The Newsroom

[Dukefrukem]

I hate most TV, but I loved this trailer.

wC8ovJYAU3U

[Kurosawa Fan]

Eh. Seems played out at this point.

[DavidSeven]

Dude. This is Sports Night Redux.

Daniels = Casey/Dan composite.
Mortimer = Dana
Waterston = Isaac
Pill = Natalie
White guy who says "you told me to" = Jeremy.
Fonda = J.J. / The Network

I'm tempted to say that Munn will be the "Sally" of this series.

I knew he was going back to familiar territory, but this looks like a straight up remake. Guy really loves this format.

Edit: Also, he's apparently starting this show the exact same way he started Studio 60 -- on-air meltdown of a TV vet complete with finger-wagging lecture directed at the audience.

[Ezee E]

Meh.

[dreamdead]

What college student seriously asks anyone if America is the greatest country? Is my 29-year-old brain, even when teaching college freshmen fairly regularly, just resisting that reality, or does it seem off to others?

That said, I like the cast. And I should watch Sports Night sometime.

[DavidSeven]

What college student seriously asks anyone if America is the greatest country? Is my 29-year-old brain, even when teaching college freshmen fairly regularly, just resisting that reality, or does it seem off to others?

That moment rang completely false to me, too. I don't doubt there are actually college students out there that thinks this, but the way this situation came about in the preview just seemed so phony.

I'll probably give this a shot because I loved Sports Night and I'm occasionally a sucker for Sorkin's dialogue (against my better judgement). There is, however, a good chance I'll hate this. I really didn't like Studio 60.

[Dukefrukem]

Nah I said stuff like that in college.

awaits ribbing

[Irish]

Bit mystified how Sorkin has been able to sell this idea not just once or twice .. But three times now.

Looking forward to more editorializing masquerading as drama. I wonder how this Howard Beale bullshit is going to play when half the viewers know that news agencies have no integrity at all. This kinda of show makes far less sense in the modern context of the Daily Show.

Great cast, though.

[Mara]

I'm a big Sorkin fan (yes, even Studio 60, that fascinatingly flawed monster) but I wish he would push out of his comfort zone a little.

I'll be watching.

[number8]

Eh, it's pretty obvious from the moment they announced this show that this is exactly what it would look like, so I'm not surprised. This is Sorkin realizing that masquerading politics with SportsCenter and SNL did not work (audience interest-wise, anyway), and he had his biggest success when he just straight up put politics at the front in West Wing. So yeah, of course it's gonna feel like a redux, because it obviously is, but that's why it might be worth watching, I think.

[number8]

I wonder how this Howard Beale bullshit is going to play when half the viewers know that news agencies have no integrity at all. This kinda of show makes far less sense in the modern context of the Daily Show.

You're forgetting that Sorkin fetishizes a Capraesque view of the world. None of his shows were ever realistic. They present a world where people are extremely good-hearted and absurdly loyal to their co-workers, treating their job as a spaceship to further mankind's greatness. I think people already know it's mostly bullshit. It just feels good to watch The West Wing and see a world where politicians are so completely earnest and funny. From what I read, Sorkin is doing the same thing again here. He's going to take the reality of Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly's behind-the-scenes and erase all the greed and cynicism out of it.

[Mara]

Totally off topic:

Every time I read your signature, number8-- EVERY SINGLE TIME-- I worry about that poor girl and how traumatized she's going to be.

[number8]

She will be paid handsomely with all the riches my father's house can provide.

[Irish]

You're forgetting that Sorkin fetishizes a Capraesque view of the world. None of his shows were ever realistic. They present a world where people are extremely good-hearted and absurdly loyal to their co-workers, treating their job as a spaceship to further mankind's greatness. I think people already know it's mostly bullshit. It just feels good to watch The West Wing and see a world where politicians are so completely earnest and funny. From what I read, Sorkin is doing the same thing again here. He's going to take the reality of Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly's behind-the-scenes and erase all the greed and cynicism out of it.

That's a good point. I think the difference is: people still idealize what politicians should be, and thus connect to West Wing on that level, in a way they never have past Walter Cronkite.

In other words, people still want (and expect) the President to behave like JFK or Jed Bartlett, but nobody expects Bill O'Reilly, or even Brian Williams, to be Walter Cronkite, or even Bob Woodward.

