God Friended Me

God Friended Me









Okay so I watched the trailer.  I haven't seen a full episode and now I want to see more.  This may not work as television comedy so why is it here?  I actually thought it was going to be a sitcom.  Now I see it's a drama type or soap opera type or ....... It's not comedy.  There are funny lines here and there but it's not comedy.  It's classified as a comedy drama so it still fits here.

Okay forgive me but for now I'm keeping it here.  I think this show has a chance.  The Bloom girl is cute and I think I recognize a few people.  Tell me what you think by emailing me at zany1968@sympatico.ca .


Genre: Comedy-drama


Created by

Steven Lilien
Bryan Wynbrandt

Starring

Brandon Micheal Hall
Violett Beane
Suraj Sharma
Javicia Leslie
Joe Morton

Composer(s): Michael Suby

Country of origin: United States

Original language(s): English

No. of seasons: 1

No. of episodes: 16 (list of episodes)


Production

Executive producer(s)

Steven Lilien
Bryan Wynbrandt
Marcos Siega
Greg Berlanti
Sarah Schechter

Running time: 42–45 minutes


Production company(s)

Berlanti Productions
I Have an Idea! Entertainment
CBS Television Studios
Warner Bros. Television

Distributor: Warner Bros. Television Distribution


Release

Original network: CBS
Original release: September 30, 2018 –present

God Friended Me is an American comedy-drama series. It was ordered to series on May 11, 2018, and stars Brandon Micheal Hall, Violett Beane, Javicia Leslie, Suraj Sharma, and Joe Morton. The series premiered on September 30, 2018, on CBS. On October 19, 2018, it was announced that the series had received a full season order from CBS, which will be 20 episodes long.  On January 29, 2019, CBS renewed the series for a second season.



Plot

The series chronicles the life of Miles (Hall), an outspoken atheist, who is sent a friend request on Facebook by an account named "God." This account sends Miles suggestions for new friends, people in Miles' hometown of New York City, that will require assistance. Initially skeptical, Miles decides to follow these suggestions to help people. During his first such request, he meets and befriends Cara (Beane), a struggling writer. Together with Cara and his hacker friend Rakesh (Sharma), Miles also tries to find out who is behind the "God" account.

Use of Facebook

God Friended Me uses Facebook frequently as a narrative device. The "Friended" in the title God Friended Me refers to the act of friending someone on social media, granting that person special privileges (on the service in question) with respect to oneself. On Facebook, for example, one's friends have the privilege of viewing and posting to one's timeline. In God Friended Me, this allows for God to contact Miles.

While the majority of Facebook's revenue is advertisement-derived, show creator Steven Lilien says that their conversations with Facebook have been limited to discussing "how much we can portray it." According to executive producer Bryan Wynbrandt, the "God" of the show will be active on Facebook outside the show, with liking pages and changing their profile picture given as examples of their possible online activities.


Cast

Brandon Micheal Hall as Miles Finer, a skeptical atheist who hosts a podcast about his atheism. Miles’ life is thrown into chaos when he is friended by God on Facebook, who then sends him friend suggestions. This sends him on a journey to change people's lives.
Violett Beane as Cara Bloom, a writer who becomes friends with Miles
Suraj Sharma as Rakesh Singh, a hacker and friend of Miles
Javicia Leslie as Ali Finer, Miles's sister
Joe Morton as Rev. Arthur Finer, Miles's father


Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date  Prod.
code U.S. viewers(millions)

1 "Pilot" Marcos Siega Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt September 30, 2018 T33.01002 10.14

Miles Finer, the son of a priest, now runs a podcast ("The Millennial Prophet") about his atheism. He receives a Facebook friend request from "God." Although he suspects it is a hoax, he nevertheless follows up on the first suggested friend and saves the man's life when he tries to commit suicide by jumping in front of a subway train. He meets his second suggested friend, Cara, an online writer with writer's block. When Miles's computer malfunctions at his home, Cara sees her long-missing mother in a picture of Miles with his family at the hospital. Miles convinces Cara to see her mother. When Cara finds out her mother has another daughter, she runs into the street in shock and is hit by a car. A doctor emerges from a taxi several cars back to save Cara's life; the doctor is the man Miles saved earlier in the subway.


2 "The Good Samaritan" Marcos Siega Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt October 7, 2018 T40.10102 8.37

As Miles prepares for his first national podcast about atheism, he gets another friend request from the God account that leads him to help a single mother connect with her autistic son. Cara gets closer to her estranged mother, while Ali convinces her father to support Miles and congratulate him on his podcast's success. Miles disagrees with his new producer, who wants a one-sided presentation about atheism. Miles instead wants his show to be more of an open conversation. Due to the change in tone, Miles's podcast loses over half its audience. Meanwhile, Rakesh is disappointed to see his new love interest Jaya on a date with another guy, but it turns out the date had been scheduled before Jaya met Rakesh, and she is only interested in dating him.


3 "Heavenly Taco Truck" Kenneth Fink Robert Hull October 14, 2018 T40.10103 7.90

The God account sends Miles a place recommendation for a taco truck instead of a friend suggestion. While Miles is there, a boy steals his wallet. Miles and Cara hire Ray, an ex-police officer and private investigator, to find the boy. It turns out the boy is Isaac, living on his own, his mother absent, and that Ray's deceased wife was Isaac's social worker. Both Isaac and Ray are lost without her, and in the end Ray takes in Isaac as a foster child.


4 "Error Code 1.61" Marcos Siega Allison Moore October 21, 2018 T40.10104 8.86

Miles is excited that Rakesh is close to cracking the God account's firewall when all the computers at their work crash with an error code of 1.61, which is an approximation of the Fibonacci ratio. This leads Miles, Cara, Rakesh and Jaya to the Hayden Planetarium looking for answers. Miles and Cara find Fliss, a woman from a small town who is in New York looking for her lost love based on a list of locations he gave her when they were at camp together. Rakesh and Jaya find Beaker, a staff member at the Planetarium who is looking for a lost star using software that Rakesh recognizes as being associated with the God account. It turns out that Beaker is Fliss's lost love. He's gay, so they won't be romantic, but Fliss decides she will move to New York anyway to restart her life and be Beaker's friend. At the same time, Arthur takes his damaged saxophone to a repair shop to fix and donate. It was damaged in the car accident that killed Miles's mother, and Arthur hasn't played since. Miles retrieves the repaired saxophone and he and Ali tell their father that their mother wouldn't want him to stop playing.


