The Newsroom

The tumultuous TV newsroom world of overbearing regional news director George Findlay, who is solely motivated by casualty statistics which will improve his ratings.

ComedyDrama

Seasons

1. The Walking Shoe Incident

Air Date: 1996-10-21

George needs to hire an assistant to take care of such pressing matters as returning his shoes and fetching bran muffins. But he faces a dilemma; should he hire the qualified African-Canadian lesbian or the inexperienced yet attractive ski bunny?

2. Dinner at Eight

Air Date: 1996-10-28

When a sexy new co-anchor is hired to bring life back to the show, Jim feels threatened. He turns to George, who supports him pharmaceutically. However, when the ensuing power shift starts to affect George, it's time to fight dirty.

3. Deeper, Deeper

Air Date: 1996-11-04

Cutbacks are coming to the network; but who will it be? George vows to 'go to the wall' to save jobs but everyone knows someone has to go. Back-stabbing, clandestine job hunts, prostitutes and religious conversions prevail.

4. The Kevorkian Joke

Air Date: 1996-11-11

When failed screenwriter Shane threatens suicide on tape, George turns it into a ratings booster. Also, a killer virus in Zaire could be hitting town - maybe even the newsroom.

5. A Bad Day

Air Date: 1996-11-18

George is having a bad day: he’s in trouble for hitting on a woman half his age, he made derogatory comments about Mr.Dressup, he offends Linda McQuaig (as herself) and she walks off the show, suicidal Shane is back, his BMW needs a new muffler, and Jim tells more than he should to a documentary crew (led by Dan Redican).

6. Petty Tyranny

Air Date: 1996-11-25

George's quest for the perfect bran muffin leads him to the cafeteria where he starts a fight with the cook. Later, he offends one of the country's top stars, Cynthia Dale (as herself), who is observing the newsroom as research for a role in a film.

7. Dis and Dat

Air Date: 1997-02-10

George's quest for an indoor parking spot is thwarted when the Corporation hires Gillian Soros (Elisa Moolecherry) as the new head of regional programming. Gillian has definite ideas about George and the Toronto News.

8. Unity

Air Date: 1997-02-17

George is annoyed when his name is left off the Globe and Mail list of government employees who make over $100,000 per year. Lise Leger (Guylaine St. Onge) appears on Toronto News with Linda McQuaig (as herself) to discuss the Canadian unity situation. Lise is inexplicably attracted to Jim.

9. Parking

Air Date: 1997-02-24

George’s crusade for an indoor parking space continues, George’s paranoia surfaces after he receives a mysterious and vague voicemail and his office couch disappears. He immediately assumes the worst: the Corporation wants him gone.

10. Meltdown (1)

Air Date: 1997-03-03

When there is a potential nuclear accident only hours away, each of the newsroom staff react in their own way. David Cronenberg (as himself) is a guest on Toronto News to promote his latest film 'Crash’.

11. Meltdown (2)

Air Date: 1997-03-17

With the potential nuclear meltdown approaching, George’s priority is finding the right experts and analysts while trying to make them real but entertaining.

12. Meltdown (3)

Air Date: 1997-03-24

Unable to deal with the potential of how own death, George goes to into denial and can't cover the impending nuclear meltdown story.

13. Campaign

Air Date: 1997-03-31

After the collapse of public broadcasting, Jim runs for political office in a provincial election, George and some of the newsroom staff manage the campaign in this one hour series finale.

1. America, America

Air Date: 2004-01-12

Jim is hired away by a hot US morning show in New York City where he bites off more than he can chew of the Big Apple and is soon escorted out of the country by the authorities.

2. Death 1, George 0

Air Date: 2004-01-19

George fails a Kafkaesque job evaluation in ways he never could have imagined. A valued veteran newsroom employee dies. George's empathy is qualified.

3. Pushy Money Grubbing Cosmopolitan Racist

Air Date: 2004-01-26

Has a terrorist infiltrated the newsroom? Ken Finkleman and his crew handle the issue of racism with their usual warmth and sensitivity.

4. An Enormous Waste of Time

Air Date: 2004-02-02

A sniper kills again. A dog dies in the office, a power lunch goes wrong and George regrets ever having used the handicapped washroom.

5. Anchors Away

Air Date: 2004-02-09

George's dream date is just that: nothing more than a dream. The intelligent segment producer Karen dumbs herself down for sex and Jim makes a book deal.

6. One of Us

Air Date: 2004-02-16

George hires a temp from an old established WASP family thinking that connections will pay off. When they don't, it's George that pays.

7. Never Read Symptoms

Air Date: 2004-03-01

George dodges jury duty in an animal rights case and ends up entangled with a virus-infected monkey. Allan suffers from prostate cancer, Alzheimer's and a brain tumor.

8. The Fifty

Air Date: 2004-03-08

An argument between George and Alex over finding a $50 bill results in Alex losing his job on principle and then buying it back from George for a considerable sum - also on principle.

9. Slow Leak

Air Date: 2004-03-15

Jim finds the perfect woman who is also heir to an $800 million fortune. This makes George insane with jealousy and leads to his arrest for stealing expensive cherries at a high-end grocery store.

10. Reality Strikes

Air Date: 2004-03-22

When a documentary film crew invades the newsroom, George keeps one eye on the camera and one eye on his back. Colm Feore guest stars.

11. Say Cheese

Air Date: 2004-04-05

George tries to sell a brilliant idea for a cheese commercial to an ad agency brought in to rework the network news brand. Jim develops a unique form of anorexia nervosa.

12. The British Accent

Air Date: 2004-04-12

George hustles a corporate paid vacation but his temporary replacement forces George to kill the trip and replace it with a tanning cream which leads to fears that he has developed liver failure.

13. The Second Coming

Air Date: 2004-04-19

George's failure of empathy when Alex gets dumped by his girlfriend causes Alex's attempted suicide. When George tries to rectify the situation, Alex fabricates a major news story, which leads to George making a book deal on the entire incident.

1. Baghdad Bound

Air Date: 2005-02-14

Jim gets abducted while taping a feel-good pet segment in war-torn Afghanistan, and George is on the shortlist for the Order of Canada.

2. One Dumb Idea

Air Date: 2005-02-21

George and his staff of segment producers have a sudden interest in producing sitcoms - at $50,000 per episode all they need is one dumb idea.

3. Dial "G" for Gristle

Air Date: 2005-02-28

Media tycoon Conrad Scott (Doug Lennox) visits the newsroom and is offered a life-changing gristly steak.

4. Lolita

Air Date: 2005-03-07

George is asked to lecture at the local university and, thanks to a bit of charm and a stolen thesis, wows the class enough to hold 'office hours'; with a very attractive, very young student, Lolita.