A satire of TV journalism, 1987’s “Broadcast News” features a hilariously frantic scene that captures the mad scramble that can transpire behind the scenes. A producer played by Holly Hunter is in an editing suite, finessing a taped package mere moments before it needs to air live. The clock is ticking! The tension is real! When the edit is finally locked down, a hyperventilating Joan Cusack is the runner tasked with careening through the hallways to the control room, where she arrives just in time, tape in hand.
Something very close to that scene opens the Australian series “The Newsreader,” starring Anna Torv (“Fringe”) and Sam Reid (“Interview with the Vampire”) as TV reporters in Melbourne, circa 1986. The series premiered three years ago but wasn’t available in the U.S. until briefly surfacing in the fall. That’s when I first saw it. A couple of weeks later, it was gone, and what a disappointment. This is a terrific show about ambition, egos, office gossip and the thrill of covering breaking news when it’s all hands on deck and everyone’s driven by a sense of urgency.
Happily, the six-episode first season is once again available courtesy of Sundance Now, via the AMC+ streaming app, which also carries “Interview with the Vampire.” I’m guessing someone at AMC realized — smartly — that viewers of the latter would be interested in seeing Reid in an entirely different role of fumbling earnestness in contrast to his blazingly assured turn as Lestat. It’s a very funny performance, but that reflects “The Newsreader” overall, which has such a sharp understanding of the comedy inherent in the human condition. Fundamentally, this is a story about work and people who are consumed — sometimes obsessed— with their jobs. The newsroom isn’t there just as a backdrop. Like the ad agency in “Mad Men,” it drives everything narratively.
Reid plays Dale Jennings (or “Dial Jinnings,” as the Australian accent sounds to my ear). He’s a decent producer, but an inexperienced reporter. Awkward and wide-eyed, he’s a bit stunted (his mother still does his laundry and loads up his refrigerator with pre-cooked meals) and he is also, we eventually learn, confused about his sexuality — maybe he’s bisexual — but it’s not easy for him to grapple with any of it. Especially against a backdrop of the era’s prejudices.
Dale’s not a natural on camera and he’s obsessed with perfecting his vocal delivery. There’s an amusing bit where he practices talking in a lower register on his drive in to work. He tries so hard! But he’s flop sweat incarnate. The kind of guy who sets his VCR at home to tape his appearances on “News at Six” every night. He wants success and validation so badly, and though he initially presents as a nice guy, he contains multitudes, and some of those are not very nice at all.
Torv plays Helen Norville, the first female newsreader to co-host the flagship evening broadcast. She’s glamorous, with her big hair and big earrings and big shoulder pads, and a strong if temperamental personality. She’s confident, popular with viewers and determined to not be relegated to fluff stories. It’s an uphill battle but she’s good at her job. She can also be erratic, self-medicating with pills to steady her nerves. You understand why; she’s surrounded by too many sexist men who bark at her and diminish her talents. But once she’s on the air, she’s the picture of composure. One night, mid-broadcast, she gets up from the anchor desk during a break, choking down sobs and heading for the door, only to turn back when they tell her “20 seconds!” and pulls herself together in the blink of an eye. A producer marvels at the transformation: “How does she do it? Nightmare off-screen; camera goes on her, bloody magic.”
There’s a lot of yelling in the newsroom, most of it courtesy of the blowhard news director (William McInnes). After one too many screaming matches, Helen storms out — fired, presumably — and goes home and swallows some pills. Dale barely knows her but stops by to drop off her things and finds her passed out on the floor. So begins their connection. They’re able to be vulnerable with one another in ways they can’t be with their other colleagues at the station, where everyone has a nose for weakness and an instinct for not-so-playful banter.
The first episode establishes these dynamics immediately; creator Michael Lucas has a real understanding of the storytelling economy. This is not a newsroom where people are plotting against one another, but it’s a tough crowd and the place just naturally becomes a viper’s nest by virtue of business itself, coupled with a whole host of unvarnished bigotries.
There are sabotages large and small. Helen’s co-anchor (“Longmire’s” Robert Taylor) is behind some of those. He’s a 30-year veteran at the station and he just tolerates her presence, but his head is too big to see which way the winds are blowing. Despite his authoritative demeanor and wonderfully deep, rumbly voice, to the viewing public, he’s past his prime. His exquisite, gin-drinking wife is another fascinating character played by Marg Downey, who is better known in Australia for her comedic roles. Here she’s a full-on Lady Macbeth, elegantly scheming, playing on her husband’s insecurities and subtly managing his emotions. “You need to make sure (the boss) abandons the whole idea of a second reader,” she implores him when Helen is sacked. I’ll leave it for now, he says. “No, he’ll have another girl in the wings,” she insists. Her world is centered around this man — it’s a really compelling supporting role — and she’s costumed perfectly, with statement necklaces and flowing button-down shirts that always have their collar popped.
There’s also a cute cameraman who has eyes for Dale (Chai Hansen), a ding-dong of a sports anchor (Stephen Peacocke) and the news director’s all-seeing secretary (Caroline Lee) who says so much with just a look. The standout is Michelle Lim Davidson as a researcher who is constantly underestimated, or just bluntly insulted, despite her incredible competence. Can you translate this Japanese interview, someone asks. No, she doesn’t know Japanese. What about your parents? Dale, horrified on her behalf: “They’re Korean.” She’s casually asked, “You’re not making a trip to the canteen are you?” when she’s clearly not, but she’s sent to get food anyway. And then later: “Would you mind typing something up for me?”
The season takes place over the first four months of 1986 and incorporates real news events of the time, from Halley’s comet, to the AIDS crisis, to the Challenger explosion, to the Chernobyl disaster. The period details are just right. Driving home, Dale jams out to Mr. Mister: “Kyrie eleison down the road that I must travel.” Each episode begins with a blank screen and sounds — of Helen tossing and turning in bed, or the clunk of a videotape being loaded and the whir of it rewinding. I even love the little clack-clack-clack of Dale’s dress shoes on the linoleum floor of the newsroom.
The season ends on a star-is-born moment, which suggests so many storytelling possibilities. There are two more seasons of the show in the can; let’s hope audiences in the U.S. will get a chance to see those as well.
“The Newsreader” — 4 stars (out of 4)
Where to watch: Sundance Now
Nina Metz is a Tribune critic
