The Newsreader is an Australian televisiondrama series created by Michael Lucas, broadcast on ABC Television, starring Anna Torv and Sam Reid. The show explores the personal and professional lives of the journalists and crew in a 1980s Australian newsroom.
The first season premiered on August 15, 2021, and became ABC's most-viewed drama program of 2021. [1] This was followed by a second season, which premiered in September 2023.[2] Each series was met with critical acclaim and received the most nominations of any show or film at the AACTA Awards.[3][4] A third and final series was confirmed in late 2023[5][6][7] and filming began in January 2024, scheduled for broadcast in 2025.[8][9][10]
Cast
Main
Anna Torv as Helen Norville, the first female newsreader of the ratings-dominant News at Six. She comes to the position in a time of misogyny and sexism which set up roadblocks in her career, especially as her fragile mental health begins to worsen. She charts a journey of recovery by leaping head-first into a relationship with junior reporter Dale.
Sam Reid as Dale Jennings, initially a junior reporter for News at Six, whose ambition to anchor a bulletin leads him to become Helen’s producer. The two become romantically involved, attracting media attention, while Dale grows increasingly concerned that his private life and personal secrets may be exposed on screen.
Robert Taylor as Geoff Walters, the long-time co-anchor of News at Six, who is critical of Helen’s role, viewing it as part of the news industry’s shift towards entertainment and glamour to retain viewers. Feeling sidelined as part of the old guard, Geoff allows his health to decline but remains determined to persevere and resist being pushed out.
William McInnes as Lindsay Cunningham, the overbearing, easily irascible, casually bigoted, and ratings-obsessed head of the News at Six newsroom.
Marg Downey as Evelyn Walters, Geoff's wife, who diligently manages his career behind the scenes, often to his irritation and in an underhand way of ensuring her future financial interests are protected.
Stephen Peacocke as Rob Rickards, the sports editor, and former VFL player, for News at Six who struggles when temporarily promoted to co-anchor/relief anchor. As his prominence grows, he often asks Noelene for help, and as he becomes attracted to her, he appreciates her more.
Michelle Lim Davidson as Noelene Kim, the assiduous News at Six library researcher and autocue operator, determined to try and make her mark, despite being a put-upon, badly treated, and unduly pressured dogsbody.
Chum Ehelepola as Dennis Tibb, the meticulously working and hot-headed head producer of the newsroom.
Rory Fleck Byrne as Gerry Carroll (series 2), an affably charming variety show host and one of the most popular personalities and comedians on television.[11]
Daniel Gillies as Charlie Tate (series 2), the network's new insidiously suave CEO determined to steer the channel and its news division in a more informal direction with a specific brand.[11]
Philippa Northeast as Kay Walters (series 2), Geoff and Evelyn's complicated daughter, who often rushes to her father in light of a strained relationship with her mother, with whom she is less able to exploit parental affection for her from in comparison to Geoff's more unconditional approach.
Recurring
Chai Hansen as Tim Ahern (main, Season One; recurring, Season Two), one of the News at Six cameramen who develops a partially-requited crush on Dale.
Caroline Lee as Jean Pascoe, the newsroom secretary with a keen, but well-intended interest in - and keeps tabs on - the newsroom gossip.
Maria Angelico as Cheryl Ricci, the talkative and warmly brash News at Six make-up artist.
John Leary as Murray Gallagher, News at Six editor.
Jackson Tozer as Ross McGrath, sound technician for Tim (Season One) and Brian (Season Two)
Rhys Mitchell as Brian Mathers, News at Six cameraman.
Maude Davey as Val Jennings, Dale's attentive and doting mother, keen to see her son do well, aware of his past traumas.
Queenie van de Zandt as Donna Gillies, a headstrong, wily, experienced gossip columnist for The Sun, well known for her attempts to publish the private lives of the network's personalities and talent.
Dom Phelan as Brett (series 1), the other sports editor for News at Six.
Damian Callinan as Frank (series 2), News at Six director and camera operator.
Jane Harber as Carla Carroll (series 2), Gerry's outgoing wife.
Cazz Bainbridge as Marta (series 2), Charlie's mistreated housekeeper.
Nick Simpson-Deeks as Paul (series 2), a calculating, assiduous member of Geoff's production team.
Dan Spielman as Vincent Callahan (series 2), a rival network newsroom head whom Dennis tries to poach, and who tries to poach Helen.
Notable guests
Robert Grubb as Dr McCormack (series 1), who has Helen as one of his patients and regularly re-fills her sleeping pill prescription despite her increasingly flimsy excuses
Tony Rickards as Dr Shaw (series 1), Geoff's doctor, who meets resistance from both him and Evelyn about what changes Geoff must make to improve his health, his recommendations for a long while off-screen to recover not well received
Tim Draxl as Adam (series 1), a former schoolfriend of Dale's, who aims to apologise for a brutal event in their shared past
Edwina Wren as Cathy Kaasik (series 1), Helen's sister, who pleads with her to join the family in their father's dying days
Asmara Feik as Alison (series 2), Gerry and Carla's young daughter
Em Rusciano as Rhonda (series 2), a singer hired for the News at Six's unnamed network's 1988 promo
Tony Briggs as Uncle "Owie" (series 2), an older and more seasoned Aboriginal activist who clashes with Lynus on the best tactics for protesting the Bicentennial
Paula Nazarski as Aunty "Tiny" (series 2), an older member of Lynus' extended family and protest group who doesn't suffer fools gladly
Paula Arundell as Nadia (series 2), a therapist at a private institution who tries to encourage Geoff and Evelyn to involve themselves in Kay's recovery
Richard Davies as Glen Rickards (series 2), Rob's gregarious brother and sports fanatic, partner to Kerrie
Nikki Shiels as Kerrie Rickards (series 2), Rob's protective sister-in-law keen to inspect his girlfriends' qualities, expecting a child
24–29 January 1986. Helen Norville, female co-anchor on the highly-rated News at Six, is aggrieved at feeling sidelined by boss Lindsay. After pressuring him into commissioning her special reports – disapproving of the subject matters – he enlists up-and-coming reporter Dale Jennings into supervising her – hoping to temper her ambitions – in return for allowing him his first morning update. After a row over feeling constrained, Helen walks out and is discovered by Dale at home, having attempted suicide. Spending time at his, Helen helps Dale after a less-than-spectacular bulletin-hosting debut, encouraged by his readiness to receive her advice – spurring her on to accomplish a lauded news special the following morning after the overnight breaking news of the Challenger disaster, with Lindsay reluctant to let her go over crumbling ratings, despite the feelings of co-anchor Geoff.
30 January–1 February 1986. The return of Halley's Comet is top of the news agenda and public milieu, while rumours about Helen and Dale's relationship dominate the newsroom gossip. Helen struggles after explosive confrontations with Lindsay and head producer Dennis, the difference between her off-camera and on-camera persona becoming ever more marked and distinguished as her already-fragile mental state worsens, to the concern of Lindsay, who is also having to deal with Geoff's deliberation over whether to resign from the network, return to the field, or remain an anchor, in the run-up to his 60th birthday bash. Dale voices his discomfort at his colleagues' slurs about his 'relationship' with Helen, and - troubled by his apparent impression of being gay - decides to take up her offer to accompany her to Geoff's party, where they become the public spectacle.
2–10 February 1986. The news that new evidence has been found in the Azaria Chamberlain case, that could exonerate mother Lindy Chamberlain and see her released from prison in days, rattles the newsroom; Dale and Helen are dispatched to Darwin to capture a potential ratings bonanza of an interview. Their nascent relationship comes under strain as their newsgathering styles clash, Dale's more restrained and by-the-books approach grating on Helen, whose brazen and gung-ho nature eventually does lead to a possible exclusive. Rob faces a challenge after Lindsay rosters him as relief anchor, uncomfortably expanding his remit from sport, and ropes Noelene into helping him design lines of questioning for the Chamberlain case coroner. Geoff, who spearheaded the original, extensive coverage of the case, attempts to elbow his way into the coverage; after hearing of Dale and Helen's offer of $100,000 (equivalent to $279,000in 2021), and feeling undermined, he takes this information to a rival media outlet to ensure their efforts go to waste.
27–28 March 1986. Royal wedding fever is sweeping Australia as Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have announced the date for their nuptials. A frantic Helen becomes preoccupied with creating a good impression as she prepares to meet Dale's mother, and Geoff faces health issues of his own, but stubbornly refuses to adjust his unhealthy eating, drinking, and smoking habits. His resulting hospitalisation leads wife Evelyn to become concerned he'll lose status at the network, and is determined to expedite his recovery. Dale is dismayed when he's sent to supervise, rather than front, one of the many royal wedding reports, but ends up securing an unexpected headline-grabbing scoop; being first on the scene of a bombing of a police station and securing his first major appearance on the News at Six, before a bungled kiss with cameraman Tim proves traumatising. Rob makes sure Noelene knows her worth as he appreciates her assistance in securing survivor interviews, and offers her help on how to begin climbing the ranks.
23–25 April 1986. Helen has convinced Lindsay to finally produce an interview with a mother who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion, but hands the report over to Dale, believing it will help raise his profile. The report goes to air containing claims the blood bank was deliberately targeted with infected blood - against Dale's advice, but with Lindsay's eager consent - and evokes mass ire from the gay community and activists, leading to a protest outside the news offices, at which Helen meets - and Dale reencounters - a compelling individual named Adam. Noelene is sacked when she reveals that the supporting source for the offending claim was fabricated, while Rob threatens to quit if she is not reinstated. Upon hearing that Helen has scheduled a live, on-air interview with Adam and his HIV-positive partner, Geoff insists on co-hosting. His bigoted questioning pleases Lindsay, but perturbs Helen, who visits an upset Dale at home and is shocked by revelations stemming from his past with Adam and closeted adolescence.
26–28 April 1986. Early-morning reports of an incident at Chernobyl trickle in detail-by-detail, leading to Helen and Dale - struggling to disguise her deep animosity towards him - working together to assemble information. Meanwhile, Evelyn's discovery that her husband's health has been worsening, and he has been unwell for longer than she realised, leads her to attempt to convince Lindsay to drop Geoff from anchor duties in favour of a reduced workload. But Lindsay's efforts to organise his departure in an orderly fashion fail dramatically and he is left scrambling to pull together a team for the main bulletin when Rob decides to walk out - not wanting to be the replacement male co-anchor that all the viewers will hate. When Dale is enlisted to co-anchor with Helen on the special evening bulletin instead, the frosty air between them thaws when they finally open up about their traumatic pasts.
In February 2023, it was confirmed the series would air in the second half of the year,[24] and in August announced that the series would premiere on 10 September. Each episode of the series will be accompanied by an official podcast, hosted by journalists Leigh Sales and Lisa Millar.[25]
On 19 September, all remaining episodes (episodes 3–6) were made available on ABC iView, on-demand, prior to their linear broadcast.[26][27]
8–13 July 1987. The night is dominated by rivalries as Dale and Helen - now firmly established as 'The Golden Couple of News' - prepare to front the network's federal election coverage, frustrated by unjust pressure from their new CEO, Charlie Tate, as to what the telecast promises viewers - a 7:45pm guarantee on the election outcome - and from their erstwhile colleague and former News at Six icon, Geoff - whose career revival happens to be his own simultaneous coverage on a rival network. The Six's night goes from bad to worse when they are unable to deliver a projection on time and an opportunity to interview Paul Keating is jeopardised, as Lindsay and Dennis' toadying of Charlie becomes more desperate and Noelene gets on the wrong side of everyone bar Rob. Variety show host Gerry Carroll's addition to the panel initially annoys Dale, but he finds himself warming to the comic - to an extent that disturbs and unsettles him and Helen in different ways. Evelyn struggles to accommodate her daughter's homecoming.
