‘The Newsroom’ season 2 spoilers: Aaron Sorkin talks story, Sandy Hook dilemma
On Sunday night the cast of “The Newsroom” visited PaleyFest for a panel about the upcoming second season, and in between Olivia Munn challenging Piers Morgan on his celebrity status and Sam Waterston making analogies about acting to smelly fish heads, it turned out to be a rather interesting night.
Be also had the opportunity to learn a few details about what is set to be a very interesting series of events that Will McAvoy and the folks at Atlantis Cable News are going to cover over the upcoming episodes. While we know already that the 2012 Presidential election will be front and center, the Trayvon Martin case and the federal budget are also going to be key subjects that receive a great deal of attention.
What is a bit more unknown, however, is the debate over whether to include anything pertaining to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. While creator Aaron Sorkin clearly is aware of the dramatic potential present within such an event, he is also aware of the story’s devastating nature; therefore, he was noncommittal about whether or not there would be anything pertaining to the shooting within the season, mostly because he fears whether or not he could capture the emotions while also not making it feel exploitative to the tragedy:
“That’s a tough thing to write about without minimalizing it, exploiting it, spreading Cheez Whiz all over it … Sorry for the bad metaphor, but there are so many land mines to step on. You want to make sure you don’t do it a disservice.”
Just as news organizations had an obligation to report on this story, a show about a fictional newsroom probably does have the same sort of need. However, we would not be surprised if this story was saved until the start of season 3 as a way to allow for a little more distance, and to figure out how Sorkin wants to tell the story. (It could happen between seasons, but even so we figure it to be addressed at some point.)
On the romantic front, Sorkin said to expect more from Don and Sloan after a brief admission near the end of last season, and he was hesitant to say just what the future would hold for Will and Mackenzie, who spent much of the first season trying to even figure out if they could even work together.
Want to know some more casting scoop on “The Newsroom” season 2? If so, be sure to check out the story over here.
Photo: HBO