Press - the series will tell about the lives of journalists and editors of two London newspapers, The Post and The Herald. Duncan Allen, editor-in-chief of The Post, is not shy about violating journalistic ethics by obtaining material for his publication. He has one goal in mind: to make a big deal out of it and to increase its circulation at any cost. The Herald's management has a diametrically opposed policy of placing only reliable news on the pages of its publication, where each fact is verified, confirmed and, as a result, has long since found readers' trust in their print runs. Every day, journalists at The Post and The Herald face the challenge of surviving in a world where something is happening all the time, 24/7, and you don't have to miss anything, cover everything in your publication and outpace the competition for speed and exclusivity.
The beginning of the series was promising. The pilot really made me put aside "a lot of things" and watch what was happening on the screen with genuine interest. But as soon as I figured out who was who, my passion faded. The confrontation between Duncan Allen's smug, self-confident snob and Holly Evans' Komsomol girl in principle lacked "meat, blood, crossed swords and cunning". The rivalry in English was dignified and dignified. Types of Heroes turned out to be monochromatic, without any shades, devoid of tones and halftones. Duncan was an evildoer, Holly was a saint. It's hard to believe it - a man is more versatile, and inside each of us an angel and a demon get along perfectly. And in the series, Duncan is practically devoid of conscience and compassion, and Holly has just had a halo over his head. It's strange that Holly and Duncan didn't have a tradition to meet every day on neutral territory at "tea at 5 o'clock" to discuss Duncan's insidious plans and Holly's good intentions for tomorrow, to argue, to gossip and, of course, to talk about London's capricious weather.)
Otherwise, there are no claims to the series. Filmed perfectly. Thanks to the British - let the viewer "behind the scenes" and showed the journalistic "kitchen" from the inside. Unobtrusively, as if between the staff, forced to think: how do ordinary people distinguish in the article the truth from the half-truths, if the newspapers really sculpt them, as shown in the series? What is more important for the reader - rumors, gossip, scandals, speculation or proven high-quality news? A journalist must follow a professional code of ethics or "sensation" is more important than journalism ethics? Writer Mike Bartlett (Doctor Who) is a good girl - maybe not so acutely and globally raised the problem in the first season, but "marked the boundaries", and that is not enough. Counting on the continuation of the cunning, don't you think?
The actors in the series are great guys. More vile type than Duncan Allen, performed by Ben Chaplin (Countdown Homicide, Mad Dogs), it is difficult to even imagine. The disgusting Ben got a character). Actress Charlotte Riley (Sharp Visors, Doubt, Wuthering Heights) was a little luckier. Her character Holly Evans is a correct and principled person, so correct that she wants to be shaken up from time to time. By and large, except for her "correctness" of other pluses, the heroine does not have - a boring, lonely woman of middle age, who except for work in life has only work. Charlotte Riley has invested everything she can in this role. You could see how she was trying to make Holly's image on the screen at least a little bit more interesting. For that, she had her own big human mercy. Ellie Kendrick (Game of Thrones, Anne Frank's Diary) in the role of a young novice journalist Lyona, like a breath of fresh air. Smiling, flighty and unpredictable Leona wonderfully dilutes and enlivens the team of the newspaper "The Herald", where the main feature of all employees - sad and gloomy expression of the face. And, of course, the appearance on the screen of an incredibly charismatic actor David Sushe, the best Hercule Poirot of all time, in the role of the despotic owner of "factories and steamships" touched my female heart.
I don't know if the Press will be extended for the second season (I would like to), but it would be good to add an honest, decent rebel to "The Post" in the second season and send a mean, greedy magazine to "The Herald"). How do you know if it's still ahead? Michael Bartlett is always full of surprises.
Press is the thing that you should watch once in life.
Country: UK, USA.
Year: 2018.