9–12 August 1987. A dinner at Charlie's is interrupted as news arrives of a mass shooting in Clifton Hill, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne. The only news programme with raw footage of the aftermath, the exclusive sees Lindsay approve the broadcast of unedited video including the image of a dead body. The resulting uproar taints Helen, the bulletin's newsreader, by association; being forced to confront her besmirched image - having subverted expectations of what viewers expect from a female newsreader, those disparate qualities and her departure from them made clear - worsened by Geoff, who launches a caustic attack on the exploitative tactics of modern media, aided by Evelyn's underhand tactics in extracting insider information from Cheryl. With his and Noelene's homes located near the massacre, Rob struggles to gather himself in the following days, compounding the pair's reluctance to reveal their relationship. Charlie begins to inveigle himself into the Six's affairs with a baulking effect; Lindsay in his crosshairs.
17–20 October 1987. Helen is deeply perturbed when a notorious newspaper gossip columnist calls, promising a tell-all feature about her troubled past, including her estrangement from her family and institutionalisation as a teenager. Dale and Helen take different routes and inspiration in attempting to deal with the situation; Gerry encourages Dale to concede to the columnist's power, which results in a mistimed proposal. Helen, meanwhile, takes the direct route in attempting to rope CEO Charlie into quashing the story - who is preoccupied with trying to stem his losses from the stock market catastrophe - with a visit to Evelyn's to lay the blame at her door worsening the image the story will create of her. The pair both find themselves at potential sources of temptation to repair and secure their future. The shifting deckchairs and unstable manoeuvres at the Six unsettles Dennis, whose secret plotting to overthrow Lindsay steps up a notch. Geoff continues to be blind - with reluctant self-admission to otherwise - to the truth behind Kay's increasingly obvious suffering, while Noelene's efforts to improve her professional standing fall short, to her dismay.
4–16 December 1987. With the Bicentennial celebrations approaching, the network's preparations are beginning to warm up; when Geoff's coverage is unexpectedly interrupted by a brash, suave activist group leader - Lynus Preston, determined to get his message across on the suffering of the Aborigines and how the celebrations will worsen it - Helen is keen to obtain a narrative-challenging interview. Lindsay's opposition is quelled by Dale and Noelene's revelation they have a ratings-rocketing story on the state of Prince Charles and Diana's marriage, and in return Helen and Lynus get their spot - although he is more-than-happy to string her along, Helen already unsettled by the reappearance of Tim with another interested crew. Inspired by her erstwhile enthusiasm and happiness, Dale resolves to prepare another surprise and spectacle of his own: a lavish, yet low-key, proposal; his efforts, however, are undermined by unneeded blowback on the royal story from different directions - that end up upsetting both Helen and Lynus for very contrasting reasons. Kay is left broken by her parents' reaction to their inclusion in her recovery - a dismissive, blasé Evelyn and obstinate Geoff refusing to acknowledge their part in her years-long pain - while Noelene is disappointed by Rob's facetious takes on racism.
17–21 December 1987. Carrying on as normal proves increasingly fraught for Dale and Helen, their close working relationship hiding how emotionally and romantically distant they are. Their impasse is punctuated by Kay's request for a tell-all interview on her addiction and her family's involvement - enthusing Lindsay, wanting a huge scoop to end the year on, but prompting an eruptive Geoff. Jealousy causes Dale's grasp on his relationship to crumble further, as drowning his spirits at the camera crew's infamously ribald Christmas party - a surprise appearance by Tim and Gerry encouraging him to follow them on to an underground gay bar - dismantles any obstacle to loosening his self-imposed shackles, shocking them both as he becomes incongruously uninhibited. Noelene's apprehension over impressing Rob's family at a Christmas lunch worsens as Kay calls, demanding the interview be held immediately; her forthright answers resonate with both her and Helen, while a hungover Dale nurses the night before by reasserting himself as the caricature of the unflawed man - which includes agreeing with critique of the lack of sensationalism in Helen's report... compounding her already tentative thoughts on her regret as to her drifting moral compass, and leading to a staggering decision matching Dale's in impulsiveness.
21–27 January 1988. The Six team all encounter threats to their future with constantly fluctuating levels of hope, ambition, and danger. Dale and Helen start their lives apart, their ostensibly buoyant moods immediately upended; Gerry pleads with Dale for support after his arrest for cottaging, and Helen is informed tenacious newspaper columnist Donna has learned of Dale's tryst with Tim. Rushing to protect him, she demolishes her relationship with Charlie, and becomes crestfallen after her newfound sense of freedom as Seven News'US election correspondent is shattered by Lindsay's malicious gossip about her tendency for caprice. Dale attempts to fight Gerry being excised from their coverage of Australia Day - the First Fleet re-enactment and a royal visit converging to engender the biggest news day of the year, helped by Geoff stepping away from his show in light of family turmoil - but in desperation to save himself, and his position, reneges on his loyalty to someone who is also hiding who they are, inspiration striking last-minute to secure his potential for good. Noelene is wracked with indecision after an offer to join Helen abroad is compounded when Rob unexpectedly proposes and she begins to wonder about her place in the world as the path forward bifurcates, with Dennis also finding himself in a relatable position.
For further information on production of the series, see §Series 3.
The ABC confirmed in their Upfronts presentation in November 2023 that a third series would be shown in the latter half of 2024, with the entire ensemble cast returning.[36] In February 2024, TVTonight reported that the ABC had scheduled the series in Q4, suggesting it will broadcast sometime between October and December 2024.[37] In June 2024, it was announced the series would instead be broadcast in 2025.[38]
A press release accompanying the announcement of the series' commission, on what plotlines the series comprises, details that Dale is now considered News at Six's 'King of News', with Helen's international reporting having been met with "great acclaim", but as a "cynical network move sees the two former lovers pitted in direct competition, their kinship will be tested as never before", and "over the course of 1989, Helen and Dale will compete to cover a cascade of historical events… from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, to the Tiananmen Square massacre, the boycotts of South Africa's Apartheid, and the fall of the Berlin Wall."[36] The series will open on 17 March 1989, with characters attending the Logie Awards ceremony held on that date.[39]
In April 2024, Chris Oliver-Taylor, ABC's chief content officer, said that he expects the third series to be the last and conclude the show's run.[40] In June 2024, this was confirmed by the ABC and Lucas, who said that since the first series the show was seen as "this saga as three acts, and the coming series is designed as an emotional and cathartic third act for the whole vivid ensemble [which] will be very clear to audiences when they see it".[38]
In April 2024, as the series moved into post-production, further information about its plotting was revealed, stating that Dale, "fronting the News At Six solo, has become the most beloved name in news, a Gold Logie nominee, [and] permanently number one in the nightly ratings", while "Helen's fearless international reporting has won her an opportunity to be the first woman to both anchor and produce her own current affairs show".[41]
The series was created by Michael Lucas and Joanna Werner and was directed by Emma Freeman.[42] Filmed in Melbourne, the series was written by Michael Lucas, Jonathan Gavin, Niki Aken and Kim Ho.[43] Joanna Werner and Stuart Menzies, along with Brett Sleigh and Sally Riley on behalf of the ABC, executive produced the series.[44] The series was supported through investments from Screen Australia and Film Victoria.[45][46]
Initial development
The inception of The Newsreader was worked on by Michael Lucas following his six-part series Party Tricks in 2014/2015 - and had a "long gestation" period.[47] Initial writing for the series took place "immediately after" Lucas finished working on the fifth series of Offspring in 2015[48]. Initially, it was not centred around a newsroom setting, and instead aimed more simply to write about a male lead yearning to "fulfil" a "particular version of masculinity" that "wasn't an actual fit but he was just desperate to live up to it," a theme Lucas said was based on his own life experiences.[47][49] This became the character of Dale, before Lucas realised there needed to be a female character to match him with, who would be "possessed of those traditional masculine qualities" instead;[47] she would be "punished for them, whereas he struggles to fit into that masculine ideal." Lucas said the way in which the two characters flipped gender stereotypes was what he "found really compelling about them."[19] Their relationship formed the basis of the series, with the additional layer of a 1980s setting decided upon due to the fact it would impose "more pressure on [the characters] to fulfil certain roles". Lucas then embarked on a year-and-a-half development timeframe, considering what "image of masculinity" the character of Dale would want to achieve[47]. Within a few drafts, he had decided on a newsreader in a newsroom setting,[50] with Lucas calling them "lions" and "voice-of-God men".[47]
"I always love a newsroom show ... For me, it's one of those perfect office environments where stories literally walk through the door, and when everything can change in an instant...It's also a space where you thrash out the big issues in society, there in those four walls."
—Michael Lucas, the creator of the series, in an interview with Flicks.[48]
Over the course of 2015 and 2016, Lucas began researching newsrooms of the 1980s, interviewing those who worked in them at the time and being struck by stories of the culture.[47] Lucas was drawn to learning how female newsreaders - who were a relatively nascent arrival in the 1980s - coped in an environment that put so much pressure on them, caught in an "era of change". He claimed they had to figure out how to "define how [they] should look in a workplace" and present themselves, as viewers still "liked hearing the news read by very masculine voices of God".[50] Lucas has kept the identities of those he interviewed private, but Leigh Sales admitted to her part in his research ahead of the second series. Her stories and recollections have had a major impact on the series, and she has provided "a really great way of explaining the dynamics of relationships". Furthermore, she provided intricate details of the workings of a newsroom, such as the autocue, and the "panic" she felt at potentially something going wrong and "getting yelled at"; Lucas said that her regaling of these experiences inspired the character of Noelene.[51]
Lucas noted the significance of most of his research into the culture of newsrooms of the time being conducted prior to the #MeToo movement,[47] recollecting in an interview in 2021, how he questioned whether there would be a "profound change" that resulted from the movement, or whether society would have moved on by the time the show was broadcast. He lamented upon then-recent revelations about the culture in Parliament, and how "you realise we might have progressed in some ways, but there's still a lot of structural problems and a culture of bullying and misogyny linked to that."[48] Lucas described the depth of research he undertook, claiming he "read nearly every newspaper from 1986" and that letters to the editor were of great significance and useful, as "they give you the full picture of what people were making of things [then]."[52]
Inclusion of real-life events
The Challenger launch and explosion (the latter pictured here) was the main news event focus of the first episode. Lucas talked of its significance to the news industry; "After [it], you saw that TV news was going to become the future. Satellite technology was capable of taking footage all around the world. And it was this incredible, ... horrible, tragic spectacle. But you couldn't turn away from it. And I think it marked a real change in that it pioneered that sense of rolling news, keeping it going throughout the day, breaking into your programming, just trusting that the audience is gonna keep on watching it."
