HBO Renews Aaron Sorkin's "Newsroom," With Jeff Daniels, John Gallagher, Jr.; "True Blood," Too

By Michael Gioia
02 Jul 2012

John Gallagher, Jr. in "The Newsroom"
John Gallagher, Jr. in "The Newsroom"
Photo by John P. Johnson

The new Aaron Sorkin series, "The Newsroom," documenting the behind-the-scenes drama at a cable news program with a star-studded cast led by Tony nominee Jeff Daniels, was renewed for a second season on HBO, according to TVLine.com. 

In "The Newsroom," Daniels (God of Carnage) is joined by Tony Award winner John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening), Alison Pill (Lieutenant of Inishmore), Jane Fonda (33 Variations, There Was a Little Girl), Sam Waterston (Abe Lincoln in Illinois), Emily Mortimer (The Merchant of Venice, The Light), Thomas Sadoski (The House of Blue Leaves, Other Desert Cities), Josh Pence ("The Social Network"), Olivia Munn and Dev Patel. 

Also popping up in the pilot were theatre stars David Cromer (the director-actor of Our Town, and director of Tribes), Elizabeth Marvel (Other Desert Cities), David Harbour (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and Jason Butler Harner (Cock).

The series premiered June 24 on HBO and was picked up for a second season after airing only two episodes. The premiere episode of "Newsroom" drew in 2.1 million total viewers. 

"Newsroom" centers on cable news anchor Will McAvoy (Daniels) and the show's female executive producer, MacKenzie (Mortimer). Here's how HBO describes the series: "From the mind of Aaron Sorkin, creator of 'The West Wing' and screenwriter of 'The Social Network' and 'Moneyball,' comes 'The Newsroom,' a behind-the-scenes look at the people who make a nightly cable-news program. Focusing on a network anchor (Daniels), his new executive producer (Mortimer), the newsroom staff and their boss (Waterston), the series tracks their quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles-not to mention their own personal entanglements."

In the series, theatre veterans Pill and Gallagher Jr. are featured as Margaret "Maggie" Jordan and Jim Harper, respectively. When Jim comes to work for McAvoy's program, he begins to develop a crush on Maggie, an associate producer on the assignment desk.

Sorkin, Scott Rudin and Alan Poul are executive producers on the series; Denis Biggs, Greg Mottola and Paul Redford are co-executive producers. Sorkin is also writing the libretto to the new musical Houdini.

Additionally, HBO has renewed "True Blood" for a sixth season. The series features stage stars Anna Paquin (The Glory of Living), Christopher Meloni (Ireland Gate Theatre's A View From the Bridge) and Rutina Wesley (The Submission), among others. 

Visit HBO.com.