HBO has already given The Newsroom a renewal vote of confidence, and judging by the recently released ratings for its second outing, the decision was far braver and iconoclastic than we may have already imagined. The show took a noticeable tumble in the ratings—which are those things that only matter to corporate stooges, but still—ending up with a 20-percent drop to just 1.7 million viewers from its premiere and scoring a 0.7 share among viewers under 50. Tellingly, those members of the worst generation were instead caught up watching The Real Housewives Of New Jersey, reveling in the empty distractions and aspirational lies of reality TV garbage like the anti-intellectuals they are. They are THE WORST.
Still, as seen the show's already being safe for another year, HBO is (commendably) far less concerned with numbers than most broadcasters. And of course, those ratings don't take into account the numerous replays and on-demand viewers, so it's really too soon to say whether America has already lost interest in The Newsroom, possibly becoming distracted by something shiny. But the show isn't taking any chances: Episode six will see the introduction of former NFL player and Expendables star Terry Crews as Will McAvoy's bodyguard/life coach—a casting choice that says, "Hey, if you're not gonna pay attention to what we're doing here, how about I come cram some of this truth down your fucking throat?"