Will the Boston Marathon Bombings Be in Season 2 of HBO’s The Newsroom?

Well, not this year, at least. Creator Aaron Sorkin scrapped season two's storyline mid-shooting, and a few other major news events this year didn't make the cut either.

the newsroom hbo

Screenshot via HBO / YouTube

HBO’s The Newsroom is back this month with all of its insufferable perfectness (or perfect insufferableness)—from the quick bantering dialogue trademarked by Aaron Sorkin, to the flashback storytelling, to the borderline hysterical female characters. And after the year this nation has just had with high-profile news stories, fans of the popular series want to know what events the show will cover in its upcoming second season.

The Newsroom revolves around a news crew producing a fictional news program called News Night with Will McAvoy. The series’ story arc is presented using real-life news events, therefore taking place a few years in the past. Incidences like the BP oil spill and the Casey Anthony trials are examples from its first season.

That said, the Sandy Hook shooting, Hurricane Sandy destruction, Zimmerman vs. Trayvon Martin trials, and inevitably the Boston Marathon bombings—are all solid events that will make perfect contenders for The Newsroom storyboard. And given that most of these stories are East Coast-based, they hit very close to News Night‘s home of New York City. Naturally it’s not a matter of if these events will make it into the show, but a matter of when.

The Hollywood Reporter recently profiled the cast of the show and its creator, Aaron Sorkin, and it looks like many of these late stories were unfolding during the production of their second season. They mention the Boston Marathon specifically:

Before the actors have had a chance to process Sorkin’s requests, he has vanished back to his Martyn Lawrence Bullard-designed office across the street to continue writing. In a matter of hours, news of a pair of bombings at the Boston Marathon will consume cable news. Coverage of the attack and the manhunt for the perpetrators is perfect fodder for a future episode of Newsroom.

The article ends, however, by explicitly addressing the season’s timeline in respect to current events:

It’s not yet clear whether Sorkin will get another season with these characters, but he acknowledges that he’d like to do more, particularly given the abundance of news events including the Newtown, Conn., school shootings, which almost made it into season two. “Newtown comes after our season ends. I thought it wasn’t going to, but it did,” he says, wondering aloud what will come of the gun debate by the time a third season would roll around.

So there you have it. The Sandy Hook shooting was just the start of this tidal wave of tragedies that happened within the past year, so if The Newsroom is renewed for a third season, the Boston Marathon coverage will wait until then. And Mr. Sorkin will surely be in for a challenging third season.