5 "Unfriended" Erin Feeley Safia M. Dirie October 28, 2018 T40.10105 6.94

The God account sends Miles a friend recommendation for Rachel, but he decides to do nothing about it, and the God account disappears. Prodded by Rakesh and Cara, Miles investigates and learns that Rachel is an alcoholic artist whose sister died in a car accident they were in several weeks earlier. They were fighting at the time, and Rachel believes nothing can fix the fact that her sister hated her at the moment of her death. Miles finds the man credited with pulling Rachel from the car before it exploded, and learns that the man was just a bystander; in fact, Rachel's sister pulled her from the car, and died going back for her cell phone to call 911. Miles tells Rachel that her sister obviously loved her, and Rachel finds peace and strives to become sober. Meanwhile, Rakesh finds out Jaya has a medical fellowship that will take her away from New York for up to a year. He reacts badly at first, but on Ali's advice, throws Jaya a congratulations party and tells her he is happy for her. After talking with his father, Miles comes to terms with the idea that he might have a calling to do good in the world, and the God account reappears. He sends it a friend request, and it accepts.


6 "A House Divided" Louis Milito Story by : Robert Hill Teleplay by : Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt November 4, 2018 T40.10106 7.40

As he is hailing a cab, Miles gets a friend suggestion for Hasan, who turns out to be the cab driver. Later, Miles learns that Hasan's daughter Tara has fallen in love with David, a devout Jew she is planning to marry without Hasan's (or David's parents) knowledge or consent. Hasan confronts Tara and David (and Miles) at the courthouse just before their marriage. Miles tries to reason with Hasan, but fails, and Tara reluctantly leaves with her father. At a loss, Miles consults with his father, who explains how a child losing faith can feel to a parent like losing them altogether. Meanwhile, Rakesh breaks the God account's encryption with Cara's help, and they learn about a particular train leaving Grand Central Station later that night. Hasan confronts Miles at his uncle's 25th wedding anniversary party because Tara has run away. Miles realizes that the train isn't the location of whoever is behind the God account, but of David and Tara. Miles reasons with Hasan using what his father said, and at the train station Hasan reconciles with Tara. At the end, Miles learns that Hasan was the driver of the cab the doctor got out of to save Cara's life in episode 1.


7 "The Prodigal Son" Marcos Siega Carmen Pilar Golden November 11, 2018 T40.10107 7.87

Miles is forced to face uncomfortable truths about his family when the "God" account points him towards his Uncle Terrance. Also, Cara's father pays her a visit, and he discovers that she's reconnected with her mom who left them when she was a child.


8 "Matthew 621" Holly Dale Jessica Granger November 18, 2018 T40.10108 7.51

The God account suggests a new friend for Miles who is "a lawyer, 71, and as of a month ago, dead". Meanwhile, Arthur tries to sell his old saxophone.


9 "King's Gambit" Tricia Brock Richard Lowe November 25, 2018 T40.10109 8.09

Rather than a person, the God account sends Miles a fan page of a chess legend who vanished 10 years ago. Miles must find out what happened to the man behind the legend with the help of a private investigator, hired by the legend's last opponent before he vanished, who Miles had helped out in a previous episode. Meanwhile Arthur is having problems with the God account, feeling Miles is using it as fodder for ratings on his podcast.


10 "Coney Island Cyclone" Marcos Siega Robert Hull December 9, 2018 T40.10110 7.51

The God account gives Miles a suggestion for a member of his father's church who's had a recent tragedy. Meanwhile Rakesh and Cara get another step closer to finding Falken, and Miles and his father reach a new place in their relationship.


11 "17 Years" Tamra Davis Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt December 16, 2018 T40.10111 8.53

A friend suggestion brings Miles to the man who killed his mother 17 years before.


12 "Ready Player Two" Darren Grant Story by : Devanshi Patel Teleplay by : Lara Azzopardi January 6, 2019 T40.10112 7.16

Miles received friend suggestion of a girl that being dropped off at Arthur's chruch.


13 "Miracle on 123rd Street" Marcos Siega Andre Edmonds January 13, 2019 T40.10113 8.25


14 "The Trouble with the Curve" Victor Nelli Jr. Safia M. Dirie February 17, 2019 T40.10114 7.19


15 "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Thai Food Place" Marcos Siega Jessica Ball March 3, 2019 T40.10115 6.86


16 "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" Joe Morton Story by : Carmen Pilar Golden
Teleplay by : Robert Hull March 10, 2019 T40.10116 6.63


17 "The Dragon Slayer" Geoff Shotz Story by : Lara Azzopardi
Teleplay by : Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt March 17, 2019 TBA TBD


18 "Return to Sender" Joe Morton Lydia Teffera & Sam Lifshutz March 24, 2019 TBA TBD


19 "The Road To Damascus" TBA TBA March 31, 2019 TBA TBD

I Feel Bad

I Feel Bad

keywords: comedy television indian mother sitcom



Genre: Comedy

Created by: Aseem Batra

Based on: I Feel Bad: All Day. Every Day. About Everything by Orli Auslander


Starring

Sarayu Blue
Paul Adelstein
Aisling Bea
Zach Cherry
Johnny Pemberton
James Buckley

Composer(s): Mateo Messina

Country of origin: United States

Original language(s): English

No. of seasons: 1

No. of episodes: 8


Production

Executive producer(s)

Joshua D. Maurer
Dave Becky
Aseem Batra
Amy Poehler
Julie Anne Robinson


Producer(s)

Kelly Pancho
Kim Lessing
Rupinder Gill
Scott Printz


Cinematography

Tim Suhrstedt
Tom Magill


Editor(s)

Shawn Paper
Mat Greenleaf
Myron Kerstein

Camera setup: Single-camera

Running time: 22 minutes


Production company(s)

Paper Kite Productions
3 Arts Entertainment
CannyLads Productions
Seemu! Inc.
Universal Television

Distributor: NBCUniversal Television Distribution


Release

Original network: NBC

Original release: September 19, 2018 – present


I Feel Bad is an American comedy television series, based on the book I Feel Bad: All Day. Every Day. About Everything by Orli Auslander, that premiered on September 19, 2018, on NBC. It stars Sarayu Blue, Paul Adelstein, Aisling Bea, Zach Cherry, Johnny Pemberton, and James Buckley and is executive produced by Aseem Batra, Julie Anne Robinson, Amy Poehler, Dave Becky, and Joshua D. Maurer. On November 8, 2018, it was announced that the series would "conclude" in December 2018 and that NBC would make a decision regarding a potential renewal at a later date.


Premise

I Feel Bad follows Emet, a wife, mother, and career woman who "feels bad" when she deviates from her own standards of perfection while trying to "have it all."[1]



Cast and characters

Main

Sarayu Blue as Emet Kamala-Sweetzer

Paul Adelstein as David Sweetzer

Madhur Jaffrey as Maya Kamala, Emet's mother

Brian George as Sonny Kamala, Emet's father

James Buckley as Chewey, Emet's co-worker

Zach Cherry as Norman, Emet's co-worker

Johnny Pemberton as Griff, Emet's co-worker



Recurring

Lily Rose Silver as Lily

Rahm Braslaw as Louie, Emet and David's eldest child. In the pilot episode, the character was portrayed by Callan Farris and written as the family's middle child.


Guest

Aisling Bea as Simone ("I Don't Want to Turn into My Mother"), Emet's best friend since college. The character was written out of the series following the pilot episode.

Christopher Avila as Hux ("I Don't Want to Turn into My Mother"), Emet's co-worker. The character was written out of the series following the pilot episode.

Easton Magliarditi as Tucker ("I Don't Want to Turn into My Mother")

Taylor Misiak as Mackenzie ("I Get Sick of Being Needed")


Episodes
No. Title  Directed by Written by Original air date [2] Prod.
code U.S. viewers
(millions)

1 "I Don't Want to Turn into My Mother" Julie Anne Robinson Aseem Batra September 19, 2018 101 5.72

2 "I Get Sick of Being Needed" Tristram Shapeero Andy Bobrow September 19, 2018 103 3.98

3 "I Lie to My Kids" Julie Anne Robinson Annie Weisman October 4, 2018 102 2.64

4 "My Kid Has to Grow Up" Maggie Carey Claudia Lonow October 11, 2018 106 2.21

5 "I’m Vain A.F." Linda Mendoza Mathew Harawitz October 18, 2018 104 2.20

6 "I'm a Massive Hypocrite" Julie Anne Robinson Teri Schaffer & Raynelle Swilling October 25, 2018 105 2.09

7 "I'm Not Sentimental" Alex Reid Rupinder Gill November 1, 2018 107 2.23

8 "I Miss Important Moments" Julie Anne Robinson Nicole Sun November 15, 2018 108 1.84

9 "I Need My Mom" TBA TBA November 29, 2018 109 TBD

10 "My Kids Barely Know Their Culture" TBA TBA December 6, 2018 110 TBD

11 "We're Not Fun Anymore" TBA TBA December 13, 2018 111 TBD


.
Production

Development

On February 2, 2018, it was announced that NBC had given the production a pilot order. The pilot episode was written by Aseem Batra based on the book I Feel Bad: All Day. Every Day. About Everything by Orli Auslander. Batra also acts an executive producer alongside Amy Poehler, Julie Anne Robinson, Dave Becky, and Joshua D. Maurer. Kelly Pancho and Kim Lessing are set as producers and Orli Auslander as a consulting producer. Production companies involved with the pilot include Universal Television, Paper Kite Productions, CannyLads Productions, and 3 Arts Entertainment.

On May 8, 2018, it was announced that NBC had given the production a series order. A few days later, it was announced that the series would premiere in the fall of 2018 and air on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. On June 19, 2018, it was announced that the series would officially premiere on October 4, 2018 in its regular time-slot. On November 8, 2018, it was announced that the series would "conclude" in December 2018 and that NBC would make a decision regarding a potential renewal at a later date.


Casting

On February 26, 2018, it was announced that Sarayu Blue and Paul Adelstein had been cast as the pilot's female and male leads, respectively. In March 2018, it was announced that Zach Cherry and James Buckley had also joined the main cast.


Release

Marketing

On May 13, 2018, NBC released the first official trailer for the series.


Premiere

On September 10, 2018, the series took part in the 12th annual PaleyFest Fall Television Previews, which featured a preview screening of the series and a conversation with cast members Sarayu Blue, Paul Adelstein, Madhur Jaffrey, and Brian George and executive producers Aseem Batra and Julie Anne Robinson.


Reception

Critical response

The series has been met with a mixed to negative response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 23% with an average rating of 4.94 out of 10, based on 13 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite its promising pedigree, I Feel Bad simply isn't very funny." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 55 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)

The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)






 Genre: Political drama

Created by: Aaron Sorkin


Starring

Jeff Daniels
Emily Mortimer
John Gallagher Jr.
Alison Pill
Thomas Sadoski
Dev Patel
Olivia Munn
Sam Waterston

Theme music composer: Thomas Newman


Composer(s)

Alex Wurman
Johnny Klimek
Jeff Beal

Country of origin: United States

Original language(s): English

No. of seasons: 3

No. of episodes: 25


Production

Executive producer(s)

Aaron Sorkin
Scott Rudin
Alan Poul
Paul Lieberstein
Denis Biggs


Production location(s)

Los Angeles
New York City

Cinematography: Todd McMullen


Running time

52–64 minutes
73 minutes (pilot)


Production company(s)

HBO Entertainment
Distributor Warner Bros. Television


Release

Original network: HBO

Original release: June 24, 2012 – December 14, 2014

The Newsroom is an American television political drama series created and principally written by Aaron Sorkin that premiered on HBO on June 24, 2012, and concluded on December 14, 2014, consisting of 25 episodes over three seasons, with 52 to 73 minute long episodes.

The series chronicles the behind-the-scenes events at the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) channel. It features an ensemble cast including Jeff Daniels as anchor Will McAvoy who, together with his staff, sets out to put on a news show "in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles and their own personal entanglements".  Other cast members include Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, and Sam Waterston.

Sorkin, who created the Emmy Award–winning political drama The West Wing, had reportedly been developing a cable-news-centered TV drama since 2009. After months of negotiations, premium cable network HBO ordered a pilot in January 2011 and then a full series in September that year. Sorkin did his research for the series by observing several real-world cable news programs first-hand. He served as executive producer, along with Scott Rudin and Alan Poul.


Series overview

The 25-episode series is set behind the scenes at the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) and revolves around anchor Will McAvoy, his new executive producer MacKenzie McHale, newsroom staff Jim Harper, Maggie Jordan, Sloan Sabbith, Neal Sampat, Don Keefer, and the head of ACN, Charlie Skinner.


Cast and characters

Jeff Daniels

Emily Mortimer

John Gallagher Jr.

Alison Pill

Thomas Sadoski

Dev Patel

Olivia Munn

Sam Waterston


Main cast

Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy: the anchor and managing editor of News Night. A moderate Republican news anchor whose broadcast persona is characterized as unwilling to offend anyone. Known for being difficult to work with, his world is turned upside down when his ex-girlfriend MacKenzie re-enters his life with a plan to revamp his news broadcast.

Emily Mortimer as MacKenzie "Mac" Morgan McHale: News Night’s new executive producer and Will’s ex-girlfriend, returning from 26 months as an embedded journalist overseas, MacKenzie strives to return ACN to the days of real news broadcasts. MacKenzie had an affair with her ex-boyfriend Brian Brenner during her relationship with Will.

John Gallagher Jr. as James "Jim" Harper: Senior Producer who follows MacKenzie to News Night. At his new job, he develops feelings for Maggie.

Alison Pill as Margaret "Maggie" Jordan: an eager, young associate producer of News Night. Formerly Will’s somewhat inept personal assistant, she is appointed an assistant producer by MacKenzie. She has complicated personal relationships with Don and Jim.
Thomas Sadoski as Don Keefer: News Night’s former executive producer who leaves for the new program on the network, Right Now with Elliot Hirsch, but continues to work with the News Night team in a variety of capacities. Plain-speaking and straightforward, but also quite insecure, Don begins to doubt his feelings for Maggie Jordan. Ultimately, he breaks up with her, encouraging her to go after Jim. He subsequently goes on to date Sloan.

Dev Patel as Neal Sampat: writer of Will’s blog and electronic media expert who covered the London Underground bombings with a camera phone. Neal works with the team to develop the use of electronic media as part of the new format.

Olivia Munn as Sloan Sabbith: an economist with two Ph.D.s, she presents an economic news segment on Will’s show. Sloan is good at her job, but also very socially inept and prone to creating uncomfortable situations for herself and others.

Sam Waterston as Charlie Skinner: Atlantis Cable News (ACN) president and retired US Marine. Charlie’s role is to joust with Atlantis World Media owner Leona Lansing and her son, AWM president Reese Lansing while defending the new News Night format.


Guest stars

Jane Fonda as Leona Lansing: CEO of Atlantis World Media (AWM), the parent company of ACN.

Adina Porter as Kendra James: a booker for News Night.

Chris Chalk as Gary Cooper: an associate producer for News Night, and former TMI employee.

Chris Messina as Reese Lansing: president of AWM, and Leona’s son.

Terry Crews as Lonny Church: Will’s bodyguard assigned to him after Will receives death threats.

Kelen Coleman as Lisa Lambert: Maggie’s roommate who dates Jim.

David Harbour as Elliot Hirsch: the anchor of Right Now, a new program on the network.

Jon Tenney as Wade Campbell: a Congressional candidate who briefly dates MacKenzie to boost his campaign through ACN.

David Krumholtz as Dr. Jacob Habib: Will’s current therapist, who is the son of Will’s original therapist.

Hope Davis as Nina Howard: a gossip columnist for TMI, AWM’s tabloid magazine.

Stephen McKinley Henderson as Solomon Hancock: a man who tells Charlie how to blackmail Reese.

Natalie Morales as Kaylee: Neal’s girlfriend whose father died on 9/11.

Paul Schneider as Brian Brenner: a writer for New York magazine whom Will hires for an all-access profile. MacKenzie cheated on Will with Brian during the first four months of her relationship with Will.

Marcia Gay Harden as Rebecca Halliday: a litigator defending Atlantis Cable News against First Amendment-related cases.

Hamish Linklater as Jerry Dantana: a senior producer from ACN’s Washington bureau who fills in while Jim is on the campaign trail and brings the Genoa tip to MacKenzie’s attention.

Grace Gummer as Hallie Shea: a reporter who is embedded with the Mitt Romney campaign.

Constance Zimmer as Taylor Warren: a spokeswoman for the Mitt Romney campaign.

B. J. Novak as Lucas Pruit: a young, wealthy libertarian interested in buying ACN, whose views on citizen journalism clash with Charlie, Will and Mac’s.

Mary McCormack as Molly Levy: an FBI agent who’s a friend of Mac.

Clea DuVall as Lilly Hart: a whistleblower who leaks thousands of classified government documents.

Jimmi Simpson as Jack Spaniel: an ethics professor who briefly dates Maggie.

Aya Cash as Shelly Wexler: Occupy Wall Street advocate.

Paul Lieberstein as Richard Westbrook: EPA vice-director.

Derek Webster as Rodger Hutchinson: an FBI agent.

Brian Howe as Barry Lasenthal: a Department of Justice officer who is able to arrest Will.

Keith Powell as Wyatt Geary: the new VP of human resources who wants to prove that Don is in a relationship with Sloan.

Jon Bass as Bree Dorry: the temporary substitute for Neal.


Co-stars

Margaret Judson as Tess Westin: an associate producer for News Night.

Thomas Matthews as Martin Stallworth: an associate producer for News Night.

John F. Carpenter as Herb Wilson: the control room head for News Night.

Trieu Tran as Joey Phan: the graphics producer for News Night.

Wynn Everett as Tamara Hart: an associate producer and booker for News Night.

Charlie Weirauch as Jake Watson: a switcher/board op for News Night.

Chasty Ballesteros as Tea: the bartender at Hang Chews, the karaoke bar frequented by the News Night staff.

Sarah Scott Davis as Terry Smith: the anchorwoman of Capitol Report, the news bulletin from Washington following News Night.

Alison Becker as Sandy Whiddles: a professional media source, seeking out involvement in "kiss and tell" stories for financial gain.

Riley Voelkel as Jennifer "Jenna" Johnson: a sophomore student Will encounters at Northwestern University, later hired as Will’s assistant.

John Hawkinson as Rudy: a control-room tech whiz on News Night.

Frank Cermak as Luke.


Production

Development

Entertainment Weekly reported in April 2009 that Sorkin, while still working on the screenplay for The Social Network, was contemplating a new TV drama about the behind-the-scenes events at a cable news program. Sorkin was the series creator of Sports Night and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, both shows depicting the off-camera happenings of fictional television programs. Talks were reportedly ongoing between Sorkin and HBO since 2010. In January 2011, Sorkin revealed the project on BBC News.

