(Chris Haston / NBC)
Network: NBC
Episodes: 23 (half-hour)
Seasons: Two
TV show dates: April 25, 2017 — January 25, 2018
Series status: Cancelled
Performers include: Briga Heelan, Andrea Martin, John Michael Higgins, Nicole Richie, Adam Campbell, Horatio Sanz, and Tracey Wigfield.
TV show description:
A family and workplace comedy series, the Great News TV show follows 30-year-old Katie Wendelson (Heelan). Bright, determined, and resourceful, Katie is a news producer on The Breakdown, a national cable news show out of Secaucus, New Jersey, but feels like her career trajectory has stalled.
Katie’s mother Carol (Martin) has boundary issues. A homemaker for 30 years, Carol needs something new in her life and takes an internship on The Breakdown.
Although Katie wants her mom to follow her dreams, she is less than enthusiastic about having her so involved in her professional life. Still, Katie appreciates Carol’s support and faith in her. Can these two make it work?
The Breakdown team features quite a cast of characters. A blowhard news veteran, co-anchor Chuck Pierce (Higgins) is not easy to please.
Joining Chuck at the desk is his young and hip co-anchor, Portia (Richie). She brings a youthful perspective and some social media skills to the program. Sometimes though, she is a little out of it and is not averse to squabbling with Chuck.
Almost everyone on the cast and crew finds Chuck rather daunting. Carol, however, draws upon the skills she honed as a stay-at-home mom, to handle him, so the two form an unexpected friendship.
Handsome Greg (Campbell) executive produces the show. Although he brings a youthful energy to the production, Greg tends towards being a bit uptight. That’s understandable, considering he’s always juggling the emergency du jour with his talents’ outbursts and impulses.
Easygoing video editor Justin (Sanz) is Katie’s best friend at work. Because he has seen so much, Justin is always ready to offer calm consultation.
Meanwhile, resident meteorologist Beth (Wigfield), can be off-putting to the point of creepiness. At least she’s far from the clichéd cutesie “weather girl.”
Will having Carol on-hand eventually help Katie deal with this crazy crew? Stay tuned.
Series Finale:
Episode #23 — Early Retirement
Diana St. Tropez (guest star Tina Fey) returns with good news for “The Breakdown” staff: Fenton Pelt (guest star Jim Rash) has agreed to drop his lawsuit on the condition that Chuck Pierce (John Michael Higgins) deliver a humiliating on-air apology and resign from news forever. Chuck, defeated, agrees, until Portia (Nicole Richie) reminds him why he got into journalism in the first place. With Chuck’s final broadcast approaching, Katie (Briga Heelan) convinces Carol (Andrea Martin) to reunite for one last job, and they race against the clock to find the one person in New Jersey who could disprove Fenton Pelt’s claims and save the show. (Courtesy NBC.)
First aired: January 25, 2018.
What do you think? Do you like the Great News TV show? Do you think it should be cancelled or renewed for another season?
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