The Newsreader, the 80s-set Australian drama about the ambitions of a broadcast news team, is driven by intense performances and propulsive storytelling.
Creator: Michael Lucas
Genre: Drama
Number of Seasons: 3
Where to Watch in Australia: All 3 seasons on ABC iview
Where to Watch in the U.S.: Season 1 on AMC+
Where to Watch in the U.K.: Seasons 1 and 2 on the BBC iPlayer & Sky
The Newsreader, a television show from Australia’s ABC, is about the way that people use their jobs to avoid dealing with their personal problems. If you’re racing to meet a deadline, then you don’t have time to think about the fact you cried yourself to sleep the night before, do you? There’s a thrill that comes every time you get to tell someone, “I’m busy,” as though what you’re actually saying were, “Look at how important I am.” But this show is canny enough to understand that this compulsive drive and ambition do not mitigate the personal problems, but exacerbate them.
The ambition separates you from others and impedes the formation of an individual identity, turning you into a “company man.” In many pieces of media, character’s jobs function as merely aesthetic window dressing, but in The Newsreader, the characters would be perfectly happy to forget that the world exists outside of the newsroom.
Created by Michael Lucas, The Newsreader is set in the 1980s and follows the team of a Melbourne broadcast news show, “The News at Six”, as they deal with a multitude of crises: personal, social, political, local, international. The first season consists of six hour-long episodes and each is built around a single real life news event, such as The Challenger Shuttle explosion, and the Chernobyl disaster. Choosing such high-profile cases for the “News at Six” team to cover is a masterstroke, creating a strong sense of propulsion for the storytelling, and heightening the intensity and importance of the work the characters are doing.
A new member of the team is Dale Jennings (Sam Reid) , an earnest, awkward young reporter who says such things as “Holy Moly” and calls his mother immediately after receiving good news. He tapes every single episode of “The News at Six”, practices his elocution with a vocal coach, and dreams of one day getting the chance to anchor the news desk. Dale is most likely bisexual, but that’s a question to contend with when your ambition is not a spot in the public limelight. As Dale, Reid delivers a captivatingly layered performance, slowly revealing to the audience that the wide-eyed golden retriever look isn’t an act, but also that perhaps the actual truth of a person is never as clear as it first appears.
Headlining “The News at Six” is Helen Norville (Anna Torv), a flinty, neurotic veteran who is beloved by audiences, but has developed a reputation for being difficult behind the scenes. Torv is regal and commanding, effortlessly switching between heavy anger and light humor, and giving Helen a fascinating combination of competency and fallibility. She frequently butts heads with her co-host, the stuffed-shirt member of the Old Guard Geoff Walters (Robert Taylor) and the blustery, abusive newsroom head Lindsay Cunningham (William McInnes).
After a particularly nasty shouting match with Lindsay, Helen is fired, an event the single-minded woman cannot handle. Checking in on her later that night, Dale finds her unconscious after an overdose of sleeping pills. A knotty, deep relationship develops as both find a kindred spirit in the other; Helen mentors Dale on the ins-and-out of the news business and the sensitive Dale provides the vulnerable Helen with emotional support. Torv and Reid have more than just romantic chemistry, they crackle as acting scene partners like electrically charged magnets. The strength of Dale and Helen’s emotional and mental connection is rendered with complete believability. Every one of their scenes together shine.
Filling out the newsroom population are the stressed-out producer Dennis (Chum Ehelepola), the laddish sports reporter Rob (Stephen Peacocke), and the go-getting researcher Noelene (Michelle Lim Richardson). The character types may prove recognizable to those who have seen other works that take place in a news station, but the writing is specific and economical and enlivened by the very amiable performances. The Newsreader is a true ensemble piece, where the actors are able to create a real sense of camaraderie among the characters. Even as they are gossiping and backstabbing, you are able to see that these are all workaholics who spend all of their time around one another and with that comes a certain understanding and even intimacy. They can finish each other’s sentences.
As the characters race to meet a deadline, you find your palms sweating due to how intently you wish for Dale or Helen or Noelene to succeed. The Newsreader is an involving story due to the strength of its characters, with some scenes creating such a knot in your stomach it feels as though you’re watching a thriller. The show understands the downside of ambition, but also the adrenaline rush that can come from meeting a deadline. As the characters yell, run and panic over a story, The Newsreader is able to extend that excitement to the audience, making for truly involving, exhilarating television.
The Newsreader: Series Plot & Recap
Synopsis:
Set in 1980s Melbourne, The Newsreader follows a local news team as they cover such news stories such as the Chernobyl disaster as they battle office politics and personal demons
Pros:
- Gripping storytelling and efficient pacing
- Captivating central performances from Anna Torv and Sam Reid
- Intriguing and vivid look at 1980s history
Cons:
- A few moments here and there fall into melodrama
- The character types may be recognizable to those who have seen other shows that take place in a news station
All three seasons of The Newsreader are now available to watch on ABC iview in Australia. You can now watch the first two seasons on the BBC iPlayer and Sky in the U.K., and the first season on AMC+ in the U.S.