To research the cable news world, Sorkin had been an off-camera guest at MSNBC’s 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: "They’re going to be trying to do well in a context where it’s very difficult to do well when there are commercial concerns and political concerns and corporate concerns." Sorkin decided that rather than have his characters react to fictional news events as on his earlier series, The Newsroom would be set in the recent past and track real-world stories largely as they unfolded, to give a greater sense of realism.

HBO ordered a pilot in January 2011 with the working title More as This Story Develops. The Social Network’s Scott Rudin signed on as executive producer. Rudin’s only previous television work was the 1996 spin-off series Clueless. By June, Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Sam Waterston, Olivia Munn, and Dev Patel were cast, while Greg Mottola had signed on to direct the pilot. The pilot script was later reportedly obtained by several news outlets.

On September 8, 2011, HBO ordered a full series starting with an initial 10-episode run with a premiere date set for summer 2012. A day after the second episode aired, HBO renewed the series for a second season.

Sorkin said in June 2012 that The Newsroom "is meant to be an idealistic, romantic, swashbuckling, sometimes comedic but very optimistic, upward-looking look at a group of people who are often looked at cynically. The same as with The West Wing, where ordinarily in popular culture our leaders are portrayed either as Machiavellian or dumb; I wanted to do something different and show a highly competent group of people."


Series title

While the pilot was in development, the project was tentatively titled More as This Story Develops. On November 29, 2011, HBO filed for a trademark on "The Newsroom" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The new name immediately drew comparisons with the Ken Finkleman-created Canadian comedy series of the same name that aired on CBC and public television stations in the U.S. The series’ name was confirmed as The Newsroom in an HBO promo released on December 21, 2011, previewing its programs for 2012.

Writing in Maclean’s, Jaime Weinman said the choice of name was "a bit of a grimly amusing reminder that the U.S. TV industry doesn’t take Canada very seriously ... The Newsroom is often considered the greatest show Canada has ever produced, but a U.S. network feels no need to fear unflattering comparisons: assuming they’ve heard of the show, they probably think most people in the States have not heard of it." In an interview with The Daily Beast following the Sorkin show’s premiere, Finkleman revealed that HBO did contact him for permission to reuse the title, which he granted.


Casting

Jeff Daniels was cast in the lead role in March 2011. Alison Pill and Olivia Munn reportedly entered negotiations to star in April 2011. The fictional executive producer role was initially offered to Marisa Tomei, but negotiations fell through. Tomei was replaced by Emily Mortimer in May 2011. Sam Waterston also joined the project in May. John Gallagher Jr., Thomas Sadoski, and Dev Patel were added to the cast in June 2011.

New York magazine reported that Sorkin had planned for MSNBC host Chris Matthews and Andrew Breitbart to appear in a roundtable debate scene in the pilot. However, the idea was shot down by MSNBC purportedly because the network was displeased with the corporate culture portrayal of cable news and skewering of left-leaning media in the show’s script. Chris Matthews’ son, Thomas, joined the cast in the role of Martin Stallworth, an associate producer for the fictional show.

Three months after the series was picked up, Jane Fonda signed on to play Leona Lansing, the CEO of the fictional network’s parent company. Fonda was married to Turner Broadcasting System and CNN founder Ted Turner for 10 years. Lansing was touted by some observers as a female version of Fonda’s ex-husband. The name "Leona Lansing" is taken from the names of two highly successful businesswomen, real estate developer Leona Helmsley and former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing.

Jon Tenney guest-starred as Wade, MacKenzie’s boyfriend. Natalie Morales has a guest role as Kaylee, Neal’s girlfriend. Terry Crews plays Lonny, Will’s bodyguard.

Rosemarie DeWitt was originally cast as Rebecca Halliday, a litigator who is tasked with defending the ACN in a wrongful termination suit in the second season, but DeWitt had to vacate the role due to scheduling conflicts.[39] The role was recast with Marcia Gay Harden. Patton Oswalt was announced to play Jonas Pfeiffer, the new V.P. of human resources at ACN, in November 2012, but he ultimately did not appear in the season.


Filming

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. Production began in the fall of 2011. The schedule called for each episode--comprising a dialogue-dense script of 80 to 90 pages – to be filmed in nine days, as opposed to six to seven pages per day for broadcast network TV series. The pilot episode was shot using 16 mm film while the rest of the series was shot digitally on Arri Alexa cameras.


Writing team

With fewer than 10 credited writers, The Newsroom has fewer writers than most other television series. It was reported that Sorkin planned to replace most of the first season’s writers in the second season.He later said this was untrue. Sorkin explained his approach to writing:

" I create these shows so that I can write them. I’m not an empire builder. I’m not interested in just producing. All I want to do is write. I came up as a playwright--writing is something you do by yourself in a room. That said, I couldn’t possibly write the show without that room full of people. I go in there, and we kick around ideas. I’m writing about all kinds of things I don’t know anything about. So they do research for me. "

Sorkin hired conservative media consultants for the second season to help him represent "every part of the ideological spectrum," thus giving the show "a political perspective that I don’t have." Sorkin also revealed that the second season would include the 2012 United States presidential election.


Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired

1 10 June 24, 2012 August 26, 2012

2 9 July 14, 2013 September 15, 2013

3 6 November 9, 2014 December 14, 2014

In season 1 each episode is built around a major news event from the recent past, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the killing of Osama Bin Laden. This acts as a background for the interpersonal drama, as well as providing a sense of familiarity, as the audience is likely to know the context and so not require too much explanation of events. Sorkin has said the news events on the show "will always be real", which, for him, "became a kind of creative gift. For one thing, the audience knows more than the characters do, which is kind of fun. And it gives me the chance to have the characters be smarter than we were." However, he has also said "[i]t is a romanticised, idealised newsroom, a sort of a heightened newsroom – it is not meant to be a documentary."

The second season features a story arc in which the News Night team has reported, and been forced to retract, a false news story about the United States Marine Corps using Sarin gas during the war in Afghanistan in 2009. This story is based on a real-life news scandal from 1998, in which CNN and TIME were both criticized for reporting a dubious and unreliably sourced story that the United States had used Sarin during the Operation Tailwind excursion in the Vietnam War.

