There were moments when the two were screaming at each other and tender moments when they hugged and laughed giving viewers a sense that they could possibly rekindle their romance.
Each time the pair share a moment something comes up that reminds Will how much Mac hurt him. As a result Will does something to hurt Mac, like have his gorgeous dates meet him in the newsroom in front of Mac. Will also hired the ex-boyfriend Mac cheated with to write a piece on the new direction the show was taking. The piece turns out to be a hatchet job and Will considers leaving the show.
Season one's finale left fans wanting to know what would happen next. Not only does the new season have important real life stories to cover, which could possibly include the Sandy Hook Shooting, the private lives of the characters are coming apart.
Maggie and Jim kiss, Don and Maggie move in together, Sloan wants Don and Mac wants to know more about the mysterious message that Will left for her. Mac never heard the message because her phone was being bugged by the Company that owns "News Night," in order to get dirt on Will.
Season two will premier with a group of new characters. Some will be an asset to the "News Night" crew while others will try and bring the show crashing down.
One new face for season two will be Academy Award winning actress Marcia Gay Harden. She'll play a lawyer who is questioning "News Night" because the show is facing a massive lawsuit. They reported then later retracted a story about the use of nuclear weapons by the Obama Administration.
Another addition is actor Hamish Linklater playing Jerry Dantana a producer brought up from D.C to replace Jim while he is following the Romney campaign. Dantana is struggling to fit in with the "News Night" team because they are all still loyal to Jim and just want him to come back.
Jim presumably leaves because he can't take the growing tension between him and Maggie. While with the campaign Jim gets a reputation as "that guy" because he is used to being able to ask the tough questions but is quickly told that is not how things work on the campaign trail.
The show's creator Aaron Sorkin has built up a complex web of characters who face moral, ethical and personal dilemmas in season two.
The script is witty and smart. These are characters that you root for because they remind you of yourself at some point. Maybe you were the idealistic dreamer or the surly, untrusting single who was hurt and is afraid to be again.
Whether or not you are interested in the political point "The Newsroom" often takes there is something there that gets you hooked, the characters, the dialogue the fact that it makes you stop and think. "The Newsroom" is an intelligent and fascinating show that explains to the people how things in the media really are and that the image of the elitist journalist kissing up to politicians is not always the truth.
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