After Succession: Eight great shows and movies about TV newsrooms (and where you can watch them)

This is an updated version of an article that first appeared in September 2021.

Whether on TV or at the movies, news and current affairs shows have proven to be a fertile ground for both drama and comedy.

From The Mary Tyler Moore Show to the Harrison Ford-starring Morning Glory and story-specific efforts like The Insider and The China Syndrome, there are plenty of terrific tales involving reporters, anchors, camera operators and those behind-the-scenes.

To assist those left bereft by the end of pitch black media empire satire Succession, Stuff to Watch has come up with a list of another eight of our favourite examples of this sub-genre (and where you can watch them right now).

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Anchorman (Netflix until June 1, iTunes, GooglePlay, YouTube)

Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, and Steve Carell star in this cult 2004 comedy about a top-rating 1970s newsman whose career is threatened by the arrival of a new female employee.

A film filled with endlessly quotable dialogue and memorable scenes, it helped propel many of its actors onto even greater things.

“Anchorman gave me more stupid giggles than I’d care to admit, ” wrote Boston Globe’s Ty Burr.

Broadcast News (Disney+)

The film that propelled Holly Hunter to stardom and was nominated for seven Academy Awards (but won none of them). James L. Brooks’ 1987 rom-com focuses on the love triangle between two rival reporters (William Hurt and Albert Brooks) and their high-flying producer (Hunter).

“Brooks’ screenplay still seems alarmingly timely in its portrait of the blurring of the lines between what is news and what is entertainment. The movie’s quietly devastating climax beautifully illustrates the collapse of ethics in TV journalism,” wrote the Kalamazoo Gazette’s James Sanford.

Frontline (On DVD from Aro and Alice’s Video)

Without it, there would arguably have been no The Office, The Castle, The Dish, The Games or, rightly or wrongly, The Project. A pitch-perfect pastiche and scathing satire of current affairs journalism that still holds up today, more than 25 years after it first debuted, this is one of Australia’s best exports and its greatest TV comedy of all-time.

Hosted by the gaff-prone Mike Moore (Rob Sitch), current affairs programme Frontline careers from one crisis to another, as the team try to compete with better-resourced, more established rivals.

Frost/Nixon (iTunes, GooglePlay)

Already an award-winning play, this well-paced, lovingly crafted, superbly acted 2008 dramatisation of the 1977 televised interviews between British broadcaster David Frost and former US President Richard Nixon benefited from keeping the same writer (Peter Morgan) and main players (Michael Sheen and Frank Langella) as the stage show.

In tandem with Morgan, director Ron Howard did a wonderful job of expanding the story and fleshing out supporting characters, while retaining the crackling tension and power play between the central pair. Their relationship is written and shot like a boxing match; tough talking, early sparring, corner consultation and seemingly knockout blows.

Good Night, and Good Luck (iTunes, Google Play, YouTube)

George Clooney directs this searing 2005 black-and-white recreation of broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow’s attempts to bring down communist-hunting senator Joseph McCarthy. David Straithairn is simply superb as Murrow, while Clooney cleverly sticks to archival footage to portray McCarthy.

“Provocative, principled and richly detailed, this is compelling stuff. Emotionally it’s a little dry, but as brain-food, it’s absolutely invigorating,” wrote Empire magazine’s Simon Crook.

The Hour (Acorn TV, AMC+)

Dominic West, Ben Whishaw and Romola Garai star in this Cold War-era England-set espionage thriller which centres on a journalist, a producer and an anchorman for an investigative news programme. It ran for 12 episodes over two seasons, from 2011.

“With its casting, its look, its unfolding mysteries, its attention to important historical events, its sexiness, The Hour hits every pleasure centre,” wrote the New Yorker’s Nancy Franklin.

The Newsroom (Neon)

A show that divided audiences, particularly in America, but Aaron Sorkin’s audacious TV current affairs-set screwball romantic comedy hits all the right emotional notes during its three-season run from 2012.

Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston and Emily Mortimer head the fabulous ensemble cast who seemed to revel in Sorkin’s metaphor, analogy and allusory heavy dialogue.

“Recklessly full of wit, passion, anger and humour – and timely purpose,” wrote TV Guide’s Matt Roush.

Network (iTunes)

Peter Finch won a posthumous Academy Award for his performance as Howard Beale in Sydney Lumet’s gripping 1976 drama about a television network who cynically exploit a deranged former anchor’s ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit. The cast also includes Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall and Ned Beatty.

“This tale of a failing network… cannibalising itself for ratings, feels as savagely relevant now as it did when it was released,” wrote The Times’ Wendy Ide in 2015.