Great News is a Netflix series worn by Tracy Wigfield. Known for her work on 30 Rock, we now discover her view on the writing of a television newscast.
In this first season of Great News, we discover Katie. This young producer of JT in New Jersey welcomes her mother Carol as a new intern journaler. Between disputes and rapprochements, we discover the daily life of a live television newscast.
Great News has a sitcom format. This season has 10 episodes of 20 minutes. The rhythm of the episodes is controlled. It's easy to hang on to the characters. The rather short credits are reminiscent of the credits of a usual JT.NBC originally owned the series. However, the channel decided not to renew for a season 2. Netflix has chosen to buy it and extend it.
In terms of realization, it's something very classic. The only important change is the shoulder camera shots that energize the editing.In addition, the exterior decorations seem rather fake. The sets of the open space and offices remain credible but some sets really sound sitcom.
The actors are pretty good. They manage to understand their character and make the gags funny and alive. In fact, showrunner Tracy Wigfield plays one of the supporting roles. Katie's interpreter makes her very touching. It is very easy to get attached to this woman as ambitious as bad in her skin. Nicole Richie plays a presenter named Portia. We discover her in a role that seems made for her: a famous young woman married to a celebrity.
The duet with the grumpy old presenter works even if it's not very original. We discover the backstage of the JT, with rather funny sequences especially when they have to find common points.
Katie and Carol's mother-daughter relationship is the basis of the show's concept. Throughout the series, this strong, fusional relationship seems to be strengthening.Katie's father also has his place in the series. However, his face is never on the screen. We see of him only a silhouette or a word. This is probably to demonstrate once again that Carol is omnipresent in Katie's life.
The scenario, as for him, is not very original. The plots are very classic. For example, Katie and her boss Greg have a rather ambiguous relationship and the scenarios sometimes play too much on that. The characters are caricatured (the mother hen, the misogynistic presenter, the presenter a little jug). The conclusions of the plots are rarely surprising.
The clichéd humor of some sequences is sometimes a little heavy. The sounds and music added to the editing also weigh down the rhythm and fluidity of the series.
The series was made at the time of the Weinstein scandal. As women are represented in their workplace, screenwriters regularly refer to male-female relationships. The representations of women's work and the resulting clichés are mentioned several times. We also see a tiny part of the iceberg of difficulties that women face during their careers. Great News has a lot of thoughts on this. These are more points to debate than real bias. Indeed, it is always in political correctness. That said, it's not really moralistic and anti-human either.
To sum up, Great News offers us a rather nice first season even if the scenario does not break three legs to a duck. Maybe a season two can offer us something more original?
