The Newsreader

The Newsreader is an Australian television drama series created by Michael Lucas, broadcast on ABC. The six-part series premiered on 15 August 2021.[1]

The Newsreader
GenreDrama
Created byMichael Lucas
Written by
  • Michael Lucas
  • Jonathan Gavin
  • Niki Aken
  • Kim Ho
Directed byEmma Freeman
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
  • Joanna Werner
  • Stuart Menzies
Producers
Running time60 minutes
Production companyWerner Film Productions
DistributorEntertainment One
Release
Original networkABC
Picture format720p HDTV
Original release15 August 2021 (2021-08-15)

At the 11th AACTA Awards, the show was nominated for more awards than any other program.[2][3] The show won the categories of Best Drama Series, Best Lead Actress in a Drama (Anna Torv), Best Supporting Actor in a Drama (William McInnes), Best Direction in a Drama or Comedy (Emma Freeman) and Best Production Design in Television (Melinda Doring).[4]

The Newsreader won Most Popular Australian Drama at the 2021 TV Blackbox Awards, and Anna Torv and Stephen Peacocke were nominated for Most Popular Actor.[5] Nathan Lloyd also won Best Casting in a TV Drama, TV Miniseries & Telemovie at the 2021 Casting Guild Awards.[6]

On March 30, 2022, ABC confirmed that The Newsreader would be renewed for a second season, to be set in 1987.[7]

Cast

Episodes
No.Title [8]Directed byWritten byOriginal air date [8]Overnight viewershipConsolidated viewership
1"THREE, TWO, ONE…"Emma FreemanMichael Lucas15 August 2021 (2021-08-15)552,000[9]1,244,000[10]
Newsreader Helen and reporter Dale tackle their first assignment together: covering the aftermath of the Challenger disaster.
2"Once In A Lifetime"Emma FreemanMichael Lucas22 August 2021 (2021-08-22)508,000[11]1,080,000[12]
Dale discovers that orbiting Helen is getting him attention, while the pair cover the return of Halley's Comet.
3"The White Marquis Matinee Jacket"Emma FreemanJonathan Gavin and Michael Lucus29 August 2021 (2021-08-29)440,000[13]Below 1,086,000[14]
Helen and Dale find themselves competing for a landmark interview with Lindy Chamberlain, due to be released from prison.
4"A Step Closer to the Madness"Emma FreemanNiki Aken5 September 2021 (2021-09-05)444,000[15]1,032,000[16]
The Russell Street bombing throws Helen and Dale's plans up in the air.
5"No More Lies"Emma FreemanKim Ho & Michael Lucas12 September 2021 (2021-09-12)386,000[17]Below 1,103,000[18]
A potentially career-making interview with a HIV-positive mother goes awry for Dale.
6"Meltdown"Emma FreemanMichael Lucas19 September 2021 (2021-09-19)429,000[19]1,074,000[20]
Helen struggles with Dale's revelations, while news emerges of an incident at Chernobyl.

Production

The series was created by Michael Lucas and Joanna Werner and was directed by Emma Freeman.[21] Filmed in Melbourne, the series was written by Michael Lucas, Jonathan Gavin, Niki Aken and Kim Ho.[22] Joanna Werner and Stuart Menzies, along with Brett Sleigh and Sally Riley on behalf of the ABC, executive produced the series.[1]

The series was filmed during late 2020 and early 2021, under COVID-19 restrictions.[23]

Torv commented that "Making The Newsreader was one of the most satisfying and joyous creative experiences that I've ever had."[23]

Reception

The Newsreader was ABC's most-watched drama programme of 2021, achieving an average audience of 1.5 million viewers across linear and on-demand platforms. It was ABC's highest-rated new drama premiere of the year in the 25-54 age demographic.[24]

The series was critically praised. The Guardian's Luke Buckmaster, in a four-star review, praised Torv and Revid in "deliver[ing] fine performances as characters you want to keep spending time with, though you’re not sure exactly why", the cinematography in lending the series a "placid and non-confronting tone, reflected in the graceful camerawork and scaled-back colour schemes", and the writing for "using real-life media stories as the scaffolding for character-related fiction, the former complementing the latter, without big-noting the subjects or rearranging history". He did, however, offer critique, opining that "the show is pretty toothless in terms of industry and cultural commentary", noting anachronistic diversity in representation of Australian newsrooms of the time.[25] Karl Quinn, in a five-star review for The Sydney Morning Herald, called the series "brilliant" and a "terrific ensemble piece", "beautifully handled by director Emma Freeman, working from series creator Michael Lucas’s incisive, empathetic and funny scripts", and concluded it was "the most fun [he'd] had watching telly in a long time."[26]