The first iteration of The Newsreader was written on spec, and a pilot was scripted, with which Lucas approached the ABC, having worked with the network on sitcom Rosehaven. Lucas also considered taking the series to Foxtel, but thought the story would be a better fit for a non-commercial broadcaster; the ABC responded positively "really quickly", and they had the added advantage of an extensive archive of news footage and coverage that could be used.[47] Lucas has said that he consciously reads newspapers, and watches archived bulletins, from the time "through a modern lens" in order to "see them in a completely new light", not only to fully take on board and recognise "the passage of time but also what I understood then as a child versus what I understood now".[54]
Brett Sleigh at the ABC - who would become an executive producer on the series - suggested using actual, famous events as the structure of the series, as it was previously just set around "generic stories" like the more expansive rollout of ATMs; Sleigh was enthusiastic about "making the most of ABC archives", and recommended Joanna Werner, to whom Lucas gave the draft pilot script and became "really connected with it" with "clear vision about where it would go". Lucas said he immediately knew to start with the Challenger explosion, as that was the first major news event he remembered from childhood,[47][53] while for the rest of the series picked events simply by looking at what happened during the first half of 1986, explicating that covering Chernobyl was unavoidable, but also that the series also covers less "date-specific" stories such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic.[19]
From this, the decision was made to "tightly stick to a real-life timeframe", with episodes taking place over the course of only a few days at most. The crew received VHS tapes containing playouts of broadcast news bulletins on certain days, in order to judge the importance and prioritisation of certain news stories on the days episodes take place on. Freeman chose to signify to viewers as to specific dates on which events happened, which appear on screen at the start of each episode.[47] Lucas, who was only experienced in writing "pure fiction",[50] said that despite the somewhat "maddening" challenges that came with weaving in real-life events into the series,[19] "following real events is what makes The Newsreader special", and it was a "fun puzzle" to "take those real life events and keep to the real dates, the real timeline,"[50] being aware of the "markers [you] have to hit",[55] and simultaneously "weave fictional characters around them,"[50] to "take these real-life events that have their ebbs and flows that I can't change, and how that can provoke different relationships and turning points for the characters,"[19] and how to link them to elements of their personalities.[55] He also claimed that the show does not entirely depend on those events being depicted, as regardless of whether viewers remember the events or not, the show allows for a "really interesting window into what those events were like and how newsrooms navigated them."[50]
Discussing the process of writing the third episode, Lucas revealed that "at the plotting stage, [he would] go into the ABC archives, and take footage of the dates [he wanted]", watching The 7:30 Report or Mary Delahunty's news report, which "would all feed back into the story." Lucas was inspired by James Cameron's Titanic "as to how he placed his characters within the history of real events"; he described his approach through the example of how "[w]hen it comes to something like Lindy Chamberlain, they found the matinee jacket on this day, then on another day she was released from jail, then another she was back in Mt. Isa. So how do I manoeuvre my fictional characters around all of that to build a story?"[56] He explained that the lack of date specificity, relative to the other events depicted in the show, meant he was able to place the (fifth) episode focusing on the AIDS crisis anywhere within the running order of the series,[55] and was "deliberately positioned" as such "to get maximum emotional impact for the characters".[19] Writing the show meant dealing with the balance between how to convey facts and emotions; Lucas said that the news story could be incredibly significant and prominent with set dates to operate in and around, so he "would have to think about what to do with the characters," whereas at "other times [he would] want to take characters to an emotional place".[55]
Writing in general
Lucas wrote the series alone for a lengthy period of time while it was on spec, until he was able to form a writers' room around 2017.[47][57] When he did, he hired those he knew would provide valuable roles to develop the programme, such as Niki Aken, who came from a research background,[47] invited to be part of a "brainstorm" for the series, and wrote an outline (Aken remarked that her contributions to the programme were impacted by the pandemic, writing during the lockdown in Melbourne while in hotel quarantine in Sydney).[57] Lucas also carried on a practice he engaged with during his roles on various programmes as a script coordinator, in finding and hiring an emerging writer, in this case Kim Ho; Lucas was impressed by his writing, with Ho asked to script coordinate and note-take,[47] and the two co-wrote the fifth episode together. Debra Oswald also acted as script consultant for the series.[19]
The pandemic also afforded Lucas an extended period for development, with the start of pre-production delayed by four months, and spoke of him and production designer Melinda Doring taking advantage of that time, being able to collaborate further through Zoom meetings and using Dropbox folders to share and store potentially useful material; Doring sourced additional material from museums and online forums, with Lucas in awe of her dedication to the work and lamenting that he was unable to incorporate everything into the scripts.[52] The delay also worked in Lucas' favour with his writing; his style is to "work intensely, go away and come back", to "pick it up fresh" after potentially "months away from it", having secured additional development funding and achieved a greater objectivity during the hiatus.[47]
Lucas said the writing team were "bouncing back and forth", looking at the timeline and the characters, specifically where character arcs fit into the way in which the real-life events are depicted in the show.[55] Before the writing of each episode, the research and archive footage "would be locked in", and only then would the writing progress onto working on the character arcs, so when a writer was assigned to an episode, a "comprehensive outline of the factual events involved would already be in place" to start with.[19] Lucas spoke of how the "emotional arcs and storylines" were less set in stone in the run-up to filming, and that they "tend[ed] to evolve a lot even within the timeline structure we had set" and that "was always an ongoing discussion up to and including being on set, and then even to a certain extent in the edit suite", that they "were still honing those emotional beats and moments."[19][55]
Lucas claimed that he actively chose to "pare back" certain elements of newsrooms of the era that are looked back on negatively now, as he thought a "contemporary audience" would not approve if he "had directly translated" the sexism, racism, homophobia and misogyny that he had been informed were commonplace and institutionalised at the time.[49] Lucas expanded on this, saying that there needed to be a balance between "be[ing] frank about the reality of it, but at the same time you don't want to traumatise viewers"; he chose to depict racism in a less explicit way, such as without use of racial epithets and employing how racism could be more subtle, using the example of the Korean character of Noelene being assumed to know how to translate Japanese, and that the other characters "have put in no effort to find out where her family have come from". He concluded that "[o]ur attempt is to show the full spectrum of that world and to depict the parts that were loaded with bullying and misogyny, and the parts that were exhilarating."[48]
Commission and filming
Securing international distribution for the series proved troublesome at first. Prospective distributors were interested when shown scripts,[47] but the "Australian specificity" of the series, as well as the era chosen for the period setting, made them hesitant.[58] As a result, Lucas "became conscious of picking stories that have some international resonance", such as the Azaria Chamberlain case, covered in the third episode, which is a "quintessential Australian story, but means something overseas as well".[47] Despite this, Werner spoke of how the accuracy with which they aimed to recreate the period setting was significant to "partners involved" in the series, describing how they took reference from movies in the late 1980s such as Tootsie and Working Girl to implement a neutral palette of "beige[s] and browns" in the show - what she deemed a "grounded approach", in contrast to the brash and bold colours in many depictions of the 1980s, invoking MTV music videos as one example, as "we wanted to look like [it was] made in the '80s - not a show made about the '80s".[58] To accentuate this, cameras for filming were fitted with vintage lenses.[19]
The series' commission was announced in April 2020,[59] entered pre-production by October,[46] with the casting announced that November;[60] six episodes were ordered by the ABC, despite the series being originally developed for eight.[61]
"I was just really lucky that I was working with the actors in particular and the director, Emma Freeman, who was a huge part of the storytelling of this show. We were all really attracted by the idea of showing a love and a kinship that didn't entirely fit into any particular box. In some ways, they're [Dale and Helen] a brilliant team; and in some ways, they're made for each other, but there are core things about them that mean they don't fit into a conventional box. There are innate aspects of their personalities that mean they're wonderful together but also that they can't ever be the conventional couple the world wants them to be. We just love sitting in that space."
—Michael Lucas, speaking about the dominant plotting of the series and the framing it sits within, and how working with director Freeman helped develop this.[19]
The series was filmed over 54 shoot days[62] during late 2020 and early 2021, under COVID-19 restrictions.[63] As a result, plans for expansive location filming could not take place, such as being unable to film in Darwin, in the Northern Territory, for the third episode, which is partly set there, and instead restricted to the state of Victoria where the show is otherwise entirely set.[50] Scenes in the episode where Dale and Helen, among other journalists, are camped outside a house they believe Lindy Chamberlain is staying at, were filmed in Mildura, with many local residents having been chosen to portray extras and offered up the exterior of their homes to use for filming; such filming took place in March 2021.[64] The scenes in the episode where the various journalists and cameramen are waiting outside Berrimah Prison for Lindy Chamberlain's release were also filmed in Mildura, with stills during the filming shot by Adrian Chiarella, husband to Lucas.[65] Scenes in the fourth episode depicting the Russell Street bombing were filmed at the site of the bombing itself, Lucas commenting that the filming "shut down an entire city block";[66] Niki Aken, writer of the fourth episode, played an extra during the scenes in the aftermath of the bombing.[67] Creator Lucas himself cameoed during the second episode, portraying a DJ at Geoff's birthday party;[68] scenes for that were shot over three days, and commented that the experience of cameoing gave him the chance to become more accustomed with the cast.[52] Filming of the News at Six studio was done at the NEP Studios in Southbank, South Melbourne,[69] with the newsroom offices set in a disused chemical warehouse/factory in Brooklyn, west of Melbourne.[49][48]
Creator Lucas and director Freeman worked closely and collaboratively on- and off-set, with clear roles set out for the two; during the writing process, Freeman provides Lucas with notes on the script from cast and other crew, and during her directing, he acts as "a support" for her on set. Lucas described Freeman as the "prime storyteller" on set, his presence to "help with speedbumps with the script or to troubleshoot".[47] He later said that, the way in which he engages in constant communication with other cast members, with their input, during the process of writing and filming, that the series was a "mutual creation".[55] Freeman commented it was a "special project" as the cast and her - as the director - were "so aligned", meaning it is an "incredibly collaborative show", with Reid and Torv "help[ing to] develop the script on the floor". Her method of directing is controlled by the "want to capture energy on set" before "finessing in cut", because trying to set-up and control the energy of a scene in post-production comes across "forced". She admitted it was "not a terribly cutty show", which was important to her as "you want to really preserve the natural energy of, in particular, Helen and Dale".[54]
Casting and characterisation
Actress Marg Downey won the role of Evelyn Walters after she submitted an audition tape recorded at home, and that the first scene she shot was with William McInnes and filmed out-of-order, featuring early in the sixth episode.[70] For Robert Taylor, a vocal coach from the era was hired, due to the need to "sharply define his vocal style, versus the more relaxed style ... he has".[49] Downey spoke of how she considered, when being asked to audition for Evelyn, her as being "an intriguing sort of choice to suggest me for this role", but after receiving the script "thought 'I can do this. I've met these women'," specifically referring to individuals - "those sort of people who are the power behind the throne" and "although they look as though they might not be manipulating things behind the scenes, in fact, they're very powerful" - her mother was acquaintances with. Downey called Evelyn a "wonderful role" to play.[71] Chum Ehelopa claimed that when the show was pitched to him, he was unaware the show would revolve around real-life events.[72] There is a "fair amount", but not "uncontrolled amount" of ad-libbing by the cast and improvisation around the script, particularly by William McInnes.[73]
Michelle Lim Davidson spoke of how the role of Noelene was adapted for her, and that she was hesitant to audition to play the part of a Korean woman due to concerns about whether Australian television was open to such representation; it was the first time she had auditioned to play the part of a Korean woman in her decade-long television career,[74] and commented that she "never envisioned the day that [she] would play the first Korean Aus[tralian] woman in a major drama on Aus[tralian] TV". Lim Davidson spoke of the sense of jeong she felt on set of the family home of her character, and that she had "an overwhelming sense that [she] had arrived home", praising the "care and detailed accuracy of the Kim home" by the design, arts and props department - especially production designer Doring, and aided by writer/director and friend of hers, Undi Lee - and actress Hany Lee in helping her learn her Korean/Hangul dialogue. She said that she had "struggled with [her] Korean identity", her childhood and adolescence in Australia meaning she had not been "submerged in [her] cultural heritage", and how she felt she had been "running away from [her] cultural identity", expecting that she "wouldn't be able to find a safe space to be [her]self in the industry" and expressed her hopes her portrayal would lead to expanding Korean representation on television.[75]
"We wanted to show what it really was like to be a woman in the workforce in the '80s without the judgement that we put on it today. There's a couple of sequences with Helen where you just go, "She is just berated by these men, who are her bosses, just one, after the other, after the other, after the other," and most days she can take it, and then some days she can't ... I'm really curious to see what the response is to her, and I'm curious to see what the response is to what it is to be a woman in the workforce in the '80s. And I think that there's some elements that are quite shocking and, and also really true."
