TV SERIES · 2012–2014 · USA
The Newsroom
- Created by
- Aaron Sorkin
- Network
- HBO
- Seasons
- 3
- Episodes
- 25
- Studio
- HBO
30 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
A behind-the-scenes look at the people who make a nightly cable-news program. Focusing on a network anchor, his new executive producer, the newsroom staff and their boss, the series tracks their quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles-not to mention their own personal entanglements.
30 Interesting Facts About The Newsroom
Interesting Facts (3)
- #001
- #002
Aaron Sorkin has declared himself a fan of The Office and Parks and Recreation several times, and several actors from those shows appeared on The Newsroom, like B.J. Novak, Paul Lieberstein (director and producer on the last season), Natalie Morales, Paul Schneider, Kelen Coleman, and Alison Becker.
- #003
Production Story (7)
- #004
There was another character in the pilot script, Steve, who was meant to be in the series. When Thomas Sadoski came to audition for the character of Don Keefer, Aaron Sorkin decided that Steve was no longer necessary to the plot and Sadoski's character, Don, could take on some of his properties. In the Newsroom panel at PaleyFest, Sorkin said that Sadoski "swallowed a character".
The Newsroom (2012): Thomas Sadoski on a panel in front of a blue curtainImage: Wikimedia Commons · iDominick, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #005
- #006
Actress and comedian Andrea Savage mentioned on her podcast "Andrea Savage: Grown Up Woman #buttholes" that she auditioned for a role on the show, but during the audition, Aaron Sorkin's face was bleeding. She paused in between her audition to ask if he was okay. He said that it was because he cut himself during shaving. She did not get the role.
- #007
After shooting the first couple of episodes of season 2 with Rosemarie Dewitt as Rebecca, the network's lawyer, Aaron Sorkin decided to rewrite the Genoa storyline and said so to HBO. The network agreed to do it, but clarifying that the season was then nine episodes, not 10. Dewitt was replaced by Marcia Gay Harden due to scheduling problems.
- #008
To research the cable news world, Aaron Sorkin had been an off-camera guest at Countdown with Keith Olbermann in 2010 to observe the show's production and quizzed Parker Spitzer's staff when he was a guest on that show. He also spent time shadowing Hardball with Chris Matthews as well as other programs on Fox News and CNN. Sorkin told TV Guide that he intended to take a less cynical view of the media.
- #009
The character "Margaret 'Maggie' Jordan" was based on the real-life Margaret Judson, an MSNBC insider who started out as an NBC Page and worked her way up through the ranks in a real-life network newsroom. Judson was hand picked and eventually cast by Aaron Sorkin for the role of "Tess Westin." Judson also worked with the writing team as a special consultant.
- #010
Behind the Scenes (3)
- #011
- #012
The Newsroom's set is located in Sunset Gower Studios, Hollywood, on Stage 7. The fictional Atlantis World Media building, however, is actually the Bank of America Tower on Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan (directly across the street from HBO's New York City offices), with CGI being used to change the name of the building above the entrance.
- #013
Characters & Cast (5)
- #014
The character Margaret 'Maggie' Jordan was based on the real-life Margaret Judson, an MSNBC insider who started out as an NBC Page and worked her way up through the ranks in a real-life network newsroom. Judson was hand-picked and eventually cast by Aaron Sorkin for the role of Tess Westin. Judson also worked with the writing team as a special consultant.
- #015
- #016
- #017
- #018
Easter Eggs & References (10)
- #019
In the episode "5/1" of the first season, there are two references to Sorkin's other show, The West Wing. The first is when they say that the crisis is not "a smallpox vial dropped in the middle of Times Square," referencing Josh Lyman when he says that the end of the world will be caused by some "test tube [of smallpox] with an eroding rubber cap" rather than a nuclear war. The second is when Will says that "we've never really decided how to spell Gaddafi," referencing the pilot episode of The West Wing when Leo McGarry expresses his frustration at the misspelling of 'Gaddafi' in a newspaper crossword.
- #020
Leona Lansing, portrayed by Jane Fonda, is a character (CEO of a media conglomerate) not unlike Ted Turner, Fonda's third husband from 1991 to 2001. In the first episode in which Fonda's character appears, other characters have a conversation comparing the "Tea Party" of the 2010s and the "leftist radicals" of the 1960s, and one of the names mentioned as a leftist radical is "Hayden," a reference to Tom Hayden, Fonda's second husband from 1973 to 1989.
- #021
- #022
- #023
In the third season episode "Contempt", Will says to Mac (Emily Mortimer) that Charlie was muttering "Kill the wabbit", an apparent reference to the 30 Rock episode "Cleveland" in which Mortimer guest starred featuring that phrase (and music). "Kill da wabbit" is a reference to Elmer Fudd.
- #024
- #025
- #026
- #027
In The Newsroom (2012)'s fictional universe, which Aaron Sorkin created, ACN stands for Atlantis Cable News. There is a real-life ACN in Canada which provides Internet and telephone services, and there was an ACN cable network in the USA at one time. It was "America's Collectibles Network" and sold everything from knives and watches to cosmetics and jewelry. In 2002, "America's Collectible Network" changed its name to Jewelry Television. Seen in approximately 80 million homes, they still use the ACN name legally and on signage at their broadcast location in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
- #028
Deeper Meaning (1)
Career & Awards (1)
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work