So here, Sorkin's attempt to represent an idealistic newsman who earnestly cares about the truth is going to seem farcical to a generation that came of age watching Jon Stewart.

And everybody on TV is super dedicated to their jobs, to a ridiculous level. That's not unique to Sorkin.

[number8]

In other words, people still want (and expect) the President to behave like JFK or Jed Bartlett, but nobody expects Bill O'Reilly, or even Brian Williams, to be Walter Cronkite, or even Bob Woodward.

I don't believe that. Maybe they don't expect it, but they do want it; same way I think people want politicians to be honest more so than they expect it. I think the whole reason Daily Show fans idealize Jon Stewart to begin with is that they see integrity in him, and wish for non-comedian anchors to share the same qualities. Which is why the sporadic instances when Anderson Cooper or Rachel Maddow actually do some noteworthy piece, they blow up on social media almost as big as the Megyn Kelly-Rick Sanchez idiotic gaffes. Recognizing that the majority of a certain landscape is farcical is not the same as giving up that the ideal is not a worthy fantasy anymore.

[Dukefrukem]

And everybody on TV is super dedicated to their jobs, to a ridiculous level. That's not unique to Sorkin.

Jack Bauer wasn't. He was super dedicted to his country!

God I miss that show

[Irish]

I don't believe that. Maybe they don't expect it, but they do want it; same way I think people want politicians to be honest more so than they expect it. I think the whole reason Daily Show fans idealize Jon Stewart to begin with is that they see integrity in him, and wish for non-comedian anchors to share the same qualities. Which is why the sporadic instances when Anderson Cooper or Rachel Maddow actually do some noteworthy piece, they blow up on social media almost as big as the Megyn Kelly-Rick Sanchez idiotic gaffes. Recognizing that the majority of a certain landscape is farcical is not the same as giving up that the ideal is not a worthy fantasy anymore.

I think the difference is that politicians are supposed to be some kind of paragons of virtue, while journalists are not. West Wing basically has an aspirational message for everyone.

But this seems to be trying to do the same thing, but it's built around an industry that gets jabbed in the eye for 40 minutes every night, starting at 11pm.

[MadMan]

Never really got into/cared for The West Wing, and I gave up on Studio 60 before it got axed. At some point though I will give Sports Night a chance since I believe its on Instant Viewing, and I loved The Social Network and A Few Good Men (both written by Sorkin).

The Newsroom looks good only because of its cast-I actually agree with some of Irish's concerns/criticisms, although I concede that number8's counter arguments make sense in terms of how Sorkin thinks. Despite being a Jeff Daniels fan though I'm looking forward more to Veep instead.

[Lucky]

Figured it deserves its own thread now that it's renewed for a second year and the second episode was just as good as the first. Did Sorkin write all the episodes? If so, I predict great things. I'm already invested in this cast of characters.

[number8]

Sorkin reaaaaaally doesn't have any new tunes, but oh well. I enjoy it anyway.

[Lucky]

I think that's a large part of why I'm enjoying it so much. This is the first Sorkin show I've watched, so there's no burnout or familiarity for me.

[DavidSeven]

Just watched the pilot. Yeah, it feels like a 'greatest hits' album, but shit, sometimes those can be good, too. I thought this was executed incredibly well. Brought back fond memories of Sports Night at its best.

Daniels seems like he was born to play Sorkin's surrogate.

[ledfloyd]

i thought the second episode was really bad. that "you sent your highly personal email to the entire staff, including the guys fixing jet engines" bit was tiiiiired. and does sorkin not understand how email works?

[Sven]

Oh, by the way, this show sucks. Second episode is a doozy of awful.

[amberlita]

i thought the second episode was really bad. that "you sent your highly personal email to the entire staff, including the guys fixing jet engines" bit was tiiiiired. and does sorkin not understand how email works?

I didn't think it was really bad but you certainly pointed out the worst element. Could that "plot twist" have been any more obvious? What terrible writing. Sorkin is often lousy at subplot drama.

