2. The Newsroom
Under-appreciated by critics. Critics were decidedly mixed on it during the first season, and its really hard to see why, other than yet another case of popular-thing-bashing like Arrested Development. The show has the ability to bring in a multitude of audiences. You have Aaron Sorkin fans, obviously, who are going to watch anything that he writes. But you also have Jeff Daniels fans, who have enjoyed his maturing from playing Harry in Dumb and Dumber to becoming an incredibly talented and diverse actor; you have fans of Olivia Munn, who have watched her on the G4 network and The Daily Show, and have enjoyed her acting skills and flawless beauty; you have fans of Sam Waterston, and you even have fans of the news in general. Its kind of a perfect storm. The show does seem to bring in those audiences every person that I talk to watches and loves The Newsroom. And, yet, the show still disappoints critics. The biggest problems that critics have with the show is that it feels false, and that it is simply a platform for Sorkin to provide his opinions on all-things political. I would agree with them that the quick and witty lines of dialogue seem a bit forced at times. But, at other times, the show evokes the types of emotions in the audience that only a truly good show can manage to do. The Newsroom is a very good and enjoyable show, which provides an insight into what the nightly news should be like, and critics should try to look deeply at the show instead of trying to grab a quick moment of popularity by slating something that is popular.