—Anna Torv, speaking about the experience of portraying a woman working in the male-dominated news industry during the 1980s.[76]
Anna Torv received the first two scripts of the series before she decided to take up the role,[77] and was cast in early 2020.[48] When asked on The Newsreader Podcast what Torv drew on to create Helen and her persona, and specifically how she was able to distinguish her persona as a person outside of work and as the 'newsreader', she recalled how when she first read the scripts, she labelled her as a newsreader, and did not think about the journalist side that the character would have needed to have a background in to get to the position of 'newsreader'. She spoke of how she had portrayed a political journalist in another TV programme before - in which she had "dug in" and met with prominent political journalists in Canberra - and "put that to one side" and thought "she's a presenter".[78]
Torv wanted to ensure that she "truly represent[ed]" the female newsreaders of the time, and described her character as being an "amalgamation" of the female newsreaders she grew up watching every night, re-watching news coverage from the era to help finesse the development of the character. Torv reported how she invested "most of [her] energy into what it was to be a newsreader", including learning the significance of the autocue; her lines in scenes in which her character was delivering the news were read from an autocue. She discovered it was "the best way to perfect her delivery", realising "how connected the autocue was with the intonation and all the rest of it";[79] this appreciation helped by partaking in sessions with someone who had been hired to teach the newsreading, and learned "that the phrasing, and all that kind of stuff, comes purely through the autocue" as the "way you speak as a newsreader is because you can't see the next word."[80] It was these lessons through which Torv acknowledged the background of her character's journalism and how it could not be separated from, and how it influenced, Helen as a newsreader, and portraying her as the latter could not be done without taking on board that "you have to come up". She described the attention to detail with appreciating the "gap between public and personal" that would have to be employed in her portrayal, enabled by the "heightened element of being on the news desk"; as "in order for people to hold on and believe [that person]" you have to "strip back". There were conversations about the right affectations and the hairstyle Helen as the 'newsreader' would need to have.[78]
The process of developing the "texture of the character", according to Torv, "was everything you dream of ... as an actor". This stemmed from working with creator Lucas - whom Torv praised as "one of those incredibly beautiful and confident writers, and also confident creators, who sits at the table and is open", with whom "you feel like you're a part of the development," which she found "invigorating" as "it doesn't happen for actors all that often"[80] - and producer Werner and director Freeman (who Torv has worked with before), saying that she "loved the collaboration" she was able to engage in with both, which was behind why she was so enthusiastic to be part of the show, acclaiming Freeman as "a brilliant director" who "creates such a fantastic environment for, like, play – honestly."[79] It was this collaboration that Torv praised as enabling her to feel more able to improvise when in character; with improvisation, Torv said you "kinda stay on point" - and "like[s] to be loose but with guidelines" - but that if you want to improvise and take things "into a different direction to see if there are more interesting ways to play it and need to muck around with stuff", she "often switch[es] things around" or "sends frantic emails to Michael [Lucas] and Emma [Freeman] the night before", then "come in and give the other actor a chance".[78] She further acclaimed how the "whole team", including co-stars Reid and McInnes, "clicked right from the get go". She explained that the character of Helen was "fun to play because you can fly off the handle and you don't have to hold any of the stuff in" and "can just shoot from the hip".[81] Torv commented that "[m]aking The Newsreader was one of the most satisfying and joyous creative experiences that [she had] ever had".[63] Torv also revealed that the ending of the series was not known from the beginning of production, and that the cast were only aware of the show's general direction for a time.[82]
Refining character details and backgrounds
Both characters of Helen and Dale were based on actual Australian journalists and newsreaders from the past, but Torv and Reid have refused to admit which inspired their portrayals.[51] When deciding who to base characters on, Lucas took a "collage approach" and was "careful not to make it too direct" and obvious which real-life industry figures he had taken inspiration from. He said, simply, that Helen was the "inverse" of Dale, possessing "the qualities celebrated in a man but punished in a woman".[54] Torv has denied speculation her portrayal of Helen is based on Jana Wendt, but said she watched a variety of journalists in order to play Helen rather than focusing on one. Reid admitted there was "one very, very specific one that [he] studied very closely" in the first series, and while in the second series "a bit of him" remains in his character, "another one ... came in to kind of help show the progression".
Reid commented that Dale has always held a belief that "the pinnacle of everything that represents stability and assuredness" and the "archetype of what it is to be a man [and] a voice of authority is represented in this newsreader kind of form".[83] He echoed Lucas' earlier comments on the character attempting to, yet failing, to achieve a certain calibre of masculinity, speaking of what he perceives as a common drive in Australia "to hold specific models of masculinity up on pedestals and applaud them and push other ones into the shadows", and that "[t]he framework of a news reader, this stable, firm hand who delivers the news nightly and that the nation trusts, is a really good way to explore that". He explains that as Dale progressively strives to achieve this ideal, he begins to hide his true self and is slowly replaced by a "carbon copy of a man" that he isn't "that good at" being.[51] He expanded on this, saying Dale rejecting the "naive [and] sensitive ... part of himself", as he transitions into "this statuesque carbon copy of what he thinks a stable human being might be", is what the cast refer to as "Dead Dale", a version of the character in which he is "selling himself out". When developing a style for Dale as a newsreader, Reid remarked of his collaboration with director Freeman, and their constant work on the issue of the "public and private mask" that is prevalent in newsreading - newsreading requiring a "blank personality" in which "you can't invest too much of your personality". Reid has attempted to make clear that the show was presenting Dale not as "necessarily acting out on repressed sexual urges to be with a man", but "also acting out on repressed intimacy in general".[83] He spoke of how he has found the experience of playing Dale cathartic, as he "like[s] to lean into the most awkward parts" of himself that he feels the character embodies. He added that the character's clothes are "designed to make him feel uncomfortable", such as "jackets that are slightly too big or pants just a bit too short", with Dale "rarely sighted out of work clothes".[84]
The character of Lindsay is not "based on anyone in particular", but in Lucas' rounds of interviews with news presenters of the time, John Sorrell and Peter Meakin "came up a LOT", and "they clearly shared some qualities".[85] The character of Cheryl is based on Sue Hollins, a make-up artist with whom the show's hair and make-up artist John Logue worked with at the start of his career and who still works in the industry, currently at the ABC.[86]
With regards to backstories for characters that may not be directly written into the show but are used to generate context for the cast as to their characters' behaviours, mannerisms, and beliefs, Lucas said that does not share backstories he has in mind for characters unless they ask, as part of an actor's process is "to build their own one based off the script". He spoke of at least Reid and Torv who have added to, or "heightened details" of their characters, with assistance from Freeman.[54] Torv spoke of how it "alternates with all work" on the extent to which a character's backstory is seen as significant, and said she and Lucas "did have a chat" to discuss Helen's past.[78] When asked about how much effort they put into their characters' backstories, Lim Davidson said "[t]he entire team have done a lot of research", and they "start quite broadly, especially for a character like Noelene", who is only afforded limited time in the series due to being a less prominent main character and so only "a certain amount of time to ... reveal parts of her life". Nevertheless, it was something she took "very seriously because I feel a lot of responsibility to bring the most authentic version of this character to screen", and that "whenever you're trying to merge a cultural heritage that you're not used to seeing on Australian television, you have extra responsibility and you need to respect the people from that time period and do your best to bring it to life". McInnes, in contrast, said he "didn't see any point in going down that route because it's just there on the paper", and that "sometimes you just have to know what's required of you to make the scene work", but admitted "both ways are just as ... appropriate" and "you've gotta know what suits".[87]
Historical accuracy
Characters
Careful detail was employed by the show's costume, hair and make-up designers; multiple cast and crew members have spoken about creating the 'looks' of certain characters. John Logue, hair and make-up artist for the series - with experience of doing the make-up of newsreaders during the era - commented of Helen's hairstyle, that "there's quite a sort of build that goes underneath that". He added that on occasion, Logue and Torv mutually agreed to leave the hair as it was after each day of filming - no brushing or washing - and remarked "the best we ever did was five days with Anna ... and she was pretty happy with that". On Noelene's hair, he suggested to Lim Davidson to replace her "very long, straight hair" with curtains, but what would be called a "flick" during the era, something he reported was universally approved of.[86]
Costume designer Zed Dragojlovich said there was a different method for each character in finding outfits - and whether they are right and appropriate - for them. He spoke of the importance when developing a character; "what you're looking for when you put the clothes on is something that kind of speaks really clearly about the character and then when you try something else and you feel like you've lost the essence of that character then you know you're going in the wrong direction". With Dale and Helen, production assumed they would have access to the more high-end fashion labels of the era with access to a network stylist, for which fashion magazines from the time were very useful. Creating the look for Marg Downey's Evelyn relied on "continuing ... the DNA of that character; very structured, precise tailoring"; he "did try a few flowing things on Marg [but] it just looked like somebody else". Dragojlovich then invoked a contact of his that he worked with during the 1980s - costume designer Michael Chisholm, in possession of a warehouse replete with clothes from the era; as a result, he found "an amazing oversized houndstooth jacket" that Chisholm divulged he had made personally for Downey in the eighties. Dragojlovich brought the jacket to a fitting with Downey, who "shrieked" in recognition.[71] Dragojlovich worked with Logue on developing the look for Evelyn; Dragojlovich recommended during fittings with Downey a hairstyle of a blonde hair bob for the character, which Logue initially had different ideas for, but eventually agreed with.[86]
News events
With regards to the presentation of the news events the series covers, some elements have been observed to be lightly historically inaccurate. Lucas himself admitted the one thing he was "slightly playing with [was] the first visibility of Halley's Comet, which is a little bit compressed,"[56] which was picked up on by the ABC in an article wherein Matt Neal noted "the unlikely but dramatically convenient feat of seeing a brilliant and highly visible Halley's Comet in the Melbourne sky on February 1, 1986", as "[t]he optimal viewing time for Australia was in April," and citing the fever among the public surrounding the return of the comet being diluted at that time due to "the comet's distance from Earth and our planet's tilt meant it wasn't very bright, plus cloudy skies and light pollution meant city-dwellers' best chance to see the comet was with a telescope somewhere more rural." Neal also noted that a small claim in the first episode surrounding Melbourne Zoo's Butterfly House receiving its millionth visitor was dubious as it had only opened two months earlier and the Zoo itself "averages about 1.5 million visitors per year."[88]
Neal and Flora Carr, from the UK's Radio Times, also wrote that the decision to call the Chernobyl disaster "the worst nuclear disaster ever" in the sixth episode may have been overly premature,[89] and the positioning of the announcement of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's engagement was also compressed, featuring during the opening to the fourth episode, which was set over a week after the news was actually made public in reality.[88]
Series 2
On 30 March 2022, the ABC confirmed that The Newsreader had been renewed for a second series, to be set in 1987.[90] The second season aired on 10 September 2023, with a third season announced on 25 September 2023.[91]
For further information on the production of the series, see §Series 3.
