Sam Reid is giving one of the best performances on TV right now as Lestat de Lioncourt on Interview with the Vampire, with his work on the series having already earned him a Critics Choice Award nomination. Before Interview with the Vampire‘s first season premiered, however, Reid starred in a very different series while giving an equally strong performance. The Newsreader, an Australian drama starring Reid and Anna Torv (Fringe), follows the tense world of television journalism in the 1980s and boasts similar vibes to AMC shows like Halt and Catch Fire or Mad Men as a slick period drama that shrewdly captures complex workplace dynamics. Fans of Reid’s bold, audacious energy on Interview with the Vampire will be amazed by how well he plays an anxious, eager-to-please news producer on The Newsreader.
Sam Reid’s Character on ‘The Newsreader’ Is Nothing Like Lestat
On The Newsreader, Reid plays Dale Jennings, a producer with aspirations of being an anchor. It’s a challenging, meaty role for Reid, who has to portray Dale as someone with potential as an on-air personality but still needs a lot of work. Dale frequently makes himself do voice training. Reid is great in the voice training scenes, capturing Dale’s desperation to develop an authoritative steady newscaster voice. Reid convincingly plays his character as painfully awkward but gradually improving. In one of Reid’s most impressive — and anxiety-inducing — scenes in the series to date, Dale keeps speeding through news stories even as crew members keep reminding him not to read so fast. Through Reid’s expressions alone, you can see how much Dale is struggling to heed their advice even as he continues to make mistakes. Reid’s portrayal of a Dale wracked with nerves is a wild contrast to the brazen confidence he brings to the role of Lestat.
The most stark contrast between Reid’s roles in Interview with the Vampire and The Newsreader emerges through the scenes dealing with sexuality and emotion. After watching Reid portray Lestat as a seductive force to be reckoned with, effortlessly putting people under his life-altering spell, it’s remarkable to see him playing a character who is extremely hesitant and bashful around sex. When Dale opens up to someone romantically, he looks down at the floor and mumbles his confessions softly. On The Newsreader, Reid gets just as raw and emotional as he does on Interview with the Vampire, but in a much softer, more vulnerable way. The occasional moments when Dale actually allows himself to get angry feel much more startling than Lestat’s explosions because they happen so rarely.
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‘The Newsreader’ Explores the Complex Relationship Between Sam Reid and Anna Torv’s Co-Workers
Reid’s co-star Anna Torv gives an equally powerful performance in The Newsreader as Helen Norville, a much more seasoned reporter who starts the series reluctant to work with Dale. However, the two actors play off each other masterfully as Helen sternly coaches Dale to help him improve. Much of the show’s tension revolves around Dale and Helen developing a romance concurrently with their professional relationship, which leads to a messy situation. In one of their strongest scenes together, a teary-eyed Dale confesses that he has feelings of same-sex attraction that won’t go away, but that his feelings for Helen remain regardless. It’s a beautiful scene made even more tense and gut-wrenching by the decade in which the show takes place. Reid’s terrified, quavering presence plays perfectly off Torv’s strong, unflappable energy to create a compelling dynamic. The scene ends with Helen assuring Dale he can put these emotions aside and do his job, emphasizing the importance of their professional relationship above everything else.
Reid also has incredible on-screen chemistry with Chai Hansen as Tim Ahern, a cameraman for the news channel whom Dale has a noticeable tension with. While Tim is comfortable with his sexuality, however, Dale is very repressed. Yet what makes Dale Jennings so gripping to watch as a character is that his job constantly puts him in the spotlight, and it’s impossible for him to keep his private life truly private. Many of his most intense, emotional conversations in the series happen just minutes before he has to go on-camera and address the nation. Reid’s performance in The Newsreader really sells this fascinating character, someone who is so anxious and vulnerable but who must also learn to regularly flip an emotional switch and calmly read the news. If you’ve only seen Sam Reid on Interview with the Vampire, you need to watch The Newsreader to appreciate his incredible range. Come for Reid’s performance, but stay for the well-plotted drama as Dale and Helen both fight for their jobs. A third and final season is coming soon, so audiences will get to see this compelling story reach its conclusion.
The Newsreader is available to stream in the U.S. on AMC+. Season 3 is set to premiere in February 2025 and will be available to stream on a date yet to be announced.
The Newsreader
- Release Date
-
August 15, 2021
- Cast
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Jeremy Stanford
, Kylie Minogue
, Marg Downey
, Tony Briggs
, William McInnes
, Anna Torv
, Chum Ehelepola
, Hunter Page-Lochard
, Richard Davies
, Sam Reid
, Nikki Shiels
, Philippa Northeast
, Felicity Steel
, Queenie van de Zandt
, Ben Carter
, Caroline Lee
, Paula Nazarski
, Michael Mack
, Maria Angelico
, Rowan Francis
, Evan Hocking
, Michelle Lim Davidson
, Stephen Peacocke
, Rory Fleck-Byrne
, Daniel Gillies - Seasons
-
3
- Producers
-
Stuart Menzies
, Joanna Werner
, Brett Sleigh
, Sally Riley - Writers
-
Kim Ho
, Niki Aken
, Adrian Russell Wills - Network
-
ABC TV
- Directors
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Emma Freeman
