Good news for Aaron Sorkin devotees: you'll get to hear his dramatic take on the Petraeus scandal sometime in 2014, maybe!
It's become almost instinct, to think, any time a big event of national importance transpires, "How will Sorkin interpret this on The Newsroom?" It happened again when General David Petraeus last Friday admitted to having an affair and resigned his post as head of the CIA. But because of the required distance between events and the writing/production of the journalism-focused HBO drama, Sorkin says he can't fit it in the upcoming second season.
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"Unfortunately season two of The Newsroom, which began shooting this week, our timeline literally ends the day before the Petraeus story broke, and I can’t include it," he told Newsweek. "Otherwise, I would go there."
There should be plenty in season two to keep viewers satisfied, though, as it will encompass the just-concluded 2012 presidential election, which raised more than a few questions of journalism and political ethics. Grace Gummer will play a reporter on the Mitt Romney beat. As a small consolation, Sorkin did offer some brief thoughts on the scandal, which has become its own soap opera with the addition of a second woman and vengeful FBI agent.
"Gen. Petraeus plainly is a hero in the classic definition -- not mine -- a physical hero," Sorkin said. "He puts himself in harm’s way, he’s led men, won battles, protected us. But in a Shakespearean twist, he made a terrible mistake. He made a very human mistake. That is what at least in the short-term he’ll be known for. There’s some evidence that people who have done that can be rehabilitated."
Sorkin will also get help this time around; he wrote the bulk of the first season himself.
"I am hiring a range of paid consultants from television, print and online media representing every part of the ideological and political spectrum that you can imagine, and I think it's going to be a big bonus for the show," he told NBC Chicago in August.