Casting and characterisation
Alongside the confirmation of the series' renewal, it was revealed Daniel Gillies and Philippa Northeast had joined the cast.[92][22] In July 2022, creator Lucas advertised on Twitter and Instagram for potential extras for a gay bar scene set to shoot in Melbourne in late August.[93][94] Another casting call was made in July, for First Nations extras "to help recreate the 1988 Bicentennial Protests that were based in Fremantle and Sydney", suggesting series 2 will cover events in 1988.[21]
A trailer was released in late November 2022, which also revealed that Rory Fleck Byrne would guest-star this series, as a variety show host.[23] There will also be a further expansion of the cast with an introduction to extended family members of the main ensemble.[55] On 9 August 2023, alongside the announcement of the premiere date of the series and the release of a more lengthy trailer,[25] it was revealed what roles the new members of the supporting cast would play: Gillies as the new network CEO, Northeast as Geoff and Evelyn's 'complex' daughter Kay, Fleck Byrne as 'superstar variety host' Gerry, and the previously unannounced addition of Hunter Page-Lochard to the series' supporting cast as 'firebrand activist' Lynus. It was also confirmed that the entire ensemble from the first series would be returning.[95] In the fifth episode of The Newsreader Podcast, Leigh Sales clarified that the reduced appearance of Chai Hansen as Tim Ahern in the second series was due to Hansen being "in very high demand overseas"; the character was on the verge of being completely written out of the series, but Hansen's enthusiasm for taking part in the show meant he made the effort to find time to appear. Lim Davidson stressed the importance of the entire ensemble returning, and how she felt "comfortable because we were heading back in together and it was pretty much the same team and we'd all got along so well", yet simultaneously "nervous with the responsibility of playing Noelene again and hoping that I could get her through season two the best way I can as an actor".[87]
In an interview with TVTonight, Lucas remarked positively regarding the character of Jerry being Irish, stating that what he perceived as the tradition of variety show hosts being expats meant "something felt right about him coming from Ireland". He also commented on another character introduced in the second series, protest leader Lynus; while fictional, he is "heavily based on real figures behind" the Bicentennial protests at the time.[96] The writer of the fourth episode, Adrian Russell Wills, in which Lynus features said the character was largely based on his brother, Albert, who was a grassroots Aboriginal activist who he described as "that black fella that was ... on the front of the march and protesting", with whom he used to have "a lot of conversations around all of the issues that you see in the show and the episode".[86]
The opening to the fourth episode features a scene in which several characters from the News at Six shoot a musical ending to a network promo; Em Rusciano, close friend of - and podcast co-host with - Lucas, played a character named Rhonda who sang the lyrics to the accompanying tune.[97] Several current Australian TV journalists also made cameos during the scene, namely ABC meteorologist Nate Byrne, Network 10 reporter Daniel Doody, and radio sports commentator Megan Hustwaite.[98][99][100] This promo was shot in one morning, with the scenes from the fifth episode in which Dale, Gerry, and Tim visit a gay club being filmed early that afternoon.[101]
In September 2023, on Twitter, Lucas revealed that Helen's birth name, as revealed in the third episode - Helen Kaasik - was "her father's Estonian surname, but she took her mother's maiden name of Norville because it was more palatable to Australian TV audiences of the '80s".[102]
Cast improvisation
The cast spoke frequently about the level of improvisation and melding of their own personal lives into their characters' that took place during the second series. Lim Davidson said that improvising or suggesting script changes or additions is only done when they believe "we think it can progress the story", and by the second series the cast were trusted to "know who these characters are [and] will only add things" such as dialogue from interactions from their real lives or "personal details that we think help support the story". McInnes said his character's proclivity for yelling stems from his upbringing, when many of his male role models were typical yellers. When asked how she responds as an actor to McInnes' character's "outbursts", she said Noelene was "caught in [the] dynamic" of being one of the lower-status members of the News at Six "core team". As an actor, she said her role is to "just be in the scene [and] listen to that response and I automatically respond that way" - trying to ensure any responses are "completely natural" and not "manufactured" - recalling a scene in the first episode where she shocked herself with the emotional depth she gave a response, attributing it to being "so in the zone that it feels very real". Lim Davidson reflected that she related to her character's position as the "most junior person in the workplace" - described by journalist Leigh Sales as being in that position as "constant[ly] trying to the right thing and to avoid being the target of that" - as she "feel[s] very alert to everything" on set, and that if she has a potential idea or solution for a story "it all needs to be really like at the tip of my fingers"; she hoped "that translates to ... that genuine kind of quality of ... her being a junior member of the office and having to over deliver in those high anxiety moments". She also related to Noelene in a scene in which Rob's family members engage in casual racism by conflating Chinese, Japanese and Korean people together, having experienced that personally too.[87]
Downey disclosed that the scene in the third episode in which the character of Helen arrives at Evelyn's door to deliver a profanity-laced diatribe about the state of the latter's character and morals was improvised by Torv, comparing it to her own approach as an actor being "very script-bound", while she praised Torv's ability to improve, "feeling it in the moment, [and] changing the script", and so it was "a matter of kind of going with that". She found the experience "a little bit nerve-wracking, but it really worked because I didn't know what was going to appear at that door". Downey found it "quite confronting" to open the scene with Torv, as Helen, calling her character a "fucking bitch", taken aback by how it was not in the script nor the opening line;[71] the script detailed that "Dale attempted to mediate before Helen erupted", but "on the day, Anna felt Helen would erupt the second she laid eyes on Evelyn".[103] Downey spoke of finding humour in the situation, as both Torv's and Downey's characters had had little interaction throughout the entirety of the show's production, and so neither had themselves personally - and that it was their characters' first interaction since a scene in the first series that was also driven by distaste for each other.[71] In fact, it was the first scene Torv shot for the second series.[103]
While in general McInnes is against investing too much time, effort and thought into creating possible histories for his character, he did suggest the backstory, revealed in the fifth episode, that his character was the godfather of Robert Taylor's character, Geoff's, daughter. McInnes suggested this to Lucas, who in turn informed Taylor, who inserted it into the scene.[87] Lucas added that while Torv and Reid were "both prone to ... saying a lot less because they prefer to just convey it without the dialogue", a scene with McInnes "grows so much with all these references" to pop culture of the time or perverse quips he ad-libs, describing the actor as "incredibly vivid" and his performances on set as being akin to an "event".[83] Writer Russell Wills disclosed that - as well as having known Lynus' actor Hunter-Page since he was a young child - a scene in the fourth episode in which the characters of Lynus and Helen dance was improvised, but credited the script with fomenting the potential for it to happen; "the dancing, and the moving and offering, we call it, from Hunter to Anna" and that "the safety and trust that they have of each other, as actors, I think allowed for a moment of brevity ... you can't write that stuff [and] those moments; that's the truth". He said their previously having worked together - on Fires - ensured they had "great rapport together".[86]
The scene in the second episode where the Carrolls perform a song together at the piano was "concocted in a burst of joy" when Fleck Byrne and Jane Harber met for the first time at rehearsals. This was not included in scripts and deliberately kept secret by Freeman from Torv and Reid, "so their reactions were priceless".[104] Freeman was remarked as having "gave the cast space to improvise the Christmas party dancing and revelry" in the fifth episode;[105] filming for the Christmas party scenes took nine hours and were held on the last day of filming for Chai Hansen.[106]
Writing
Lucas said that, as with the first series, events were chosen and placed throughout the series according to whether they were grounded by certain dates or not - "a balance of really date-specific things with a couple of broader arc '80s news stories". An episode on the heroin crisis, for example, was able to be placed anywhere within the series, Lucas commenting that he had "a little bit of leeway to put that story at an appropriate time for our cast of characters". Additionally, the nascence of current affairs shows and TV journalists "becom[ing] brands themselves" at the time is explored in the second series, with the character of Geoff hosting his own eponymous current affairs show a deliberate attempt at this, with Lucas and producer Werner having read several memoirs of journalists from the era.[96]
Lucas recalled that figures who had previously worked in the industry during the temporal setting of the series had written into the production company in light of the first series to "directly ask" if characters were based on them. He found that when naming characters he was unable to clear certain names if they were the same as real-life figures at the time; he wanted to name Charlie Tate 'Warwick' - calling it "such a great '80s name" - but it "would clash" with Warwick Fairfax. With naming the character of Lindsay, "three or four names" had been gone through beforehand, as it would be a likeness not many "would take kindly to" had they happened to share a forename.[54]
Russell Wills, in discussing his brother being the inspiration for the character of Lynus, identified parallels with their, on the surface, divergent methods of fighting for further Aboriginal recognition and rights; "while he's at the front of the protest, marching and calling and yelling for with passion and anger and fervor, ... the way that I do my marching is through writing and to be able to put it into an episode like this on a show that has such a fantastic following", describing it as what he calls, and "do[es] a lot in [his work]", "the Trojan Horse". Russell Wills spoke of Lynus as "embod[ying] a passion and hope and optimism and possibility", while Helen "is one of those characters and voices that ... are really important and were really important to any advancement that Aboriginal people have had in this country politically". The scene in which Helen cuts Lynus off and advises him on speaking in less of a 'diatribe' and in a way that more relates to the audience that she knows he has the skills to do, represents the "dichotomy" of Russell Wills' brother that he "tried to bring through Lynus"; "the anger and the passion can often turn people off or make people switch off ... and what Helen does, or hopes that she does, is appeal to him to engage the audience on a different level ... through relatability ... and finding a way of telling us ... how it feels [to be Aboriginal]". Russell Wills considered this a "unique" way of framing things "often not allowed in the media". He wished that the audience of The Newsreader are "able to relate to Lynus as if he was a member of their own family", as he unexpectedly found indigenous and Aboriginal characters on Redfern Now, which he had previously worked on, had done so with a white audience.[86] Lucas spoke of the coincidence that the episode aired concurrent to the campaign period for the ultimately unsuccessful referendum on establishing further rights for indigenous Australians in the constitution, polling day for which was held the day before the series' final episode was broadcast.[107]
When asked about why the character of Dennis - from an ethnic minority background - was shown as not inclined to feature the Bicentennial from an indigenous perspective in the episode, Russell Wills said Dennis is "constantly in service of the audience and the ratings and the business of the show", and it "doesn't matter about colour or creed", with Dennis "there to service the audience, the statistics to service his jobs" and it is "not about making it personal". He praised Lucas, who he said had "drawn that character so beautifully from the beginning, from the inception of the show and ... the casting", and that Dennis "gives us a constant insight into what it takes to be a leader of a newsroom like that and the decisions you have to make". He agreed with a suggestion Dennis is simply delivering what "Lindsay wants".[86] Lucas commented Russell Wills' 2014 documentary 88 on the Bicentennial protests was an "invaluable resource" for production of the fourth episode.[108]
Production and filming
In September 2021, before the first series was broadcast, when speaking about the prospect of a second series, Lucas claimed that he wanted to have sourced the required archive footage before starting writing, and how the ABC's archives team had been proactive in doing this so he was already "sitting on a goldmine", and "brainstorming ideas [to be] ready when the time comes".[52] Lucas later revealed that development of the second series was commissioned by the ABC prior to the broadcast of the first, which gave him "time to imagine what I wanted and what the team wanted without knowing how people were going to respond",[19] which he found "liberating" in that "you know who you're writing for", and he had the "ensemble's voices in [his] head".[55]
Lucas recalled a humorous moment from the series' table-reads early in production, with the cast approving so much of Marg Downey's convincing portrayal of Evelyn that "everyone sitting around kind of burst out laughing [as] it was so exciting to finally hear that character speak in that tone again".[96] Sam Reid spoke of how Lucas and Freeman devised a booklet that was given to cast members at the start of production of the second series, which outlined and detailed the events from 1987 and 1988 that would be featured in the series, to provide background to members of the cast who were not familiar with the news stories the series would cover.[73]
"the First Nations Bicentennial protests [were] almost 36 years ago. Like a lot of white Australians I was barely even aware they happened, back in 1988, but they were enormous— probably the biggest gathering of First Nations people in history. And the energy, by all accounts, was electric. Driven by young activists like Robbie Thorpe and Tiga Bayles, and yes, Linda Burney, there was a potent feeling that a page was being turned. I ended up studying them for The Newsreader, along with many other stories of the era. Generally, digging into this archive material is an incredible way to track societal progress… to see the leaps forward in everything from gay rights, to feminism to gun control. But all the speeches made at these 88 protests could be made today. Word for word. In fact it felt like there was more optimism on that day 36 years ago. The lack of progress is staggering. I think of those young activists and how we've failed them, through a uniquely Australian combo of racism, apathy, meanness and laziness. We've shown who we are and it's shameful."
