The Australian drama in which Sam Reid starred just before he debuted as Interview With the Vampire‘s Lestat de Lioncourt is suddenly available to stream for free in the U.S. The Newsreader, starring the great Anna Torv alongside Reid, is set in a Melbourne newsroom in 1986 where news anchor Helen Norville (Torv) battles misogyny in the workplace that would have her believe any show of emotion is a professional failure. Reid plays producer Dale Jennings, who’s aching for his chance to prove himself as anchor material but anxiety and self-doubt threaten his chances.
The Newsreader airs on Australia’s ABC network and is available to stream on ABC’s iView, BBC iPlayer, and Prime Video in other countries. Season 1 was available on The Roku Channel in the U.S. for a while, but I made the mistake of waiting too long to check it out. It’s long been unavailable to stream in the U.S. unless you use a VPN to access the aforementioned international streaming services. Imagine my delight when scrolling through X (aka Twitter) this week to find that the French streaming service ARTE in English has recently made The Newsreader available to U.S. viewers — for free and without ads! Suffice it to say it was a quick binge.
Season 1 first premiered in August 2021 and consists of six episodes. Season 2 premiered one year ago this week (September 10, 2023) and also consists of six episodes (the first season debuted on The Roku Channel in early 2022). Sadly, ARTE in English only has Season 1, but fingers crossed it gets Season 2 in the future.
The absence of the second season stings less when you know that watching the series on ARTE in English doesn’t require anything but opening the site or free app and pressing play. There’s absolutely no subscription required and no ads. The audio is available in English, French, and German, and there are subtitles in French for those deaf and hard of hearing. There will be French subtitles throughout when watching in English even when you have the subtitles turned off, but that’s hardly a steep price to pay.
Season 1 is available now until November 19, 2024. It’s a great look into Australian everyday life in the 1980s that also incorporates real Australian historical events with global ones, from social events like royal weddings to more hard-hitting news like Lindy Chamberlain’s release from prison, the AIDS epidemic, and the Chernobyl disaster. At the center of it all is the romance that buds between Helen and Dale, with deeply sentimental and tender performances from Torv and Reid who make an excellent onscreen pair. The episodes track Helen and Dale’s on and off-camera relationship as they fall in love and support each other’s career aspirations, but personal traumas from their youths prove to be hard to shake as adults as life continues to throw triggering circumstances their way.
Related‘The Newsreader’: Anna Torv on Why Helen & Dale’s Relationship Is ‘Easy’
Created by Joanna Werner and Mitchell Lucas, The Newsreader also stars Chai Hansen, Robert Taylor, Stephen Peacocke, Marg Downey, William McInnes, Rohan Mirchandaney, Michelle Lim Davidson, and more. Emma Freeman, who directed Interview With the Vampire Season 2’s stellar seventh episode (aka the trial), directs the pilot and several more episodes across both seasons. The Newsreader is also currently one of Australia’s most celebrated shows, with several Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) wins including Best Drama Series and Best Lead Actress for both seasons, among other victories and nominations (Reid has been nominated for Best Lead Actor twice for this but hasn’t won).
The series was renewed for a third and final season in late 2023. It began production in 2024 and is reportedly set for a 2025 release. The Newsreader Season 3 will close out the 1980s, an ABC rep told Australia’s TV Tonight.
If you’re looking for a new binge that’s quick and accessible and captivating, this is a great option. Don’t be like me and wait too long to start — this extremely easy access won’t be around for long!
The Newsreader, Season 1 Available Now, ARTE in English
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