Aaron Sorkin is fast becoming a master of second chances. When he was booted from his Emmy-winning creation “The West Wing,” after getting caught with his nose too deep in a bag of cocaine, he sobered up and won an Oscar for “The Social Network.”
But that turnaround is nothing compared to what he’s done to reverse the fortunes of his much-ballyhooed HBO series, “The Newsroom.” Ripped by critics and shunned by viewers, the show, about a fictional cable news network, appeared headed for cancellation due to universal disinterest shortly after it premiered last summer.
If not for Sorkin’s considerable clout – he also wrote the smash hits “An American President” and “A Few Good Men” – that’s exactly where “The Newsroom” would have ended up. Yet even with that valuable marker in hand, just about everyone in Hollywood laughed when HBO renewed the series after it picked up a pair of inexplicable Golden Globe nominations, one for star Jeff Daniels and the other for best series.
But once those cynics get a gander at the first four episodes of the new season, they will be picking up their jaws and praising how righteously good the show has become in its second coming.
Damn I have been jonesing hard for the return of this show. And finally tonight my wait is over.
Here is a little preview to further whet your appetite.