—Michael Lucas, in October 2023, about the parallels between the Bicentennial protests led by First Nation peoples, and his reaction to their failed attempts to be recognised more concretely, in the Australian Constitution, today.[109]
Production and filming began in Melbourne in July 2022, as announced during the March 2022 announcement of the series 2 order.[20] Filming for the second series lasted 56 days,[110] over 11 weeks[19][55] and ended in late September 2022.[111][112] Location filming was prioritised and completed during the first "couple of weeks" of shooting. One of the first scenes shot during the second series featured in the sixth episode, where Dale walks into his new, empty home as a single man. Lucas recalled Freeman being inspired at that moment as to how she saw the end of the series, that it would be a "series about how Dale has to shut himself down".[83] The eighth week of filming involved the shooting of the newsdesk studio scenes, which were done back-to-back; the preference of director Freeman "to block [them] as one sequence" like a play, with cast "perform[ing] for six minutes at a time unbroken". Filming of such scenes means that the cast often shot eight or more pages a day, with the scenes shot using "full cinematic cameras" alongside "old Betacam cameras" - a mix of vintage and new technology - so as to render the footage resembling television of the 1980s. Lucas said that it was essentially a "functional newsdesk set".[55] The cast filmed "multiple scenes in one set after the other"; Freeman called this the "documentary approach to filmmaking", defending it by saying it offered a "style more structured and cinematic". It was this style of filming that convinced Lucas to start the series with the election being the central news story of the first episode, as "it became apparent in season one that the big, live events work well the way the director films them and everything; she runs them like a play and all this kinetic energy", and it was thought to "start with the biggest live sequence we possibly could".[54]
The use of archive footage expanded in this series. The first episode used footage from an episode of Four Corners, specifically an interview with then-Finance Minister Paul Keating, in a way that it came across as the character of Helen was conducting the interview herself;[54] this technique was something Lucas had previously mentioned in a pre-series interview he had hoped to utilise.[citation needed] Lucas said there was "a lot of deliberation", and was concerned over how Keating would react to the footage being used in such a way; Lucas said "the ultimate judgement was because it's essentially a sort of loving tribute to him, and flattering and not a distortion of what he was doing", permission from Keating to use the footage "wasn't required", and Lucas admitted that he hoped it Keating "receives it in the way it's intended".[54] Permission had to be granted directly from Kylie Minogue to insert archival footage of her into the fifth episode.[113]
Lim Davidson revealed that during the scene in the first episode where she is being constantly telephoned by Dennis and Lindsay, that "when we're on the phone to people, they're often not there ... it's a combination of continuity or Michael Lucas yelling from behind a wall, or, Maggie, our script coordinator". In the scene, Lindsay is meant to be "screaming" at Noelene on the phone; McInnes' scenes had been shot the previous week, "and so Michael [Lucas] was on set showing me the rushes because I had no idea the kind of ferocity that William was going to deliver those lines [and] so I could actually respond to the moments, but actually it's just Michael literally crouching behind a wall, behind the camera so he can't be seen".[87] In the fourth episode, a scene towards the end whereby Aboriginal activists are gathered and watch the broadcast of the News at Six's patriotic promo for 1988, Lucas revealed that at that point, the preceding news bulletin nor the promo video had been shot, and so the assembled cast were reacting to him "crouched" below the camera reading the scene from the script before playing the Celebration of a Nation TV spot originally shown at the time.[114] One of the opening scenes for the fourth episode - involving several characters shooting a network promo - was filmed on 22 August 2022; guest star Em Rusciano dated this as taking place two days prior to her address to Australia's National Press Club, which was held on 24 August.[97][115] The gay club scenes in the fifth episode were filmed in The Retreat Hotel in Brunswick, Victoria,[116] but was scripted as being Club 397, an iconic Melbourne gay nightclub of the time; the decision for this was influenced by "a lot of debate about where Gerry would take Dale", and by polls production conducted of "queer 80s clubbers".[117] Lucas commented that dialogue in a scene in the third episode in which Dale speaks to Gerry about his sexuality was heavily influenced by Reid having "worked a great deal on both the words and the performance" both with him, Freeman and the series' intimacy coordinator Amy Cater, "to ensure Dale's expression is both truthful and period accurate".[118]
In mid-April 2023, the final mastering session on the sixth and last episode took place, ending post-production for the second series.[119] Lucas revealed that the original cut of the sixth episode was "about 84 minutes", having to cut it down to an hour being "one of the agonies about the series".[83]
Historical accuracy
Characters
On the character of Noelene's salmon pantsuit, costume designer Dragojlovich said it was "our job basically to present her with ... elements of the '80s". He said "quite often we collect things in costume" that are not worn but are kept as "references" ("it might be a shoulder that we like, or it might be a lapel that we like"); Dragojlovich refers to it was "Frankenstein designing" - "piecing together one thing from another jacket and another element from another piece". Finding a look for Lim Davidson was difficult as many suits from the 1980s "looked too contemporary" with features that now look "fashionable", but eventually chose a jacket with an accompanying skirt that Lim Davidson enquired about replacing with a pant. One was chosen from another suit, it having been decided the new pantsuit should be of a colour not currently in use by any other character; Dragojlovich said that one colour a female character on the show was not wearing was pink - stating that Helen as the news presenter "gets the full colour range" but "would never ... wear pink", and he "just happened to have this sort of salmon/pink wool sitting there".[71]
When Lim Davidson was asked about putting together such an outfit, she said it was not in the original script and was "a collaboration of ideas" between her, Freeman and Lucas over Zoom prior to shooting, and that "[w]e just wanted this idea that whatever ... advice Helen was going to give Noelene about how to be a successful woman in this time period was never going to work for Noelene". She said that "the cliche is 'fake it till you make it'", something she argued would work for a character such as Helen but not for Noelene as "she cannot change the way she actually looks ... but we wanted her to have this moment where she really believed it". Noelene "traditionally" not wearing pants meant "it felt so different to everything we've seen her in and we're used to seeing her in, and even to the colour palette in the show that we were like, 'that's it'". She described feeling "very lucky" it was custom-made; it was nicknamed 'the salmon suit', which became so legendary on set she was often called 'Salmon Lim Davidson' on the call sheet. On the 'makeover' her character received in tandem, she said "it just felt so obscure, my hair up [and] just a little bit more makeup"; she divulged that a scene cut from the episode featured her arriving home, "she realises that that's never going to work for her" and "the only way forward for her is to be her authentic self and whether people like that or not, that's all she can do", before she "had to rub my makeup off in the mirror". It was a scene she found "really confronting as an actor to do" as she "felt really sad for Noelene in that moment that ... that wasn't going to work for her and she was going to have to find another way to succeed".[87]
News events and coverage
Fireworks over Sydney Harbour marking the end of Australia Day 1988, which included a re-enactment of the First Fleet sailing into the harbour. Preparations for the News at Six's coverage of the events was a pivotal narrative during the second series.
The storyline in the first episode whereby the News at Six is promising a guaranteed projection of the election results at 7:45pm is based off actual marketing from Eyewitness News during the election, the programme having promised to "deliver the result first with only 5% of the vote counted".[120]
Matt Neal from ABC News judged the historical accuracy of the series' episodes, generally praising the series' attention to detail. Most inaccuracies he found were based on the series changing the dates of certain news events for purposes of dramatisation, such as the fourth episode featuring reports on Prince Charles and Princess Diana's royal visit to Berlin a month later than they happened in reality, the fifth containing a mention of the announcement of Frank Sinatra's long-awaited return to tour Australia three months late (the episode is set in late December 1987, with the announcement actually being made in September), and the sixth episode containing remarks on the First Fleet re-enactment leaving Botany Bay that date it doing so four days prematurely.[121]
More significantly, the second episode contains dialogue in which Lindsay rejects Helen's suggestion of the News at Six featuring the Aboriginal and indigenous perspective on the Bicentennial by, perhaps as a mendacious excuse, saying that Ernie Dingo "was taken" and "Ernie Dingos ... don't grow on trees". Neal argues that Dingo's popularity was insufficient in 1987 - having only had "minor roles" in the media up until that point - for his status as a "high-profile indigenous celebrity", as alluded into the show, to have been attained to the point someone in Lindsay's position at the network would have suggested him as an individual that could have theoretically been used to represent said alternative look at the celebrations.[121]
Series 3
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the broadcast of the second series, Lucas spoke of how a third series of the show was planned, mentioning "real blockbuster" events that he had considered featuring being the Tiananmen Square massacre and the fall of the Berlin Wall, consequently setting the series in mid-late 1989.[84] In an interview on The Newsreader Podcast, he commented on the then-undisclosed prospect of a third series that "you always tend to think dramatically in terms of three acts", and had done so with the characters of Helen and Dale.[83]
Confirmation and plotting
On 25 September 2023, funding from Screen Australia was confirmed for a third series, with the announcement that director Freeman and writers Lucas, Aken and Russell Wills would return, alongside a new writer, Christine Bartlett, who has previously worked with Lucas on Five Bedrooms.[122] On 1 October, series 2 guest star Rusciano alluded to a third series being in production in a post on Instagram.[97] On 6 October, it was revealed that Bartlett would be head writer on the third series, and, like previous series, it would consist of six episodes.[123] On 15 October, following the broadcast of second series finale, Lucas confirmed a third series, and that it would take place in 1989.[124]
On 9 November, the ABC confirmed the third series would return in 2024, and air in the latter half of the year, featuring news events such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Tiananmen Square massacre, the boycotts of Apartheid South Africa, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.[36] Lucas added, on the same day, that the series was already in pre-production.[125]
Lucas confirmed in a January 2024 issue of TV Week that the series' first episode will open on the 1989Logie Awards,[39] thereby placing the series' setting as beginning in March 1989.
