The ABC's award-winning series The Newsreader is back for a third (and reportedly final) season, taking us behind the scenes of the fictional News At Six newsroom once again.
Not only have the first two seasons been great entertainment, they've also been a surprisingly accurate look back at the 80s and some significant moments in Australian and world history.
As with seasons one (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-16/the-newsreader-bases-its-drama-on-historical-events/100358880) and two (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-11/fact-checking-the-newsreader-season-2/102832660)
Anna Torv and Sam Reid are back for a final season of the award-winning drama, as Helen and Dale go head to head in the shifting news landscape of 1989
Wit’s a new season of The Newsreader comes the return of Australia’s favourite fictional TV presenters. Don’t worry Mike Moore ( we still love you, but Helen and Dale are where it’s at now.
The former co-news anchors – played by Anna Torv and Sam Reid – were once in a “will they or won’t they” relationship that very much culminated in they did.
Things have changed, however, and by the time the third season begins they’ve parted ways, and are now working for different networks.
Although some things remain the same: namely their work ethic, each tenaciously furthering their careers while – continuing the show’s now-familiar format – real-life events provide dramatic scaffolding.
Deploying newsrooms as central settings allows the screenwriters (Michael Lucas, Christine Bartlett, Adrian Russell Wills and Niki Aken) to incorporate past events – including, this season, the Exxon Valdez oil spill (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2014/mar/24/exxon-valdez-oil-spill-disaster-arctic) and the Tiananmen Square massacre (https://www.theguardian.com/world/tiananmen-square-protests-1989) – while depicting how they were reported and narrativised; how history itself was made.
Dale and Helen will both be hosting shows during the plum 6pm time slot, thus placed in direct competition.
This is a surprise for Dale, though he takes the news almost annoyingly well – I wanted drama, conflict! – and the pair remain friends.
Dale continuing to explore his bisexuality and Helen seeking professional support for her mental health
Dale (https://the-newsreader-tvshow.fandom.com/wiki/Dale_Jennings) is now considered News at Six's (https://the-newsreader-tvshow.fandom.com/wiki/News_at_Six) 'King of News', with Helen's international reporting having been met with great acclaim, but as a cynical network move sees the two former lovers pitted in direct competition, their kinship will be tested as never before.
Over the course of 1989, Helen and Dale will compete to cover a cascade of historical events from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, to the boycotts of South Africa's Apartheid, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Season
S1
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/4596727-the-newsreader-bbc2-sunday-9pm-tv-pace-only-no-spoilers
S2
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/4935511-the-newsreader-s2-thur-9pm-bbc-2-tv-pace-no-spoilers