Sorkin is frustrating to me. I love the way he talks and thinks and that's why I enjoy his work very much but I'm getting tired of him churning out these TV shows with the primary intent of broadcasting his opinions. It didn't work for Studio 60 because his critiques on politics and religion had no business in sketch comedy so he opted to commentate on the news so that he had a more suitable platform. But it's too obvious when he's abusing the setting. This conversation drove me mad:

- Jim: Let's go through the immigration prep interview to make sure you can do this.
- Maggie: Why?
- Jim: Well, quite frankly I don't know you and you were basically promoted to associate producer from secretary because Mackenzie felt bad for you having a shitty boyfriend.
- Maggie: This is bullshit. I'm going to have a verbal seizure on you now and act like a bitch because it's convenient to this manufactured dramatic tension.
- Jim: OK. I'll indulge you while you get snotty and mock my authority.
- Maggie: Ring Ring!
- Jim: Prep question
- Maggie: Unprofessional response
- Jim: That was terrible.
- Maggie: Trust me I'm good at this and I won't inject my opinions into the conversation.
- Jim: OK prove it.
- Maggie: Ring Ring!
- Jim: Prep question
- Maggie: blahblah-Sorkin'sOpinionOnImmigration-blah
- Jim: Being able to intelligently express your personal views on hot button topics is all that matters despite the fact that the whole point of this exercise was to make sure you wouldn't do precisely that in this situation. You clearly suck at this. You haven't proven you're competent, you've just proven your smart and that's all that matters in Aaron Sorkin's world. But hey, I'm going to ignore that because for some reason I find you charming and am starting to fall in love with you and respect you more for totally disrespecting me. You got this. *smile*
- Maggie: *smile* Thank you.

Makes no fucking sense.

Speaking of Maggie, she is a total spaz and her neurotic tendencies are making me dislike her. Intensely.

[Sven]

Ring ring. Ugh. Phony-ass show.

[Irish]

Speaking of Maggie, she is a total spaz and her neurotic tendencies are making me dislike her. Intensely.

I think the entire supporting cast is terrible, but then they also have complete shite to work with.

Sorkin is doing the same thing he did on Sports Night. Instead of a real story, he injects these highschool level melodramas into the script. At least there, the entire cast was charming.

Here, every single one of them is awful. I want somebody to punch Sam Waterson in the neck the next time he mugs at the camera.

Also, extra points off for naming his female lead "Mackenzie McHale." Good god that just sounds so false. :lol:

[Watashi]

I saw the pilot.

I cringed throughout all of it.

[Thirdmango]

I liked the pilot but didn't really like the second episode. I have a crush on allison pill. But that has been since Scott Pilgrim so I just like that she's still around. I'll keep watching because I generally like Sorkin.

[Lucky]

Oh, by the way, this show sucks. Second episode is a doozy of awful.

Out of curiosity, what current shows do you like? I ask bc I don't see you post in the TV forum that often.

[Lucky]

Is Jane Fonda going to be a regular now? Hope so...

[amberlita]

Is Jane Fonda going to be a regular now? Hope so...

I hope she's only semi-regular. She was fantastic and I'd like to just see her pop up as a sign that shit is getting real. I loved that she just sat there saying nothing the entire episode until the end. We all knew she was going to come down against what Charlie and Co. are doing but I liked the effort anyway. Would have been a nice touch if there were any actual suspense to whose side she was on.

This episode was a shade boring to me. I liked the structure, but the content was so tired. Highlight the insanity of the Tea Party Movement? Not exactly uncharted territory.

I'm glad they admitted that Maggie has something medically wrong with her. Girl needs some serious cocktail of cognitive behavioral therapy + chill pill.

[Irish]

Thought the stucture went a long way to making this episode more palatable. At least they were taking a stab at drama (although the still need to ditch those terrible romance subplots).

Still feeling like, overall, the show just dies whenever Jeff Daniels is not onscreen.

[Sven]

Out of curiosity, what current shows do you like? I ask bc I don't see you post in the TV forum that often.

I just watched the first two episodes of Breaking Bad, which I'll keep watching mostly for Cranston.

I love South Park.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is probably my favorite show of all time.

Community had its high points.

[Henry Gale]

This third episode was easily my favourite so far.

My biggest problem with the show to this point has definitely been the idea of Sorkin simply creating a universe where a fictional news channel could retroactively dissect real-life event and dramatize them the way he felt they should've been handled by the media and not a whole lot more (except for maybe the personal life storylines). But this episode at least allowed him to show repercussions within that same semi-fictional world by bumping into big reasons as to why this sort of Will McAvoy News Night show probably couldn't exist in the real world, both in terms of the show letting us in on the backlash from the public and political crowd, and even from under his own corporate umbrella in the form of the Jane Fonda character.

