By Maeve Rourke – Staff Reporter

“The Newsroom” has proven to be one of the greatest shows on-demand.

“The Newsroom” is a political drama series that originally aired on HBO in 2012, and concluded after three seasons. It was recently added to Amazon Prime, and its view numbers exploded. The series also received two nominations at the 70th Golden Globe Awards, for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Actor – Television Series Drama.

The series is set behind the scenes at the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) and revolves around anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), and newsroom staff. The series tracks the staff’s unrealistic mission to do the news in an ethical and reasonable way while tackling corporate, and commercial obstacles, and their own personal entanglements.

The series starts off with background on Will McAvoy, who comes back from a mandatory leave due to his public tirade about America’s shortcomings.  Daniels’ rant was one of the opening scenes in the pilot, and immediately showed his strong opinions, and his outspoken personality.

“The Newsroom” has many unique qualities. For example, episodes are written around actual recent news events, such as Osama Bin Laden’s assassination, and the wars in the Middle East.  The show portrays the staff trying to uncover stories as they happen and reporting them in moral ways. They are trying to appeal to both their audience and their superiors, making it difficult to report the truth. This show also boils down everything that is wrong with America and puts out a simple answer to solving our problems.

The series also follows the personal hardships and interactions between the staff members which keeps the plot interesting. Watching the relationships between staff members, and how some crack under the pressure of their jobs keeps you on the edge of your seat. Each character has their own strong personality and draws the audience into the show.

Additionally, the cast is full of amazing actors. Daniels, for example, excels in his role, and portrays his character perfectly. This show provides a great opportunity to show his effortless acting.

On the other hand, there are some lulls in the series where the drama drags on, or not much happens. The episodes are also about 55 minutes long, which is hard to sit through if you are not very interested. Also, the first few episodes could be confusing due to the fact that they dive right into the drama and love triangles before allowing the audience to remember each character’s name.  The pace of the show can become too quick at times and important details can be easily forgotten.

Overall, “The Newsroom” consists of brilliant writing, excellent characters and cast, and fluid directing.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars