Podcast

Initial development

The inception of what would become The Newsreader was worked on by Michael Lucas following his six-part series Party Tricks in 2014/2015 - and had a "long gestation" period.^[39] Initial writing for the series - which took place "immediately after" Lucas finished working on the fifth series of Offspring in 2015^[40] - was not centred around a newsroom setting, but 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.^[39][41] 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;^[39] 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."^[18] 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,^[39] and chose newsreader - and a newsroom as the setting for the series - within a few drafts,^[42] Lucas calling them "lions" and "voice-of-God men".^[39]

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.^[39] 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".^[42] 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 having a major impact on the series, such as "a really great way of explaining the dynamics of relationships" and having 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.^[43]

Lucas noted the significance of most of his research into the culture of newsrooms of the time being conducted prior to the #MeToo movement,^[39] 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."^[40] 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]."^[44]

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."^[45]

The first iteration of The Newsreader was written on spec, and a pilot was scripted, which Lucas approached ABC with, 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, and better told by, a non-commercial broadcaster; ABC responded positively "really quickly", and they had the added advantage of an extensive archive of news footage and coverage that could be used.^[39] 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".^[46]

Brett Sleigh at 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,^[39][45] 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.^[18]

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.^[39] Lucas, who was only experienced in writing "pure fiction",^[42] said that despite the somewhat "maddening" challenges that came with weaving in real-life events into the series,^[18] "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,"^[42] being aware of the "markers [you] have to hit",^[47] and simultaneously "weave fictional characters around them,"^[42] 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,"^[18] and how to link them to elements of their personalities.^[47] 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."^[42]

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?"^[48] 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,^[47] and was "deliberately positioned" as such "to get maximum emotional impact for the characters".^[18] 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".^[47]

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.^[39][49] 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,^[39] 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).^[49] Lucas also carried on a practice he engaged with during his roles on various programmes as a script co-ordinator, 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,^[39] and the two co-wrote the fifth episode together. Debra Oswald also acted as script consultant for the series.^[18]

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.^[44] 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.^[39]

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.^[47] 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.^[18] 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."^[18][47]

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.^[41] 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."^[40]

Commission and filming

Securing international distribution for the series proved troublesome at first. Prospective distributors were interested when shown scripts,^[39] but the "Australian specificity" of the series, as well as the era chosen for the period setting, made them hesitant.^[50] 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".^[39] 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 "biege[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".^[50] To accentuate this, cameras for filming were fitted with vintage lenses.^[18]

The series' commission was announced in April 2020,^[51] entered pre-production by October,^[38] with the casting announced that November;^[52] six episodes were ordered by ABC, despite the series being originally developed for eight.^[53]

The series was filmed over 54 shoot days^[54] during late 2020 and early 2021, under COVID-19 restrictions.^[55] 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.^[42] 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.^[56] 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.^[57] 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";^[58] Niki Aken, writer of the fourth episode, played an extra during the scenes in the aftermath of the bombing.^[59] Creator Lucas himself cameoed during the second episode, portraying a DJ at Geoff's birthday party;^[60] 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.^[44] Filming of the News at Six studio was done at the NEP Studios in Southbank, South Melbourne,^[61] with the newsroom offices set in a disused chemical warehouse/factory in Brooklyn, west of Melbourne.^[41][40]

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".^[39] 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".^[47] 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".^[46]

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.^[62] 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".^[41] Downey spoke of how she considered, when being asked to audition for Evelyn, her as being "an intruiging 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.^[63] Chum Ehelopa claimed that when the show was pitched to him, he was unaware the show would revolve around real-life events.^[64] There is a "fair amount", but not "uncontrolled amount" of ad-libbing by the cast and improvisation around the script, particularly by William McInnes.^[65]

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,^[66] 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.^[67]

Anna Torv received the first two scripts of the series before she decided to take up the role,^[69] and was cast in early 2020.^[40] 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".^[70]

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";^[71] 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."^[72] 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.^[70]

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"^[72] - 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."^[71] 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".^[70] 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".^[73] Torv commented that "[m]aking The Newsreader was one of the most satisfying and joyous creative experiences that [she had] ever had".^[55] 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.^[74]

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.^[43] 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".^[46] 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".^[75] 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.^[43] 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".^[75] 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".^[76]

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".^[77] 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 ABC.^[78]

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.^[46] 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.^[70] 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".^[79]

Historical accuracy

Casting and characterisation

Alongside the confirmation of the series' renewal, it was revealed Daniel Gillies and Philippa Northeast had joined the cast.^[83][21] 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.^[84][85] 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.^[20]

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.^[22] There will also be a further expansion of the cast with an introduction to extended family members of the main ensemble.^[47] On 9 August 2023, alongside the announcement of the premiere date of the series and the release of a more lengthy trailer,^[2] 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.^[86] 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".^[79]

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.^[87] 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".^[78]

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.^[88] 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.^[89][90][91] 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.^[92]

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".^[93]

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.^[79]

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;^[63] 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".^[94] 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.^[63] In fact, it was the first scene Torv shot for the second series.^[94]

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.^[79] 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".^[75] 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".^[78]

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".^[95] Freeman was remarked as having "gave the cast space to improvise the Christmas party dancing and revelry" in the fifth episode;^[96] filming for the Christmas party scenes took nine hours and were held on the last day of filming for Chai Hansen.^[97]

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.^[87]

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.^[46]

Lawn signs outside a polling station for the October 2023 constitutional referendum on establishing a Voice to Parliament for Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Lucas remarked on how the fourth episode - which centres on the debate about recognition of Australia's original inhabitants during the country's celebration of the 200th anniversary of the first British settlers landing, and the media treatment of protests and views that run against such a buoyant mood - happened to have aired during the campaign period.^[98]

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.^[78] 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.^[98]

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".^[78] Lucas commented Russell Wills' 2014 documentary 88 on the Bicentennial protests was an "invaluable resource" for production of the fourth episode.^[99]

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 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".^[44] Lucas later revealed that development of the second series was commissioned by 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",^[18] which he found "liberating" in that "you know who you're writing for", and he had the "ensemble's voices in [his] head".^[47]

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".^[87] 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.^[65]

Production and filming began in Melbourne in July 2022, as announced during the March 2022 announcement of the series 2 order.^[19] Filming for the second series lasted 56 days,^[101] over 11 weeks^[18][47] and ended in late September 2022.^[102][103] 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".^[75] 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".^[47] 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".^[46]

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;^[46] this technique was something Lucas had previously mentioned in a pre-series interview he had hoped to utilise. 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".^[46] Permission had to be granted directly from Kylie Minogue to insert archival footage of her into the fifth episode.^[104]

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".^[79] 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.^[105] 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.^[88][106] The gay club scenes in the fifth episode were filmed in The Retreat Hotel in Brunswick, Victoria,^[107] 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".^[108] 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 co-ordinator Amy Cater, "to ensure Dale's expression is both truthful and period accurate".^[109]

In mid-April 2023, the final mastering session on the sixth and last episode took place, ending post-production for the second series.^[110] 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".^[75]

Historical accuracy

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".^[111]

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.^[112]

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 not sufficient enough 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.^[112]

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.^[5] On 1 October, series 2 guest star Rusciano alluded to a third series being in production in a post on Instagram.^[88] 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.^[6] On 15 October, following the broadcast of second series finale, Lucas confirmed a third series, and that it would take place in 1989.^[7]

On 9 November, 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.^[9] Lucas added, on the same day, that the series was already in pre-production.^[113]

Casting and filming

Cast table reads began on 12 December, revealing that the title of the first episode ended in "...ghts".^[114][115] Filming began on 7 January 2024, at the Neighbours studios in Nunawading, a suburb of Melbourne near its CBD.^{[116][117][8][118]} Shooting is set to take place through to March 2024.^[119]

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,^[120] as a "major new character".^[118]

All episodes will be directed by Freeman.^[118] Gypsy Taylor is also the new costume designer for the show as of this series.^[117]

Australia

The Newsreader was the fourth-most-watched Australian free-to-air adult drama series in 2021,^[161] and was 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.^[1][124]

United Kingdom

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,^[185] with the entire series averaging 350,000 viewers among those watching the linear broadcast only;^[186] 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.^[187] After 28 days, the first episode's viewership increased further to 1.4 million viewers.^[188] 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.^[189][190] 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,^[191] and remained in the streaming service's top 40 most popular shows for over a week.^[192] The second episode the following day, withstanding the context of having already been made available on-demand, rose to 327,000 viewers.^[193] The entire series averaged 250,000 viewers among those who watched live or on the night.^[194] No audience figures that include catch-up viewing have yet been published.

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;^[196] 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".^[197] 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".^[198]

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."^[199] 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.^[200] 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."^[201]

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.^[202] 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".^[203]

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".^[204] 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.^[205]

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".^[206]

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".^[207] 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."^[132]

Reviewer James Croot compared Torv's portrayal of Helen Norville to that of character Murphy Brown in the eponymous American sitcom,^[132] 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".^[208] 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".^[209] 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".^[210]

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."^[211]

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."^[212]

The series ranked fourth in Variety's top 13 list of The Best International TV Shows of 2021.^[1][213]

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."^[214]

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.^[215]

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".^[216]