We need to talk about The Newsreader (2021-2025). The Australian television series set in the cutthroat world of television news in the 1980s has consistently delivered complex characters, witty dialogue, and high-paced tension since its release in 2021. It captures the high-comedy drama shows like Succession mastered while also mixing in one of my favorite forms of media– people flipping through papers and meeting in conference rooms as they attempt to piece together a story. Unfortunately for us fans, the third and final season of the show does not continue to deliver in the same way the first two seasons had and leaves much to be desired.
The Newsreader focuses on Helen Norville (Anna Torv) and Dale Jennings (Sam Reid) as they navigate the commercial news industry. Helen is the first female newsreader for News At Six and Dale is a junior reporter turned producer with Helen’s help. Their professional and personal lives begin to mix as they develop a deep love for one another. They face unprecedented challenges together, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera as they report on major events.
The heart of the show is these two’s relationship. Dale is the one to find Helen after a suicide attempt and Helen is the first person Dale opens up to about his conflicting sexual desires. In a standout scene from season one, Helen tells Dale “I love you just the way you are.” No matter the route their professional ambition takes them, this seems to ring true.
It is a bold choice then for the show to launch its final season with these two apart, completely uprooting what the viewer has grown accustomed to. The season two finale ends with Dale taking over as the sole lead anchor for News At Six and Helen leaving to report overseas. It’s an ending that makes you eager for more and you wonder how they must be feeling. Does Dale feel like Helen has deserted him? How will their relationship change now that they’re no longer co-workers? It sets the stage for dramatic tension between the two main characters.
The newest season begins with Helen returning to launch a new show that would put her in direct competition with Dale’s news coverage. The two characters are practically on perpendicular pathways.
Helen is on the rise– ignited with passion for her new project and on a pathway to better herself through therapy. Her journey through the show has not been an easy one. She has made reckless decisions and her ambition has led her to lose her humanity. For most of the show, her career success and mental health have been linked. A setback in her career triggering her mental health struggles, or vice versa.
However, in season three, Helen is perhaps professionally at the lowest point in her career comparatively yet her well-being is easily the best. Granted, there are times when she regresses and her professional life leads to personal spirals, but she keeps trying. It is a delight to watch her character come to accept herself fully and in doing so, grow as a professional as well. It is as if you can feel the change in Helen as she grows to love herself, becoming more confident in her abilities and increasing her value of self-worth, which is much to Anna Torv’s credit.
One of Helen’s final moments of the season is her rejecting an offer for her show. As tirades of sexist remarks and bullying are thrown her way, she finds the courage to stand up for herself and walk away. It is a moment that feels earned and a perfect way to bring Helen’s journey to a close, as she leaves with a subtle smile on her face.
In contrast, Dale is on the decline despite his rising career. He’s no longer the baby-faced junior reporter but now the “King of News,” with a new title and new pressures.
It is evident from the moment we first meet Dale in season one that he has a deep desire for acceptance, likely fueled due to the fact he struggles to accept himself as a queer man. This desire is evident in his professional career as well. With his new rise of fame, it would seem he has finally received the acceptance he has desired. He gets off to the adoration, seeking out audience feedback and starting an unhealthy relationship with a legendary news figure’s daughter that feeds into his ego while also sneaking around with a male escort.
To help secure his professional status, he plans to eviscerate all those who mock him, including his boss. However, this plan backfires. He is blackmailed and threatened to be outed. Dale turns to alcohol and drugs to numb the emptiness inside him as he continues to push his true self deeper within. The audience feedback he used to listen to to feel adored now begins to spew hatred at him and his self-image plummets.
Dale’s spiral is intense and heartbreaking to watch. Sam Reid is phenomenal in these moments, especially in one scene reminiscent of the iconic make-up scene from I Tonya. Dale’s self-hate is palpable and it’s almost difficult to watch. Throughout season three, each scene with him feels like a new form of self-harm, until ultimately his public persona crashes and burns live on camera. The mask the audience has carefully watched him perfect slips off as he finally succumbs to the pressure.
It is a stark contrast when our final moments with Dale show him seemingly at peace with himself. Or at least on the journey to being so. Unlike Helen’s journey, which the show carefully fleshed out through the final season, Dale’s resolution feels rushed. His self-acceptance feels like a choice made in a final ultimatum rather than being truly earned.
While we see Helen fail on her journey but continue picking herself back up again, we don’t see Dale do the same. The show is asking the audience to simply believe he’s learned his lesson and will not make the mistakes again. It feels like such a waste to spend the season watching his self-destruction when it could be spent allowing for a progression similar to Helen’s so when we reach the end, it would be a much more cathartic ending for the character.
It’s almost as if The Newsreader becomes two separate shows with Helen and Dale’s stories evolving without much intermingling. The moments they do connect are few and feel meaningless–a phone call here, an emotional breakdown and quick recovery there. They exist within each other’s orbits but their relationship is neglected in favor of individual character progression.
While the character development is important for the story, you can not help but miss the two together. The first two seasons established a family with the News At Six team, but in season three we’re hardly even in the newsroom. New characters and relationships are introduced that waste precious screen time and do not add anything monumental to the show’s story.
Perhaps, the diverting storylines would be forgivable if the season finale did not end with the one narrative element it had continually followed until this season– Helen and Dale’s relationship. It’s evident the show knows this is the key part of the show, yet neglects it nonetheless.
There are moments through The Newsreader season three that feel truly earned as stories end, but you can not help but feel saddened when imagining what could have been. The elements of the show that made it so intriguing to watch such as the personal struggles shared together, and the communal aspect of the news team. Even the reporting of major historical events is missing from this season. It feels as if intertwining certain characters and relationships became an afterthought.
For a show with such a phenomenal first two seasons, the headline for the final season is just one word: disappointment.
Review Courtesy of Kamryn Ryan
Image Courtesy of ABC