David Free, also in The Sydney Morning Herald, commented it was "the best show [he'd] seen in yonks", lavishing praise on the attention-to-detail in the series, in the clothes, language and propwork.[27]

The series ranked fourth in Variety's top 13 list of The Best International TV Shows of 2021.[24][28]

Release

On 12 July 2021, the first trailer was released for the series.[29]

International distributor Entertainment One has sold broadcast or streaming rights to the series to Arte in France and Germany, the BBC in the UK, Cosmo in Spain, Filmin in Portugal and Spain, NBCUniversal International Networks in Latin America, Now TV in Hong Kong, RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland, The Roku Channel in the United States, Telus Presents in Canada, and Viaplay in Poland, the Netherlands, and the Nordic and Baltic regions.[30][24][31]

In the United States, the series premiered on the Roku Channel on March 18, 2022,[32] in New Zealand on Eden on March 24, 2022,[33] and in Brazil on Universal TV on April 6, 2022. It will be broadcast on BBC Two - and simultaneously made available on BBC iPlayer - in the United Kingdom at an unknown date.[34]

References
  1. Mediaweek (12 July 2021). "ABC announces new drama The Newsreader to premiere in August". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  2. Burke, Kelly (31 October 2021). "AACTA awards 2021: The Newsreader, Nitram and High Ground scoop nominations". The Guardian. Guardian Australia. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  3. Coy, Bronte (31 October 2021). "AACTA Awards nominations 2021: The Newsreader, Wakefield lead pack". news.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  4. "Winners & Nominees". www.aacta.org. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  5. "All the winners from the TV BLACKBOX AWARDS". TV Blackbox. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  6. "Casting Guild Awards 2021: winners | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au/. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  7. Knox, David (30 March 2022). "Screen Forever 2022: ABC confirms Season 2 of The Newsreader". TV Tonight. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  8. "The Newsreader – Listings". Next Episode. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  9. Knox, David (16 August 2021). "Sunday 15 August 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  10. "Total TV Top 20 Programs Consolidated 7 Audience - Week 34: 15/08/2021 - 24/08/2021". VOZ. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  11. Knox, David (23 August 2021). "Sunday 22 August 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  12. "Total TV Top 20 Programs Consolidated 7 Audience - Week 35: 22/08/2021 to 28/08/2021". VOZ. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  13. Knox, David (30 August 2021). "Sunday 29 August 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  14. "Total TV Top 20 Programs Consolidated 7 Audience - Week 36: 29/08/2021 to 04/09/2021". VOZ. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  15. Knox, David (6 September 2021). "Sunday 5 September 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  16. "Total TV Top 20 Programs Consolidated 7 Audience - Week 37: 05/09/2021 to 11/09/2021". VOZ. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  17. Knox, David (13 September 2021). "Sunday 12 September 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  18. "Total TV Top 20 Programs Consolidated 7 Audience - Week 38: 12/09/2021 to 18/09/2021". VOZ. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  19. Knox, David (20 September 2021). "Sunday 19 September 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  20. "Total TV Top 20 Programs Consolidated 7 Audience - Week 39: 19/09/2021 to 25/09/2021". VOZ. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  21. Green, Natalie (19 July 2021). "Everything we know about ABC iview's The Newsreader so far". KidSpot. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  22. FilmInk (2 August 2021). "Compelling new ABC drama series The Newsreader now shooting in Melbourne". FilmInk. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  23. Enker, Debi (9 August 2021). "New ABC series steps back in time, to when newsreaders were 'unimpeachable'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  24. Knox, David (17 February 2022). "The Newsreader sells to Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America". TVTonight. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  25. Buckmaster, Luke (14 August 2021). "The Newsreader review – engrossing period drama brings an 80s TV newsroom back to life". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  26. Quinn, Karl (9 August 2021). "The Newsreader is the most fun I've had watching telly in a long time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  27. Free, David (28 September 2021). "What makes The Newsreader so good? It's all in the 1980s details". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  28. Frater, Patrick (21 December 2021). "The Best International TV Shows of 2021". Variety. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  29. The IF Team (12 July 2021). "'The Newsreader' (Trailer)". IF Magazine. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  30. Middleton, Richard (16 February 2022). "News round-up: BBC, Arte & NBCU buy 'The Newsreader'; Middlechild expands; Stellify returns to 'The Farm'". Television Business International. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  31. "Roku puts The Newsreader on air in US". C21Media. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  32. Jacobs, Meredith (9 March 2022). "Can Anna Torv Turn Sam Reid Into a 'Newsreader'? (VIDEO)". TV Insider. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  33. "Discovery launching new FTA channels in NZ". Advanced Television. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  34. "The Newsreader comes to BBC Two and BBC iPlayer". BBC Media Centre. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
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