The third season tackles two controversial topics in news reporting. The first is the subject of citizen journalism, and the season begins with the Boston Marathon bombings and its subsequent investigation, which was quite significantly affected by the reports of social media users. The show takes on a particularly critical tone regarding the role that citizen journalists play in the coverage of major news stories, portraying the spread of misinformation and hindrance to law enforcement that ensues. This is expanded in subsequent episodes, where the idealistic, libertarian views of ACN’s new buyer clash with the journalistic integrity of the team. The other major topic is whistleblowing, explored when major character Neal Sampat is contacted by an anonymous source, who leaks details of the US government’s complicity in an atrocity in an African state. This leads to a clash between Will and the FBI, resulting in Will’s spending time in jail for refusing to name Neal’s source and being held in contempt. The whistleblowing storyline takes place in parallel to the Edward Snowden disclosures in 2013.


Broadcast

The Newsroom premiered in the United States on HBO on June 24, 2012. It was watched by 2.1 million viewers, making it one of HBO’s most-watched series premieres since 2008. The first episode was made available free to all viewers on multiple platforms, including HBO.com, iTunes, YouTube, and other free on-demand services.


International

The show aired simultaneously on HBO Canada. It premiered on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom and Ireland on July 10, 2012, two weeks after its U.S. debut. In Germany and Austria The Newsroom premiered on Sky’s video-on-demand service Sky Go one day after the U.S. premiere on June 25, 2012, and Sky Anytime one day later. HBO Europe also began airing the show in all twelve countries with appropriate subtitles one day after the U.S. premiere. The show premiered in New Zealand on August 13, 2012, on SKY NZ’s SoHo channel. The show debuted in Australia on the SoHo channel on August 20, 2012. In India, the show premiered on HBO Defined on May 21, 2013, season 2 premiered on July 30, 2013, with episodes airing two weeks after the U.S. premiere, and season 3 premiered on November 10, 2014, one day after the U.S. premiere.


Reception

Critical response

Critical reaction to the series in its first season was mixed. The show’s second and third seasons saw more positive responses from reviewers.


Season 1

On Metacritic, the first season scored 57 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a rating of 46%, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site’s critical consensus reads, "Though it sports good intentions and benefits from moments of stellar dialogue and a talented cast, The Newsroom may feel too preachy, self satisfied, and cynical to appeal to a wide range of viewers."

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter writes that how viewers respond to the show "has everything to do with whether you like his style. Because ... Sorkin is always true to himself and doesn’t try to cover his tendencies or be embarrassed by them". Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times commented that "at its best ... The Newsroom has a wit, sophistication and manic energy.... But at its worst, the show chokes on its own sanctimony". Time’s James Poniewozik criticized the show for being "smug" and "intellectually self-serving", with "Aaron Sorkin writing one argument after another for himself to win." Los Angeles Times critic Mary McNamara said the show’s drama is "weighted too heavily toward sermonizing diatribes".

Reviews by newscasters have been mixed as well. Jake Tapper, then of ABC News, criticized Sorkin’s partisanship: "they extol the Fourth Estate’s democratic duty, but they believe that responsibility consists mostly of criticizing Republicans." Dave Marash was not convinced that the show portrays the news industry accurately. On August 1, 2012, Sorkin responded to critics by including news consultants with newsroom experience. Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather gave the pilot a favorable review, saying the show "has the potential to become a classic".


Season 2

The second season received generally favorable reviews. It has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 26 critics, from review aggregation website Metacritic. Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a rating of 69%, based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site’s critical consensus reads, "Thanks to focused storytelling and a more restrained tone, The Newsroom finds surer footing in its second season, even if it still occasionally succumbs to Aaron Sorkin’s most indulgent whims."

In an early review of season 2, Verne Gay of Newsday called it: "Edgier, more sharply drawn, while that Sorkian chatter remains at a very high boil." Oscar Moralde of Slant Magazine noted what he referred to as the show’s "grandiloquent speechifying", but praised Olivia Munn calling her "a joy to watch" and concluded that "season two of The Newsroom salvages the promise of becoming something urgent and vital". Brian Lowry of Variety, in a negative review, said: "Ultimately, one needn’t be a purveyor of snark to view The Newsroom as a disappointment--too smart to be dismissed, but so abrasive as to feel like Media Lectures for Dummies." Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave Season 2 an overall "B-" grade.


Season 3

The third and final season received positive reviews. On Metacritic, it has a score of 63 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 76%, based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The site’s consensus reads, "With an energetic new arc and deeper character development, The Newsroom finds itself rejuvenated in its third season--even if it still occasionally serves as a soapbox for creator Aaron Sorkin."


Awards and nominations

In 2012, The Newsroom was honored, along with four others, with the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series. The series also received two nominations at the 70th Golden Globe Awards, for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Actor – Television Series Drama for Jeff Daniels. Daniels was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and won as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, in which the series received two other nominations, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Jane Fonda and Outstanding Main Title Design. For the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Jeff Daniels was nominated for Best Drama Actor. For the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Jeff Daniels was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Jane Fonda was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. For the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, Jeff Daniels was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

The Newsroom (Canadian TV series)

The Newsroom (Canadian TV series)







The Newsroom

Created by: Ken Finkleman


Starring:

Ken Finkleman
Peter Keleghan
Mark Farrell
Jeremy Hotz
Karen Hines
Tanya Allen
Matt Watts
Holly Lewis


Country of origin: Canada

No. of seasons: 3

No. of episodes: 32


Production

Executive producer(s): Ken Finkleman, Jan Peter Meyboom

Editor(s): Allan Novak

Camera setup: Single-camera

Running time: approx. 22 minutes


Production company(s)

Bubble Bass Pictures
FallFooFum Entreprises
WoopsPark
PorchLight Entertainment
Nelvana


Distributor:

Nelvana
Buena Vista Television


Release

Original network: CBC Television

Original release: 1996 – 2005

The Newsroom is a Canadian television comedy-drama series which ran on CBC Television in the 1996–97, 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. A two-hour television movie, Escape from the Newsroom, was broadcast in 2002.

The show is set in the newsroom of a television station which is never officially named, but is generally understood to be based on CBC's own Toronto affiliate CBLT. Inspired by American series The Larry Sanders Show[1] and similar to such earlier series as the British Drop the Dead Donkey and the Australian Frontline, the series mined a dark vein of comedy from the political machinations and the sheer incompetence of the people involved in producing the fictional City Hour, the station's nightly newscast.