In June 2024, ABC confirmed that the series had been pushed to 2025.[38]
With the start of filming, the series' casting was announced; the main ensemble from the second series will return (aside from Fleck Byrne and Gillies), and Daniel Henshall has joined the cast,[135] as a "major new character".[131] Executive producer Werner, while at the AACTAs accepting an award received by director Freeman - for her work on the second series - on her behalf at the ceremony on 10 February, confirmed filming was at the time taking place in Eltham, with "babies on set".[136]
All episodes will be directed by Freeman.[131] Gypsy Taylor is also the new costume designer for the show as of this series.[129]
Release and international distribution
Series 1
On 12 July 2021, the first trailer was released for the series.[137] The series was broadcast on ABC, premiering on 15 August 2021.[44] Alongside, and in the run-up to, the series' launch, the ABC released videos on YouTube and across social media interviewing cast and crew about the specific news events that would be covered in the series.[138]
In Spain, the series premiered on 10 March 2022 on Cosmo, as part of their Women's Month programming,[145] with the remaining episodes airing weekly, apart from the fifth and sixth airing together on 7 April 2022.[146] In the United States, the series premiered on the Roku Channel on 18 March 2022,[147] in New Zealand on Eden and on-demand platform ThreeNow on 24 March 2022,[148][149] and in Brazil on Universal TV on 6 April 2022, with an earlier premiere of 30 March 2022, for subscribers of Universal+.[150]
The show premiered in Mexico on 2 May 2022, on premium channel Universal Premiere and paid on-demand platforms.[151] The series was subtitled "The Other Side of the News" (La otra cara de las noticias); the launch was commemorated by a special event of the same name on 11 May, that highlighted the "transformative role [female journalists] can perform [in] achiev[ing] gender equality in and out of the newsroom". It was helmed by Belén Sanz Luque, representative of the UN Women in Mexico, and attended by many experienced female Mexican journalists (including Paola Rojas, Denise Dresser, Pamela Cerdeira, Rossana Fuentes Berain, Bárbara Anderson and Adela Navarro). A photo exhibition and gallery featuring "prominent female journalists" was also featured at the Oasis Coyoacan Mall for the week following the event, in collaboration between Universal Plus and female-run media outlet Opinión 51.[152][153][154]
In Ireland, it premiered on RTÉ2 on 7 June 2022 in a double-bill with all six episodes available on RTÉ Player after the first episode's broadcast,[155][156] and in the United Kingdom premiered on BBC Two on 24 July 2022, also in a double-bill,[157][158] with the entire series available from earlier that day on BBC iPlayer.[159] The series was first made available in France and Germany by Arte on 26 January 2023 on-demand, with linear broadcasts starting on 2 February 2023.[160][161]
The series was removed from the Roku Channel in the United States in September 2023, as part of several cost-cutting measures, in this case a move by the streaming service to render unavailable shows that had not been sufficiently popular beyond their initial launch.[162][163]
The series premiered on CHCH-DT, which covers southern Ontario in Canada, on 2 April 2024.[164]
Series 2
On 9 August 2023, it was confirmed that the second series would premiere on Sunday 10 September 2023, at 8:30pm. Episodes for this series were also accompanied by the official The Newsreader Podcast, made available online following each episode; hosted by Leigh Sales and Lisa Millar, they were teased as to feature insights into the actual lives of journalists working in newsrooms in the 1980s, as well as 'never-before-heard stories from the writers room', cast interviews and 'gossip from the set'.[25][165]
Both Torv and Reid were given clearance to promote the series during the various actors' and writers' strikes in the United States happening at the time.[84] On 8 September 2023, the first episode of the series premiered at an event at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne, co-hosted by ABC, and was followed by a Q&A session with cast and crew,[29] namely creator Lucas, director Freeman, producer Warner, Anna Torv, Sam Reid and Marg Downey.[166] It was helmed by ABC anchor Lisa Millar.[167] A short excerpt from the first episode of the series was made available on YouTube several hours before broadcast.[168]
On 19 September 2023, all episodes yet to air (episodes 3–6) were made available on ABC iView, on-demand, prior to their linear broadcast.[26][27]
The second series premiered on the Eden channel in New Zealand on 13 September 2023, with episodes broadcast weekly.[169][bettersourceneeded] In Ireland, the series also began airing on 13 September, with episodes broadcast weekly on RTÉ2 and made available after on RTÉ Player.[170][171]
In August 2023, it was announced that the second series would be shown in the United Kingdom on BBC Two, and simultaneously made available on BBC iPlayer, in late autumn.[172] In October, it was confirmed the series would premiere on 9 November - with new episodes being shown at 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays over three weeks - while the full series was made available on iPlayer from that date prior to broadcast.[173][174][175]
The Newsreader was the fourth-most-watched Australian free-to-air adult drama series in 2021,[179] and was the ABC's most-watched drama programme of 2021 - with the network reporting it achieved an average audience of 1.5 million viewers across linear and on-demand platforms - as well as its highest-rated new drama premiere of the year in the 25-54 age demographic.[142][140]
Series 1 ratings (Australia) All overnight ratings reported exclude on-demand viewership, known as BVOD.
Series 2 ratings (Australia) N.B.: Episodes 3-6 were made available on-demand, on ABC iView, prior to their linear broadcasts.[27] It is assumed on-demand viewership before their broadcasts is excluded from reported numbers.
The Newsreader was broadcast on BBC2 in the UK in double-bills over three weeks in summer 2022, though all episodes were made available on-demand on BBC iPlayer before the series' premiere. The first episode recorded 620,000 viewers,[203] with the entire series averaging 350,000 viewers among those watching the linear broadcast only;[204] these figures are only of those who watched on the night of broadcast.
Including those who watched in the seven days post-broadcast, the first episode rose to 1.1 million viewers, with each episode, on average across the six episodes, growing 133% from viewership on the night of broadcast after a week of catch-up. The show also became the channel's most-watched Sunday night drama in over four years, and was the most-watched new series across on-demand/streaming services of the public service broadcasters in the UK in the week post-launch.[205] After 28 days, the first episode's viewership increased further to 1.4 million viewers.[206] No viewership statistics, however, that include those who watched on-demand prior to linear broadcast, nor those seemingly including viewership on non-TV devices, have been reported.
The second series premiered to 300,000 viewers, approximately half the average audience in the timeslot and that for first episode of Interview with the Vampire, which had been shown at the same time in previous weeks.[207][208] Despite this, the concurrent launch of all episodes on BBC iPlayer saw the programme rise from being ranked 37th to 10th in the service's list of its most popular shows over the course of the day,[209] and remained in the streaming service's top 40 most popular shows for over a week.[210] The second episode the following day, withstanding the context of having already been made available on-demand, rose to 327,000 viewers.[211] The entire series averaged 250,000 viewers among those who watched live or on the night.[212] No audience figures that include catch-up viewing have yet been published.
Critical reception
For the first series, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 17 critics gave a positive review, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "An engrossing recreation of the 1980s television beat, The Newsreader mines authentic drama and laughs thanks to its verisimilitude and a commanding Anna Torv."[213]
In Australia
The series was critically praised. The Guardian's Luke Buckmaster, in a four-star review, praised Torv and Reid 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;[214] Helen Vatsikopoulos in The Canberra Times, who worked as a journalist during The Newsreader's temporal setting, also observed that newsrooms of the era "were not as diverse as the programme pretends".[215] Buckmaster then included The Newsreader in a list of the top 10 Australian television shows of 2021, ranking it ninth; he expanded on his opinion of the series further, saying it "has a slightly glossed-over vibe – evoking a feeling that some of the rough edges of history have been smoothed", but that the series is "crafted with a dignified sensibility and uses historical events as dramatic scaffolding", with "elegance of the show's compositions and the relatability of its well-developed characters keep[ing] it a pleasure to watch".[216]
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" with "incisive, empathetic and funny scripts" by Lucas, concluding it was "the most fun [he'd] had watching telly in a long time."[217] 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.[218] However, Marama Whyte, in an article for History Australia journal, wrote that such details were relatively facile, saying "the period setting is style without much substance", as "[i]t wants the shoulder pads and typewriters, without engaging with the fact that this was an industry on the cusp of colossal change. It gives the distinct sense of being a setting chosen for aesthetics and convenience, rather than any reason directly related to the plot or argument."[219]
The second series was also received favourably. In a four-star The Guardian review, Luke Buckmaster claims the second series "raises the stakes and ups the ante", listing that "the plotting is pointier, the performances more lived in, the conversations about media issues more pronounced and integrated in ways that feel totally germane to the drama". He praised the writers as "establish[ing] a neat format, merging Australian history with moral discussions and interpersonal dynamics", which "all comes together very smoothly and the cast are uniformly excellent"; Torv and Reid "continue to impress in the meatiest parts but the supporting cast are on point too", singling out Lim Davidson and McInnes especially.[220] Anthony Morris wrote in a four-and-a-half star review for ScreenHub, that a "big part of what makes the show work is that it's one of the busiest Australian dramas around", yet while it "largely avoids the trap of looking down on those who had the misfortune to live in more primitive times, ... modern views still sneak through [as the] election night plot resolves itself via the very 21st century reveal that audiences, even on a massive news night, prefer their news to be entertaining"; he concluded by saying that "[t]he occasionally clunky line aside, ... The Newsreader remains a winner".[221]
Penelope Debelle of InDaily opined that while "it is clear ... that The Newsreader is, at heart, a soap", what makes it "interesting enough to justify a second season ... is its power as a cringe-making artefact and reminder of another cultural era", pinpointing how "the series looks [to] be focusing on the more serious side of the outrageous sexism and prejudices that permeated newsroom cultures, as well as what went to air", and that "[t]he storyline is fiction but the sentiment is not, and it is still something women broadcasters contend with". In describing the ensemble as a "delight", she pinpointed McInnes' "ripe performance as the apex media boss". While concluding "[i]t would be overselling it to call it cultural history", she admitted "the framework in which the soap plays out carries enough truth to make us all thankful that, in significant ways, time has moved on".[222] In a review of the series' final episode, Clare Ridgen of The West described the show as "deliciously watchable", and that while the second series "hasn't reached the heights of the first for me, ... Anna Torv and Sam Reid’s performances have been exceptional," and welcomed the prospects of a third series.[223]
Sinead Stubbins of The Sydney Morning Herald - in a review of both series - proclaimed that The Newsreader was "the slick, addictive and excellent local drama that might be the best show Australia has produced in years", praising "the determination to use historical events and attitudes to illuminate something about our present" and how the show "uses ... huge world events cleverly ... they aren't just dumped in the middle of an episode", and "though there are occasional cute moments, [they] are woven into the lives of these reporters". She added that while there was "a certain safety in covering current issues through a historical lens", the show "particularly excels at when it comes to homophobia and racism in the workplace".[224]
International
Rachel Aroesti from The Guardian in the United Kingdom also wrote similarly, claiming that "it is hard to feel fully enveloped in The Newsreader's world", and despite its "news-heavy plotlines" holds a "generic backdrop that smoothes out the quirks of the period and the setting". On other matters, she lamented that the show appeared to "shrink away from its fascinating, disruptive female lead", with Torv and her character of Helen Norville more deserving of being the focus of the show. Nevertheless, she praised the leads as "brilliant", and how the series allows for a "trip down memory lane [that] complements a subtler, mysterious and slower-paced set of character-driven storylines", considering it "a classy, well-acted period drama" that "is excellent at capturing the weird, restrained elation that a large-scale tragedy can bring to a newsroom ... and neatly sums up something decidedly murky about journalism in the process".[225] James Croot for Stuff in New Zealand had similar thoughts, saying "for all Reid's ... understated impressiveness, this is really Torv's ... show. Looking almost like a dead ringer for Cate Blachett [sic], she delivers a performance of power, grit and authority that her more illustrious countrywoman would be proud of. In Torv's hands, maybe Helen Norville is actually Australia's answer to Murphy Brown or Mary Tyler Moore. Regardless of any such futile comparisons, she is what drives The Newsreader." Croot nevertheless called the show "excellent", claiming "what grounds the show ... and makes it compelling viewing – is the seemingly unlikely relationship between Helen and Dale [and that] [w]atching them combine and spark off one another during a key broadcast was potentially as enthralling as if it had been the real thing."[149]
Reviewer James Croot compared Torv's portrayal of Helen Norville to that of character Murphy Brown in the eponymous American sitcom, played by Candice Bergen, seen here in 1993 during the show's original run.