Even if that means it's still having it both ways, to me, that's still a lot more interesting than just the one side of what the first two episodes displayed. And on top of that, I found myself liking the characters a whole lot more this week, the dialogue was funnier, it impressively covered a lot of ground time-wise by speeding up but not feeling like it was getting ahead of the audience, likely helped in large part by Motolla's direction and Sorkin's first co-written teleplay of the series, and I was just really entertained for the whole hour.

I don't know, the more I'm able to look at this show as Sorkin still in his Social Network / Moneyball docudrama mode, but only still using that to tell stories from a world partially of his own invention, the more I find myself okay with it.

[Henry Gale]

And c'mon guys, the network is called Atlantis News. It could easily be revealed that News Night headquarters has all taken place and been broadcast within a lost underwater continent. All this time, right under our noses!

If it's all been science fiction, then it's more acceptable, right?

[Sven]

Reframe the dramatic artifice and tweak the staging a bit, I can see this show playing properly as an idealization. As it is, it is bearable white noise and truncated gestures.

Fine to practice guitar scales to.

[Dukefrukem]

merge

[Raiders]

This show has all the weapons to be great, but Sorkin's insistence on re-hashing real-life political stories from couple years ago just makes it seem desperate in a way and a little smug to go back and preach in the face of things two years removed.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

Is it just me or is the guy who plays Allison Pill's boyfriend an extremely poor man's Mark Ruffalo?

[Lucky]

Is it just me or is the guy who plays Allison Pill's boyfriend an extremely poor man's Mark Ruffalo?

I can kinda see it, more douchey though.

Allison Pill reminds me of Kristen Bell when she banters. Then I can't help but imagine how good Bell would be in this role.

[Pop Trash]

Allison Pill reminds me of Kristen Bell when she banters. Then I can't help but imagine how good Bell would be in this role.

Allison Pill is a fine actress though. I also like her giant head.

[Lucky]

Allison Pill is a fine actress though. I also like her giant head.

Yeah, she's doing fine, didn't mean to suggest otherwise. I'm just partial to Bell.

[Russ]

So, I didn't know that Hardball's Chris Matthew's son was in this (or that he was even an actor).

Interesting. And good for him, I guess.

[Lucky]

This latest episode cracked a bit and allowed me to see the light that the Sorkin haters see. I'm still charmed by it, though. The final musical montage (yes, Coldplay and all) really won me over.

[Henry Gale]

This latest episode cracked a bit and allowed me to see the light that the Sorkin haters see. I'm still charmed by it, though. The final musical montage (yes, Coldplay and all) really won me over.

I agree. It was probably the weakest episode so far, but it still kinda worked for me. Some of the McAvoy dates felt way overdone, and I got more and more angry every time they had Dev Patel's character bring up his pointless Bigfoot shit, but the end of the episode, my only thought was: "Seriously? 'Fix You'?"

Even as someone that likes the song, I think it needs to go into a television-related retirement of sorts. It's had a good run of sapping up any reality competition contestant's profile piece or ending montages of dramatic episodes its come in contact with for the last seven years. Now TV can move onto using something else by them like "Prospekt's March/Poppyfields", or even a Radiohead song more recent than "High & Dry"! "Videotape" might have actually worked nicely for this Newsroom ending...

[amberlita]

whoopsie, double post

[amberlita]

I don't hate Sorkin. I love him, in fact, and enjoyed the hell out of the premier. I am, however, starting to hate-watch this show. At points I am nearly furious with it. I could count on one hand the number of things I think are actually working.

My biggest beef is that every single main character has acted in such a way that they should have been fired at least half a dozen times. Maggie disrespects Jim 95% of the time that she interacts with him, with her greatest offense in this most recent episode. Mack decimates someone's personal property (the blackberry) and totally loses her cool in a tantrum in the middle of the newsroom on day 2 of her job. Charlie tells the President of the company to "get the fuck out" of the room and then repeatedly condescends the owner of the entire network. Will parades his girlfriends through the workplace and is batting .500 in number of episodes in which he has a public shouting match with his EP.

The most honest interaction came when Don was egged into bitching out Elliot who promptly told him to get his head out of his ass and never speak to him so disrespectfully again or pack his fucking bags. Don, shockingly...apologized. Wasn't so difficult was it?