History

Season 1

The Newsroom was not originally intended to be an ongoing series. Its first season of thirteen episodes, broadcast in 1996–97, led to critical acclaim but no immediate follow-up commissioning. Following the end of The Newsroom, creator Ken Finkleman produced three different short-run series for the CBC, More Tears, Foolish Heart and Foreign Objects, all of which included George Findlay, the central character of The Newsroom, as a linking character. A Findlay-like character with a different surname had also appeared in Finkleman's pre-Newsroom series Married Life. Findlay was also revived in the later HBO Canada series Good Dog and Good God.


Season 2

As none of the subsequent series after the initial season of The Newsroom were as well received by the public or by critics as the original show, the CBC began to seek a new set of Newsroom episodes. Escape from the Newsroom, which included a fourth wall-breaking plot digression in which the characters directly addressed the idea of reviving the series, was meant partly as a sarcastic response to that request. However, Finkleman ultimately agreed to produce 13 new episodes, which were broadcast after a six-year hiatus since the initial series, in the winter of 2004. The last four episodes of the second season were shot as a mockumentary.


Season 3

A third season of The Newsroom, consisting of six episodes, was broadcast on CBC beginning on February 14, 2005.

In the United States, The Newsroom aired on PBS stations. All three seasons and Escape from the Newsroom are available on DVD.

The series drew some renewed media attention in 2011, when Aaron Sorkin announced that his new 2012 series, set in the newsroom of a cable news channel and originally to be titled More As This Story Develops, would be renamed The Newsroom. Writing in Maclean's, Jaime Weinman said the choice of name was "a bit of a grimly amusing reminder that the U.S. TV industry doesn't take Canada very seriously ... 'The Newsroom' is often considered the greatest show Canada has ever produced, but a U.S. network feels no need to fear unflattering comparisons: assuming they’ve heard of the show, they probably think most people in the States have not heard of it." In an interview with The Daily Beast following the Sorkin show's premiere, Finkleman revealed that HBO did contact him for permission to reuse the title, which he granted as he had no further plans to revive his series.


Characters

Main characters

Although the series had a large and variable ensemble cast, only three major characters were present throughout the show's entire run.

George Findlay (series creator Ken Finkleman), the executive producer of City Hour, is a venal, petty man who cares only about his sex life, his lunch orders and his personal image within the network's bureaucracy. Although exceptionally intelligent, he is highly self-absorbed and utterly unconcerned about anything besides himself.

In the third-season episode "One Dumb Idea", Karen offers her idea on a character based on Findlay for a sitcom idea he was trying to come up with, saying, "I think if you're gonna go for reality, or, sorry, for verisimilitude, I think your character should be deceitful and self-serving. Basically, pathologically ambitious and actually lacking in any real humanity." In other words, a sociopath.

Findlay apparently suffers from constipation, hinted at by his obsession with bran muffins, fibre products and doctor appointments for procedures including a colonoscopy.

He constantly avoids talking to his mother (Clare Coulter) who keeps calling him at work. Telling people to tell her he is in a meeting or on vacation, he even went so far as to have an intern get the telephone number to the show changed. When asked why he refused to talk to her he replies, "Talk to her? You're missing the point. The point is, this place is too cheap to get me an assistant. If I had an assistant, she could talk to my mother. But because this place is so goddamn cheap, my mother has no one to talk to." Findlay does, however, have a close relationship with his BMW dealer, often calling him about small problems with his "$40,000 German car."

Findlay has also appeared in nearly all of Finkleman's other television series as a linking character, always working as a film or television producer.

Jim Walcott (Peter Keleghan) is City Hour's similarly shallow but far less intelligent anchorman. Walcott is often told by the others that he is smart, but Findlay always refers to him as an idiot when he is not around. He lives alone with his cat and has been charged with sexual harassment several times, including an incident when he offered sexual favours to an underaged girl in return for a ride in a helicopter.

In the final episode of the first season, "The Campaign", Walcott, along with other staff of the newsroom, go into politics. Walcott is running as a Liberal for the provincial government of Ontario. He is asked by a reporter from The Star whether he is in favour of eliminating child poverty in Canada, to which he responds confusedly, "this is a provincial election."

During a fundraising party he mishears a woman he is talking to about abortion, thinking she said, "the decision should be between the woman, her doctor and her dog." After "listening to [their] polls", the campaign team decides it best for Walcott to be pro-life, and at a pro-life rally he falls victim to a slip of the tongue, saying, "I believe life begins at masturbation". Walcott's attempts to garner additional support include making appearances with his ex-wife and a disabled person, both of whom are represented by agents demanding more money per appearance.

During a campaign speech, Walcott is shot and ends up in a coma with a bullet lodged in his brain. While watching the results of the election on the news, the campaign team celebrates its win just as Walcott dies in the hospital bed beside them.

In Escape from the Newsroom, Walcott returns to his job as news anchor. His "death" was clarified as a two-year coma. Walcott offers Atom Egoyan a story idea about "a news anchor, who's shot in the head, is in a coma for two years, but survives with a bullet lodged in his brain, and then struggles to return to his news desk." After Egoyan says to Walcott that he read about the same thing happening to Walcott, Walcott seems surprised and says, "yeah, there is a parallel there somewhere."

Karen Mitchell (Karen Hines) is a segment producer, and the news department's only real example of intelligence and professionalism. Karen seems to be the only one who takes journalistic integrity seriously, while the others try to find ways to boost ratings by glamourizing news stories with sensationalism.

Karen is apt to point out the ignorant prejudices of most of the staff, as they, in turn, tease her for not being able to find a date. Findlay suspects her of being a lesbian after she is featured in a feminist magazine as one of ten women in the news who make a difference. He "connects the dots" of her different personality traits to arrive at this conclusion, including observations of her not being able to sustain a male-female relationship, the fact that she knows the editor of a women's magazine, and that she is aggressive, argumentative, sure of herself and moralistic. Karen, however, is not a lesbian, as this only illustrates Findlay's way of thinking.

When offering her suggestion on characters profiles for Findlay's sitcom idea, after ridiculing Findlay she went on to describe a character based on herself that should be "highly intelligent and attractive in an unconventional way, with very strong legs from the years and years of yoga and running that she has had to do to keep her sanity in a toxic psychic environment that is 'the newsroom', and basically far too busy doing her job to get involved in your stupidity or, I'm sorry, your character's stupidity."


