(1998-2000)
Aaron Sorkin’s first crack at a TV newsroom was this sparkling comedy set at a SportsCenter like evening sports-news show at an ESPN-like cable network called CSC. This being Sorkin, the plots are about half interoffice romance and half actual workplace issues. As in Sorkin’s other workplace stories (from The American President to The West Wing to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip to The Newsroom), there’s an electric charge that comes from an atmosphere in which smart and dedicated professionals who really like their jobs are working at the top of their game.
At CSC, where the topic is athletics, the deadlines are continuous, the people are witty and whip-smart, and the pace is manic, it’s no wonder that the surfeit of energy gets channeled into co-workers dating. Co-anchor Casey (Peter Krause) and producer Dana (Felicity Huffman) seem particularly well-matched, as do their junior counterparts Jeremy and Natalie (Joshua Malina and Sabrina Lloyd). Casey also strikes bromantic sparks with co-anchor Dan (Josh Charles). Between the rapid-fire repartee, and the sense of journalistic accomplishment that comes with each night’s newscast, Sports Night is about as close as TV is likely to get to screwball heights of His Girl Friday.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWFWdUl2te8]