I discovered The Newsroom (not the Aaron Sorkin version) on my local PBS station many years ago. A cinema verité about a TV news director whose ego was gigantic and the people who work with and around him. Ken Finkleman created, wrote, and starred in the show. Dark, twisted, deadpan: the show also featured cameos from real-life celebrities giving reality to the fictional TV set.
Peter Keleghan is a Canadian acting treasure. His performance as news anchor Jim Wolcott is Keleghan at his best.
Judy Greer was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS in 2017 (thanks to YouTube, just discovered this). Greer and Colbert discussed being in the TV pilot for the "Untitled Ken Finkleman Project" for NBC in 2002. They then showed a clip from the pilot, a scene with Greer (who played Ken's sister) and Colbert (who played Ken) in the bathroom where Ken is trying to get into a golf tournament.
In the additional scene above, the "Untitled Ken Finkleman Project" looked like an early episode of The Newsroom. Karen Hines, who was on the original show, is in the scene. You recognise Audrey, played by Tanya Allen in the original show, with a close lookalike actor. Our apologies for not knowing the other actor.
The Canadian TV show did run on PBS with considerable language bleeped out and deserved a Netflix-type presentation. Admittedly, some of the local references would not carry over. Some in the U.S. know David Frum but maybe not his mother, Barbara Frum. George Findlay is a character Americans would love to hate. We love Stephen Colbert but he would have trouble being as George Findlay when Finkleman wore that character like a second skin. Keleghan has done some crossover work in the U.S. (Seinfeld) but would get more admiration for people to see Jim Wolcott.
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The original show, which aired at times between 1996 and 2005, is difficult to find these days on either side of the border. Here is a sample from the original. Do what you can to find this show.
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In the Colbert interview, Greer talked about how they shot the pilot in Toronto. We should note that Greer is absolutely marvelous in Adventures in Public School. Her interpretation is sweet and an ideal level of vulnerable. Her challenge is a strong one and she hit the right notes in a difficult balancing act. This film is available on Netflix outside Canada.
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Like Canadian film, Canadian television is often critiqued as being kind of boring. Ken Finkleman's The Newsroom is anything but boring.
video credits: YouTube/IXCat; YouTube/biggeidea
photo credit: "Untitled Ken Finkleman Project"
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