The Newsreader is a two-season drama set in 1986 and 1987 respectively. (It was recently renewed for a third season,which is a pretty exciting investment in a local story.) It covers the newsroom ofNews at Six,a respectable program led by the stoic Geoff Walters (Robert Taylor) and the charismatic Helen Norville (Anna Torv).
On the news desk,Geoff is a paean of respectability and that kind of Old Boys wealth that almost makes him sound English. Helen is dynamic,glamorous and represents a new dawn for what stories are deemed worth covering in the mainstream. When they’reoffthe desk,Geoff is a grumpy goat who is furious at what he sees as the triviality taking over Australian news and longs for the days of reporting from a foxhole in Vietnam (days when he was a very famous,very important journalist).
Helen resents the network’s rigidity,their reluctance to cover “niche” stories (like the looming HIV/AIDS crisis) and battles bouts of paralysing mental illness with booze and sleeping pills.
Their uneasy dynamic is challenged by calls for Geoff’s retirement,their overbearing and bigoted boss Lindsay (hey,it’s William McInnes!),and illness that pulls them both away from the desk. Bubbling in the background is a newcomer called Dale Jennings (Sam Reid) who has so much ambition swirling inside him that he almost looks like he’s in pain every time he sees Geoff and Helen step up to the desk every night.
When a series of events,including saving Helen’s life,leads him to taking a more active role on air,dynamics begin to shift. Dale and Helen’s relationship begins to shift too.
There’s a lot to love about this show. If you’re from Melbourne,you’ll recognise many of the shooting locations (I’m pretty sure I spotted the very pink exterior of my old apartment building,which was thrilling) and the sets are delicious. Geoff’s sprawling,multi-story home is a mid-century modern dream,and Helen’s trendy house is awash with pastels and gleaming works of art.