HBO's The Newsroom is fantastic. Shows like it are the reason we have TV in the first place. But what exactly makes the show such a phenomenon? At Sunday's Paley Center for Media evening celebrating the series, I spoke with several members of the cast to find out what they think makes it great - and learned a few things about what's coming up in Season 2.

For John Gallagher, Jr., who plays the ever so endearing Jim Harper, he knew the show was something special "When I read the pilot. I'd been an Aaron Sorkin fan for years but I thought when I read the first episode, I thought he'd complet...

It's that time of year again: time to look back on the things we enjoyed the most in television, film, music and other entertainment. For your reading pleasure, here are my '10 in 2012' - ten categories of awards handed out to my personal favorite things and people from the last year.

- Brittany Frederick's 10 in 2012 -

Best Unscripted Entertainment: There was a lot of fun to be had in the world of unscripted TV this year. NBC ran not one, but two seasons of The Voice this time around, and for the most part, the network's gamble paid off. We were introduced to plenty more great talents...

The Newsroom was easily the most talked-about new series of 2012. Between the hype and the alleged backlash and the real backlash, everyone seemed to have their two cents about HBO's newest original series. Yet now as we approach tonight's first-season finale, what have we learned from it all?

There will be no hand-wringing or teeth-grinding about its fate: we learned long ago that the show has been renewed for a second season. So, that's the usual burning question out of the way.

We've seen that after the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Aaron Sorkin has returned to televisio...

This is my viewpoint, from the far end of the couch...and this week I want to discuss a little show called The Newsroom, and all the things I've learned from it. Not only is it one of the best shows you're not watching, it's a series that - love it or hate it - has almost become bigger than the show itself. There's enough to talk about that..well, it unintentionally took over this entire blog. So, in no particular order, here are seven things that I've taken away from The Newsroom.

1. The TV Main Title Sequence Is Not Dead

The television main title sequence seems to be on its way to bei...

"The Newsroom" creator Aaron Sorkin has come under fire over allegations he fired his writing team. Sorkin says the rumors are "completely untrue," even though it's common procedure for writers to be shuffled around at the end of a season that has been widely criticized.

During the Television Critics Association press tour Sorkin said the firing rumors are "scaring the hell out of the writing staff." He added that the writers are "acting very, very strange," "coming to work early" and "being polite to me." He also joked, "I want the old gang back."

Sorkin also denied that the HBO series ...

This is my viewpoint, from the far end of the couch...and this week Starpulse has asked me to give you 10 outstanding TV shows that you're not yet loving, but you will.

With so many channels it's no wonder that a lot of great shows either slip through the cracks or don't get as much attention as they deserve. To help you find the series you might not know, I've compiled this handy list of programs you can check out right now.

My only criteria? They must be currently airing and able for you to tune into right now, be it first-run or repeats. (Therefore, cancelled shows are not eliglible, a...

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has jumped to the defense of his show The Newsroom after the series was disparaged by real-life journalists.

Sorkin's program about a TV newsroom debuted to mixed reviews last month and came under fire from some reporters who claimed it's an unrealistic portrayal of the industry.

Now Sorkin, who created huge hit The West Wing, has hit back at his detractors, insisting all his projects are fantasy-based and should not be taken too seriously.

He tells Fresh Air radio show, "I like writing about heroes that don't wear capes and disguises. It's inspirational. 'Gee...

The fourth episode of The Newsroom takes on a story that captivated the nation, while everyone's love lives get needlessly meddled in, and Don finally stops being a jerk. While the show struggles with its subplots, there's no denying that it knows how to do the news, even if it's news from two years ago.

The Top Story

While The Newsroom has been grounded in real-life personalities and events from the start, "I'll Try To Fix You" is the first episode where it tackles head-on a real news story that we also all know well: the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. While the BP oil s...

In the third episode of HBO's The Newsroom, Will picks a fight with the Tea Party, Charlie gets called to the principal's office, and Aaron Sorkin revisits the second episode of Sports Night. It's messy and more than a little familiar, but it's still an impressive addition to the summer TV landscape.

The Top Story

"The 112th Congress" opens with something that should be very familiar to fans of Sorkin's previous show about a TV show: an on-air apology. Will opens News Night with an editorial comment about how sorry he is for the program's past mistakes and flaws. "I'm a leader in an ind...

Although critics were on the fence about "The Newsroom," HBO has ordered a second season of the drama about a cable news anchor.

In June, 2.1 million people tuned in to the series premiere, which is a solid debut compared to "Girls," which drew just 1.1 million in its premiere. "The Newsroom" is among the network's most-watched recent premieres, including "Game of Thrones" (2.2 million) in April 2011 and "True Blood" (1.4 million) in 2008.

"The Newsroom" still has time to gain momentum. The "Game Of Thrones" season two premiere increased to 3.9 million, and the "True Blood" season five...

Aaron Sorkin’s new show, The Newsroom, certainly isn’t the first show to be made about the behind-the-scenes working of a TV show. In fact, it’s the third time Sorkin has done it himself!

The Newsroom premiered last night on HBO, so we thought we'd take a look back at five of our favorite TV shows that are about TV shows. The following are our favorites… what are yours? Leave them in the comments.

1. 30 Rock (2006 - present)

It’s hard to imagine that when 30 Rock premiered, it actually went up against Studio 60 from the Sunset Strip, which was from Sorkin. TV critics knew only one could...

The Newsroom is pure Aaron Sorkin. The fingerprints of his creative vision are obvious and numerous throughout HBO's newest original series. And damned if that isn't a sight to behold.

Sorkin has a unique and very specific voice, one that television has missed. This isn't to detract from his successes with Moneyball and The Social Network, or at the beginning of his career with The American President and A Few Good Men. But Sorkin on the small screen is something different. Sports Night, The West Wing and even the lesser-regarded Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip gave us the chance to savor ...

A new trailer for Aaron Sorkin's highly anticipated HBO series 'The Newsroom' has just been released. The series premieres Sunday, June 24th at 10pm.

About 'The Newsroom'

From the mind of Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing and screenwriter of The Social Network and Moneyball, comes 'The Newsroom,' a behind-the-scenes look at the people who make a nightly cable-news program. Focusing on a network anchor (played by Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), the newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Pat...