Most other reviews upon its premiere in the United Kingdom were largely positive. Carol Midgley, in The Times' four-star review, also observed, and praised, the attention-to-detail with the features of the period setting, calling the series "nostalgic", while also commenting on "the quickfire writing" and "strong performances" in the series, calling it a "joy to watch" primarily due to Torv's "complex" performance as Helen "with fabulous nuance".[226] Also in a four-star review, for the i newspaper, Rachael Sigee wrote that the show's two leads are "excellent", with "a strong ensemble cast", yet admitted there was "a slight soapiness to some elements of the plot", but that the "set-up lends itself to melodrama", and overall was a "fun but flinty story that revels in its 80s setting".[227] Dan Einav, in another four-star review, in the Financial Times, also lauded Torv's performance and "organic rapport with Reid", stating that "what [the show] lacks in grand themes, [it] more than makes up for in the strength of the characterisations and performances".[228]
Helen Hawkins of The Arts Desk, in her four-star review, noted the diversity of ethnic and cultural backgrounds of some of the characters, calling it "a mini melting pot that allows the script to probe the unattractive hidden currents of Australian corporate life", and that a strength of the show is "the unshowy way it goes about stirring this pot. There are no unearned crises or implausible twists. Life itself is left to provide those. The writing carves out niches for the characters inside the potential stereotypes, and the actors rise to it". She also wrote that the "period feel of the piece is masterfully done, a filter giving it a dingy look that accentuates the browns, beiges and dirty greens of the spot-on decor and fashions", and not in a way that is "screaming "Look how authentic we've made it!"", as well as that what "the script also gratifyingly gets right" is one of the underlying issues explored in the show of the "emergence of the data-driven approach ... at this stage, the data are the station's all-important ratings" with "[s]erious news ... doomed if the ratings say people don't watch it readily and want only entertainment."[229]
In a positive review in Público, María José Arias wrote that "[t]he ins and outs of television and the journalism that is done in it are a universe as interesting as it is dynamic that, well planned and explored, can give way [to], true television jewels", and that The Newsreader "is a good example of how to do it", claiming the series' hook is its "ability to give a fast and agile rhythm to the drama ... without forgetting to take care of the details that make the viewer connect and empathize with what happens to their characters", adding "although it is still a drama, it has its touches of humour and hooks you from the first moment with its touch of romance and its plots of business politics". She spoke further of how the character of Geoff "perfectly embodies that old glory of journalism addicted to the spotlight and being in the limelight unable to retire ... to make way for new generations."[230]
The series ranked fourth in Variety's top 13 list of The Best International TV Shows of 2021.[142][231]
Response to accusations of anachronism over race representation
After some reviews of the first series accused The Newsreader of depicting a newsroom with greater diversity and minority representation than in reality at the time, Chum Ehelepola wrote on Instagram "that is [not] a failing of the show", but rather "a failing of the times". He went further to say that "hopefully we don't make the same mistake in 2021 and onwards" and that Australian television "showcases the richness of [A]ustralians and the vibrancy of a diverse cast."[232]
In 2023, The Age's Karl Quinn addressed what he deemed "a cognitive dissonance in the audience" of The Newsreader - by the show casting people of colour in roles that he saw as likely not filled, in reality, by such individuals at the time the programme is set - in an interview with Ehelepola ahead of the second series. Ehelepola praised his being cast in the role - despite admitting "if we were making a factual documentary, then you'd probably look at that position and go 'look, that wasn't the fact'" - as it "allows the show to talk to how backward we were at that time, and the fact that a person [like Dennis] wouldn't be there, not because he wasn't skilled, but because of his skin colour", and to prompt questions over what "our governments", "our boardrooms" and "our CEOs look like", both then and contemporarily. Ehelepola recalled a conversation with a Disney executive during the time he worked for the company, in which it was explained that the company featuring diversity in content they produced was not "social responsibility" but rather to engender "fantastic economics", as a show featuring an all-white cast would be difficult to attract international sales for.[233]
Satirist Mitch McTaggart, in 2023's edition of The Last Year of Television, commented he saw "white critics pointing out a cast isn't white enough" as a "weird take", expounding that "a show made in 2023 [...] shouldn't need to be held to a subjective casting expectation of another period, real or imagined".[234]
The Newsreader - Anna Torv, Sam Reid, Robert Taylor, William McInnes, Michelle Lim Davidson, Chum Ehelepola, Stephen Peacocke, Marg Downey, Chai Hansen, Maude Davey, Jackson Tozer, Maria Angelico
Marg Downey is an Australian comedian and actress best known for her roles in The D Generation, Fast Forward and Full Frontal
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Anna Torv is an Australian actress who has worked extensively in the United States. Her performance as Olivia Dunham in the Fox science fiction series Fringe (2008–2013) earned her four consecutive Saturn Awards for Best Actress on Television, a record for any performer. She portrayed psychologist Wendy Carr in the Netflix period crime drama Mindhunter from 2017 to 2019, and Tess in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us in 2023. She is especially known in Australia for the ABC drama The Newsreader, for which she won two consecutive AACTA Awards. She stars in the Netflix drama series set in the Northern Territory of Australia called Territory, which premiered in October 2024.
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Michelle Lim Davidson is an Australian actress. She got her break in television starring on the skit show Ben Elton Live from Planet Earth in 2011. From 2012 she was a presenter on Play School, a long running Australian TV show and its spin off, Big Ted's Big Adventure. She also played the role of Amy in two seasons of the critically acclaimed comedy series Utopia. Davidson has also had roles in television series Doctor Doctor, Get Krack!n,The Newsreader and Top of the Lake China Girl. In 2022, she appeared in After the Verdict.
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References
1 2 3 4 5 Episodes 3–6 were made available on ABC iView on 19 September 2023, prior to their respective linear broadcasts.[26]
↑ This episode was first seen at an ACMI event in Melbourne on 8 September 2023.[29]
↑ Knox, David (25 September 2023). "The Newsreader S3, Ladies in Black dramas funded for ABC". TVTonight. Retrieved 25 September 2023. A six-part third instalment of the ABC series that digs behind the indelible images of the 1980s for a compelling, intimate, vital look at an era of great change. From The Newsreader season 2 is returning team, director/executive producer Emma Freeman, writer/producer Michael Lucas, writers Niki Aken and Adrian Russell Wills, producer/executive producer Joanna Werner and executive producer Stuart Menzies. Season 3 is also written by Christine Bartlett (Five Bedrooms). It has received major production investment from the ABC in association with VicScreen. International sales are managed by eOne.
↑ Knox, David (3 February 2023). "Programmer's Wrap 2023: ABC". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 February 2023. And we have the highly anticipated return of The Newsreader coming in the second half of the year
↑ Knox, David (1 February 2024). "Programmer's Wrap 2024: ABC". TVTonight. Retrieved 31 January 2024. Both The Newsreader and Fisk will screen at the back of the year with Question Everything also expected in Q4.
"Preview 2024". TV Week. Australia: ARE Media. 22 January 2024.
↑ Elmes, John (3 April 2024). "Why running a PSB isn't as easy as ABC". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 3 April 2024. He cites the success of near history journalism drama The Newsreader and political series Total Control. The latter has just reached its close after three series, while The Newsreader is to go into its third run and will "probably, I imagine, come to an end", he adds.
1 2 Sam Reid, Lisa Millar, Madeleine Morris (8 September 2023). ABC News Breakfast interview with Sam Reid (Television production). Event occurs at 07:40am-07:47am (QLD/TAS/ACT/NSW/VIC). Retrieved 9 September 2023.
↑ Quigley, Genevieve (30 July 2022). "I was told 'they don't hire people that look like you': Michelle Lim Davidson". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 August 2022. It was Michelle's role as Noelene Kim on The Newsreader where she first played a Korean woman on Australian television. Even then, the role was adapted for her. "I auditioned and I said, 'You know, I'm Korean … I'm not sure if that's going to fit in the show.' But they were very open to it. So I had never even auditioned for a Korean woman."
1 2 3 4 Sales, Leigh; Millar, Lisa; Carey, Steve; Torv, Anna (17 September 2023). "02 | People Like You and Me with Anna Torv". The Newsreader Podcast (Podcast). ABC iListen. Event occurs at 17:50-???. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
↑ Jacobs, Meredith (17 March 2022). "'The Newsreader': Anna Torv on Why Helen & Dale's Relationship Is 'Easy'". TVInsider. Retrieved 13 August 2022. "I love the way it ended," Torv tells TV Insider. "We just didn't know how it was going to end for actually a long time. Michael [Lucas] would write and we'd talk and he'd write and write. There was a whole lot of different variations. We knew [what] we were moving towards, but we didn't know what it was going to be. And when we got there, it was like, 'Oh, that's just right.'"
1 2 3 4 5 6 Sales, Leigh; Millar, Lisa; Reid, Sam; Lucas, Michael (21 September 2023). "06 | Fireworks with Sam Reid and Michael Lucas". The Newsreader Podcast (Podcast). ABC iListen. Event occurs at 18:55-34:23; 34:28-44:20. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sales, Leigh; Millar, Lisa; Russell Wills, Adrian; Logue, John; Hollins, Sue (19 September 2023). "04 | The Hungry Truth with Adrian Russell Wills". The Newsreader Podcast (Podcast). ABC iListen. Event occurs at 10:14-19:47; 19:53-28:35, 28:40-30:28. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
↑ Knox, David (25 September 2023). "The Newsreader S3, Ladies in Black dramas funded for ABC". TVTonight. Retrieved 25 September 2023. A six-part third instalment of the ABC series that digs behind the indelible images of the 1980s for a compelling, intimate, vital look at an era of great change. From The Newsreader season 2 is returning team, director/executive producer Emma Freeman, writer/producer Michael Lucas, writers Niki Aken and Adrian Russell Wills, producer/executive producer Joanna Werner and executive producer Stuart Menzies. Season 3 is also written by Christine Bartlett (Five Bedrooms). It has received major production investment from the ABC in association with VicScreen. International sales are managed by eOne.
↑ Kahn, Ellie (10 November 2023). "Stacey Dooley digs up 1.7m for BBC1". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 10 November 2023. The second series of BBC2's Aussie drama acquisition The Newsreader launched with 300,000 (2.2%), less than half the audience of the first series opener (620,000/ 4.2%) in the 9pm Sunday slot in July 2022. It was also shy of the 580,000 (4.2%) slot average.
↑ McHugh, Marian (10 November 2023). "Pride of Britain Awards tumbles to 1.9m". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 13 October 2023. The first episode of BBC2 acquisition Interview with the Vampire compelled 620,000 (4.6%), adrift of the 820,000 (5.8%) slot average.
↑ Kahn, Ellie (13 November 2023). "Captain Tom wins slot for Channel 5 with 1.4m". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 15 November 2023. The second ep of BBC2's The Newsreader picked up slightly from 300,000 (2.2%) to 327,000 (2.6%).
McHugh, Marian (17 November 2023). "The King's Guard deploys 730,000". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 29 November 2023. ... The Newsreader, which entertained 260,000 (2%)...
McHugh, Marian (20 November 2023). "Big Brother bows out with 1.2m across ITV1 and ITV2". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 29 November 2023. ... fourth episode of The Newsreader on BBC2 which drew a series low of 194,000 (1.3%).
Kahn, Ellie (24 November 2023). "Taskmaster final entertains 830,000". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 29 November 2023. ...the fifth and penultimate ep of BBC2's The Newsreader, which picked up from its previous episode's series low of 194,000 (1.3%) to 225,000 (1.5%).
Kahn, Ellie (27 November 2023). "Doctor Who is biggest drama launch of the year with 5m". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 29 November 2023. The final ep of BBC2 acquisition The Newsreader dipped from 225,000 (1.5%) to a series low of 193,000 (1.3%)
↑ Whyte, Marama (2021). "The Newsreader: glamorous drama that fails to grapple with its history: The Newsreader, Michael Lucas, series creator, 6 × 52-54 mins, Werner Film Productions, 2021". History Australia. 10 (4). University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia: 875. doi:10.1080/14490854.2021.1994433. S2CID244555082.
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![The Challenger launch and explosion (the latter pictured here) was the main news event focus of the first episode. Lucas talked of its significance to the news industry; "After [it], you saw that TV news was going to become the future. Satellite technology was capable of taking footage all around the world. And it was this incredible, ... horrible, tragic spectacle. But you couldn't turn away from it. And I think it marked a real change in that it pioneered that sense of rolling news, keeping it going throughout the day, breaking into your programming, just trusting that the audience is gonna keep on watching it." Challenger explosion.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Challenger_explosion.jpg/229px-Challenger_explosion.jpg)
