Monday, September 27, 2021

The Newsreader

I’m going to miss The Newsreader, which finished last Sunday on the ABC. I can’t remember the last time I watched such an addictive show the old-fashioned way, savouring the episodes on a weekly basis instead of scoffing them all at once.

For me, part of the treat was personal. I grew up in the 1980s, and The Newsreader went to striking lengths to recreate the ambience of that garish decade. It was set in 1986, in the newsroom of a Melbourne TV station. The stories of the protagonists were interwoven with the real-life news events of the year: the Russell Street bombing, the Chernobyl disaster, Lindy Chamberlain’s release from prison ... [READ MORE]