If I'd ever been given the impression that any of these characters actually like each other and are friends then I might tolerate this behavior whilst not condoning it. Unfortunately, they have almost zero chemistry with one another and Sorkin saw fit to blow by 6 months of the news team's growing pains so that he could bring us a Very Special Message about the incompetence of the Tea Party Movement.

[number8]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Sorkin's crowning achievement in all three of his previous shows was creating lovable characters who have amazing chemistry with each other. There's none of it here, and that's just awful.

I think I figured out what's missing: the bromance. Where is the bromance?

Sports Night has Casey and Dan. West Wing has Sam and Josh. Studio 60 has Matt and Danny. Hell, Moneyball only mostly worked because of the Bradd Pitt/Jonah Hill chemistry. Those bromances went a long way to quickly establish the tone of the show and allowed other relationships to use them to grow. There's none of that here, just one guy whose most tolerable relationship is with his boss, which is another Sorkin trope but completely different in tone and function.

[Sven]

Studio 60 =/= lovable characters with amazing chemistry.

Wait. Bevo. I like Bevo.

[number8]

I thought Weber, Peet, Whitford and Perry were terrific with each other.

[Mara]

I liked the cast of Studio 60 and I think it's underrated. It is not without its problems, sure, but there's some fascinating stuff there.

I still haven't gotten around to The Newsroom, but I will at some point.

[Sven]

Peet is like a boil. Painful and needs removing. A nagging reminder that comfort is an illusion--life is a constant state of adjusting to unwanted external stimulus, sometimes including flat line delivery and a fixed expression of complete vacuousness.

As far as interaction goes, Whitford/Perry has a satisfactory quotient of bro-quips, but unfortunately the characters on their own strain credibility too finely. I'm too distracted by their implausible construction to be generous.

Also, and now I'm just on a momentum rant, if it was inconclusive before, Studio 60 adequately answers the question "Is Sorkin sexist?" Though a part of me does think that the male liberal fantasy being so consistently thorough and unapologetic is probably Sorkin's greatest virtue.

Love Weber, though.

[Raiders]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Sorkin's crowning achievement in all three of his previous shows was creating lovable characters who have amazing chemistry with each other. There's none of it here, and that's just awful.

I think I figured out what's missing: the bromance. Where is the bromance?

Sports Night has Casey and Dan. West Wing has Sam and Josh. Studio 60 has Matt and Danny. Hell, Moneyball only mostly worked because of the Bradd Pitt/Jonah Hill chemistry. Those bromances went a long way to quickly establish the tone of the show and allowed other relationships to use them to grow. There's none of that here, just one guy whose most tolerable relationship is with his boss, which is another Sorkin trope but completely different in tone and function.

The third episode seemed to hint that it could be Dev Patel and John Gallagher, but not enough yet to see if the chemistry is there.

[number8]

The third episode seemed to hint that it could be Dev Patel and John Gallagher, but not enough yet to see if the chemistry is there.

Yes, that seems to be hinted, but aside from the chemistry not being there, they're so in the background that it hardly matters.

It would work if it's like the West Wing, where Will MacAvoy is more like President Bartlett: he's the anchor (heh) and purpose of the show, but in terms of the series dynamic it's all about the ensemble, with Sam and Josh being the leads. In fact, Sorkin originally intended to hardly show any Bartlett at all, and it's only because of Martin Sheen that Bartlett got more and more prominent after we've warmed up to his staff. Newsroom, on the other hand, is all Will MacAvoy from the get-go.

[Sven]

Alas, has gotten so bad that I can't even hate watch it anymore.

[Irish]

He fired almost the entire writing staff, so maybe the second season will be better?

[Sven]

He fired almost the entire writing staff, so maybe the second season will be better?

It has nowhere to go but up, but my guess is it will continue to wallow in a boggy morass of self congratulation.

[number8]

He fired almost the entire writing staff, so maybe the second season will be better?

I don't see how that would change anything, considering that Sorkin writes everything and other writers on his shows, according to their complaints and Sorkin's own bragging, don't ever get to write anything. He basically treats a TV writer's room as a team of research analysts.

[Lucky]

I....kind of hate this show now. The past two weeks have been grating. Apparently its charm has been lost on me. And I'm from Indiana...we love Rudy, but that was awful.

