‘The Newsroom’ season 2: Aaron Sorkin explains nine-episode order

You’re going to be seeing a little bit less of “The Newsroom” this coming season. Why? It’s because Aaron Sorkin has decided that you’d be better off watching nine episodes of a show that he is confident about rather than a bunch that he feels just okay about. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the creator / showrunner did his part to explain how at a certain point early in production on the season, he actually asked for a do-over in an attempt to raise the quality up to where he wanted it to be:

“I doubt HBO’s going to be happy with my telling you this, but I got off to a false start with season two. With my hat in my hand, I went to HBO and said, ‘Would it be all right if I started again? I know it’s going to cost time and it’s going to cost a lot of money.’ Other networks would have said no.”

Because of this request, the first two episodes of the season (and part of the third) were completely re-done in order to ensure that they were what Sorkin wanted from them. Unfortunately, there was also a caveat due to this in that the episode order for the season had to be trimmed down to nine rather than its original order in ten. Is this sad for TV junkies? Sure, but “Breaking Bad” and “Downton Abbey” each prove that it’s better watching a shorter season so long as the content that is strong, rich and exciting.

What’s your take on the change, and do you think of it as a sign of confidence or a sign of panic when someone like Sorkin chooses to change up his show so drastically? If you do want to read more when it comes to “The Newsroom” season 2, our advice is to head on over to the link here.

Photo: HBO