Newsroom Hate Grows—and So Do Ratings (Not to Mention Justin Timberlake's Admiration)

Much-debated Aaron Sorkin drama sees numbers spike for Jane Fonda episode

By Joal Ryan Jul 10, 2012 8:25 PMTags
THE NEWSROOM, Olivia MunnMelissa Moseley/HBO

Three episodes into The Newsroom's run, two things are clearer than ever: The Aaron Sorkin journalism drama is not growing on real-life reporters, and HBO subscribers don't care.

The show hit a new season high on Sunday night, just-released TV ratings show, scoring with 2.2 million fans.

Well, maybe not fans exactly.

FLASHBACK: Critics call Newsroom premiere "lousy"

"Not sure what's going to come first, the end of this NEWSROOM episode or my suicide," TVLine.com founder and editor-in-chief Michael Ausiello tweeted during the telecast.

Cutting across newsroom divisions, the sports department weighed in, too, with a blast courtesy ESPN The Magazine senior writer Don Van Natta Jr., who took to Twitter to accuse the show of being "farcical," "unwatchable" and "unhinged-from-reality."

In a recap of the episode, "The 112th Congress," for Esquire.com, Jeff Bercovici griped, "If The Newsroom were edited to consist only of dialogue that people actually might utter in the real world, each episode would be about six minutes long."

The Newsroom began vexing journalist types on June 24.

Bad reviews or no, it got off to a strong start, as one of HBO's top-premiering dramas ever, with 2.1 million viewers.

The following week, even as its True Blood lead-in held steady, Newsroom's viewership plunged 20 percent before zooming back up on Sunday for an installment featuring guest star Jane Fonda.

Longtime anchor Dan Rather and The Huffington Post's Howard Fineman are among the show's high-profile admirers from the reporting pool.

Former Sorkin players Justin Timberlake (The Social Network) and Matthew Perry (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) are sticking with the show, too.

"HBO's "The Newsroom" is so well crafted...," Timberlake tweeted Sunday. "Aaron Sorkin's characters are smart, neurotic, and so fun to watch. Genius moments."

Chimed in Perry, also via Twitter, on the night before the latest episode, "Watch The Newsroom."

Guess which critics the public's paying attention to?