Supporting characters

Each season had a different supporting cast of newswriters, reporters, producers and network bureaucrats. The 1996 season one cast included Jeremy Hotz and Mark Farrell as Findlay's two "yes men" segment producers, Tanya Allen as Audrey the intern, David Huband as Bruce the weatherguy, Julie Khaner as Findlay's boss Sidney, Nancy Beatty as Nancy, Findlay's other boss and David Gale as the entertainment reporter.

Leah Pinsent appeared in Escape from the Newsroom as anchor Diane Gordon, a character she had previously played in Finkleman's More Tears.

The 2004 season two cast included Matt Watts as Matt and Jody Racicot as Alex who replaced Jeremy and Mark as Findlay's "yes men" segment producers. Douglas Bell played Allen, a writer, hypochondriac and Harvard graduate who often stutters. Holly Lewis played Claire and Alberta Watson played Susan. Tom McCamus also appeared in one of the 2004 episodes as a newswriter who informed Findlay of his own terminal illness, to Findlay's lack of concern; his character died at the end of the episode.

In 2005, the season three additions to the cast included Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall as Jason, who replaced Alex as segment producer, Kristin Booth as Nora and Sarah Strange as Susan Murdoch, Findlay's boss. Jeremy Hotz returned to the cast for the first episode when Findlay rehired his character and then fired him later that episode.


Guest stars

The show also included guest appearances by a number of public figures, including David Cronenberg, Rick Salutin, Bob Rae, Hugh Segal, Naomi Klein, Daniel Richler, Angelo Mosca, Linda McQuaig, Cynthia Dale and Noam Chomsky, playing themselves in interviews on the newscast. Escape from the Newsroom featured Atom Egoyan.


Production notes

The series was produced by Finkleman's long-time collaborator, Peter Meyboom. For several years they ran an independent production company together called 100 Per Cent Films. Other key creative contributors to The Newsroom were cinematographer Joan Hutton whose documentary style added an authentic feel and music composer Sid Robinovitch, an old friend of Finkleman's who wrote the mournful, jazzy closing theme. Another key collaborator was editor Allan Novak, who edited all of Finkleman's early Canadian work including Married Life, More Tears, Foolish Heart, and Foreign Objects. Novak also produced and directed a half hour behind the scenes documentary called Inside the Newsroom. CBC executives green-lighting and overseeing the project included Deborah Bernstein, Susan Morgan, Slawko Klymkiw and Phyllis Platt.


Episode guide

Season 1 (1996–1997)

The Walking Shoe Incident
Dinner at Eight
Deeper, Deeper
The Kevorkian Joke
A Bad Day
Petty Tyranny
Dis and Dat
Parking
Unity
The Meltdown Part I
The Meltdown Part II
The Meltdown Part III
The Campaign
Escape from the Newsroom (2002) (movie)


Season 2 (2004)

America, America
Death 1, George 0
Pushy, Moneygrubbing, Cosmopolitan Racist
An Enormous Waste of TIme
Anchors Away
One of Us
Never Read Symptoms
The Fifty
Slow Leak
Reality Strikes
The British Accent
Say Cheese
The Second Coming
Season 3 (2005)
One Dumb Idea
Dial 'G' for Gristle
Lolita
Latent Homosexual Tendencies
Baghdad Bound
Learning to Fly


Awards and nominations

DGC Craft Award

2005 - Outstanding Achievement in Direction - Television Series - Ken Finkleman - (For episode "Baghdad Bound")

2005 - Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Television Series - Tom Bjelic, Allan Fung (For episode "Learning To Fly")
DGC Team Award

2005 - Outstanding Team Achievement in a Television Series - Comedy (For episode "Baghdad Bound")
Gemini Awards

1997–98 - Best Director - Variety, Comedy or Performing Arts Program or Series - Ken Finkleman (For episode "Meltdown, Part 3")

1997–98 - Best Performance - Comedy Program or Series - Jeremy Hotz, Ken Finkleman, Mark Farrell, Peter Keleghan, Tanya Allen (For episode "The Campaign")

1997–98 - Best Photography - Comedy, Variety, Performing Arts Program or Series - Joan Hutton

1997–98 - Best Picture Editing - Comedy, Variety, Performing Arts Program or Series - Allan Novak

1997–98 - Best Writing - Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Ken Finkleman (For episode "The Campaign")

2005 - Best Writing - Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Ken Finkleman - (For episode "Baghdad Bound")
International Emmy Awards

2005 - Best Comedy (Canada)
Rose d'Or

1997 - Bronze Rose, Sitcom.
San Francisco International Film Festival

1997 - Silver Spire, Television - Comedy - Ken Finkleman (For episode "Walking Shoe Incident")
WGC Awards

1997 - Ken Finkleman

1998 - Ken Finkleman (For episode "Meltdown Part III")

Painted Post Fish and Chips

Painted Post Fish and Chips



(sample picture....but it's pretty close to what you get....When I went the cook/owner packaged my food like a gift.  I was impressed at the amount of care he put into making my food.  Now go get some.....and bring me some.)

I think the name is different now.

I remembered eating there in 2010 and a couple other times after.  The price was reasonable and the fish and chips was great then.

On October 16, 2018 Tuesday (Hey that was yesterday) I went there for fish and chips.  I met the newest owner, "Martin".  His real name is similar to that.

I told him about my great past experiences.  He said he would try to live up to those experiences.

I watched him prepare the fish and the chips.  He packaged the food like a present for me and my dad.

The fish tasted great and so did the the fresh cut french fries.  I would like to be able to eat like that often.  The price is reasonable.  The cook is friendly....  not in a bad way.

Give this place a try.  I feel this guy's heart is in this place.

If you see me there buy me an order of fish and chips.

The place is located at Painted Post and Markham in Toronto.  803 Markham Rd, Scarborough, ON M1H 2Y1, (416) 431-3305

Tell me your thoughts at zany1968@sympatico.ca

Pot -- Cannabis is now legal across Canada..........Hey Bendeco!!!!....sorry ...flashback

Pot -- Cannabis is now legal across Canada..........Hey Bendeco!!!!....sorry ...flashback


If you're a Canadian over 18 years of age you can buy and use pot legally as of today, October 17, 2018 Wednesday.

My websites and blogs are even more entertaining to people who are high.  If you do drugs then enjoy my websites and blogs.  If you don't do drugs then you'll get the jokes and still enjoy the websites and blogs.

I don't do drugs and don't need any for any condition.  If you do drugs responsibly you might be a productive member of society.

Follow the rules and be smart.  Be considerate to others.

So if you have them light em up or shove them between your toes or whatever you do.  Party on.

To Try