New Info On ‘The Newsroom’ Season Two

Aaron Sorkin and executive producer Alan Poul have taken the opportunity provided by PaleyFest to release some tantalizing (or worrying, depending on your perspective) tidbits about what we can expect in season two of The Newsroom. Warning: Minor plot spoilers follow.

We can expect a focus on the lead-up to the Presidential election. (I guess there’s no way to get around that.) But Sorkin also plans to address the Newtown shooting, and says on that subject:

… obviously something like that, you want to be very careful how you handle it. It’s such a meaningful event to everybody. You don’t want to exploit it, and you certainly don’t want to spread Cheez Whiz on it. But it’s a big deal, and it affected everybody in a huge way. You really want to think before you decide how to handle that. A little goes a long way.

From reading reviews and forum posts, I know not everyone agrees that The Newsroom walked that fine line successfully in its first season, but that certainly sounds like a reasonable way to look at it.

In terms of the overarching plot of the season, Poul reports that the show is tying it all together via flash-forwards focusing on a lawsuit brought against News Night. This avoids simply repeating the first season’s formula of telling viewers the date and allowing us to scramble to speculate on what the big news story will be. I’m cautiously excited about this idea – playing with flashbacks and flash-forwards on The West Wing gave us some of that excellent show’s best episodes.

And finally, on the subject of the complicated love lives of the characters, Poul says Jim needs to take some time away from Maggie (who, as you’ll remember, just agreed to move in with Don). He’ll report on the Romney campaign, giving him the chance to meet new faces played by Constance Zimmer and Grace Gummer. What with the new folks, and Maggie’s ex-roommate and Jim’s occasional-girlfriend Lisa (played by Kelen Coleman) also scheduled to return, there will be every opportunity for the love triangle to gain even more sides. I don’t know about you, but the romance angle has been generally my least favorite part of the show, so I can’t really give a wholehearted cheer about that news.

However, The Newsroom premieres in June on HBO, and I’m still looking forward to it with impatience. What about you? Worried? Just getting ready to hate-watch? Tell us about in the comments below.

Sources: Zap2it and TV Guide