Another moment of realization - A girl in her mid-20's says, "I though LOL meant 'lots of love.' "

[Irish]

Olivia Munn is the Keanu Reeves of prime time.

[amberlita]

Olivia Munn is the Keanu Reeves of prime time.

She's a terrible actress but her line delivery is actually well-suited to Sorkin's writing style where conversations are fast and dry and affectually blunted. I enjoy her scenes moreso than the histrionics of Pill or Mortimer.

[Irish]

She's a terrible actress but her line delivery is actually well-suited to Sorkin's writing style where conversations are fast and dry and affectually blunted.

Like Keanu, she desperarely needs a voice coach. I don't think she's well suited to anything, because she's so stiff she never sells what she's saying. The on-air interview with the Japanese guy is a case in point, as was the confrontation with Waterston.


I enjoy her scenes moreso than the histrionics of Pill or Mortimer.

So do I, but that's because she's not encumbered by their useless romance subplots.

[Raiders]

If they could ditch the Mac and Will romance subplot and treat them with the "bromance" type atmosphere that number8 alluded to earlier, that could clear up quite a lot of my issues. I embrace Sorkin's awkward and open discussion of socio-political matters such as Will standing in the middle of the newsroom waxing on about how Internet anonymity is a great downfall of society; that's what he does. But he isn't developing a good rapport or atomsphere with these characters; he's shoehorning them in between the still-arrogant nose-thumbing at past news events. Maybe once they are caught up to current times next season (my assumption based on the time jumps is that this intro season is being used to recap about two years worth of news) the show will be more character-focused.

[number8]

Another moment of realization - A girl in her mid-20's says, "I though LOL meant 'lots of love.' "

It has never been more obvious that a middle aged man is writing the dialogue of all these young people. It's like Sorkin thought making them drop references to movies from the 60s was too hip.

Second worst moment:

"I'm not gonna be your anchor because I'm not your first choice so I'm going to retain my dignity!"
"We have Gucci suits for you to wear."
"GUCCI? OMG I'LL DO IT."

[number8]

Yes, an urban girl in her 20s not knowing the difference between a rager and a raver. I wish Aaron Sorkin would stop with the young people comments.

The Nancy Grace teardown was cathartic for me, though.

[number8]

I wonder if the finale was at all motivated by criticisms of the show.

[Raiders]

I wonder if the finale was at all motivated by criticisms of the show.

It was easily my favorite episode of the season given that it finally seemed able to a) develop a good rapport between most of the characters and b) didn't have the social/political issues feel shoehorned in. Still think Olivia Munn makes scenes that should be playful come across like she's a 10 year old talking to a pedophile offering her candy.

This is always going to be a bit of an awkward soap box, but I don't think Sorkin ever intended to create another West Wing. I actually think having to develop these characters and form actual plots is only being done as a requirement of cable/network TV dramas and not because he has any real riding interest in any of them. Which is sad because with West Wing, he created the socio-political organically from within the personalities of the characters and thus the episodes felt less like a soap box and more like a bunch of dynamic and interesting characters talking and walking through a political landscape. The switch to a newsroom seems to have been orchestrated so that the issues are a) more vast and b) drive the drama and not the other way around.

[number8]

I agree, and really, the same can be said about Sports Night and Studio 60. So far this is the only show of his where Sorkin doesn't seem to even enjoy writing the characters, and is only looking forward to being able write about recent issues. The character developments come across as more of a chore.

[amberlita]

I had read that the entire season was completed before any episodes aired. Sorkin wouldn't have known the criticisms before writing the finale.

[number8]

Oh yeah. Good point.

[number8]

Wait, although that raises the question of whether Sorkin actually predicted his own backlash and wrote the show the way it did deliberately.

[Sven]

Ah, that was a hate-watching somethin' fierce.

[EvilShoe]

Watched this in a few days. Highly enjoyable, but more often than not frustrating, and oh so slight.

Jeff Daniels anchors (:pritch:) the show. The other actors do the best with what they're given, I suppose.

I'm hoping season 2 ditches the romance subplots, and allows the characters to develop in other ways. As it is, it's no Sports Night, or even Studio 60.

[number8]

Season 2 is apparently a different format, and much more serialized. The whole season is just going to be the 2012 election.