'Newsroom' scoop: Marcia Gay Harden joins cast

The Newsroom has found its new litigator.
TV vet Marcia Gay Harden is joining the cast of Aaron Sorkin’s HBO cable drama. She’s replacing Rosemarie DeWitt who, as we posted last week, is leaving the show after shooting only a couple episodes from the upcoming second season (parties involved citing scheduling issues for her early departure from the show). So now Harden will take over the recurring role of Rebecca Halliday, a litigator who defends Atlantis Cable News in a wrongful termination suit. DeWitt’s completed scenes will be re-shot with Harden.

The Only 5 Reasons To Watch “The Newsroom,” Based On The Season Premiere

I sat through the entire first season of The Newsroom just for sporadic appearances from Jane Fonda as cackling network czarina Leona Lansing. I was rewarded in three episodes out of ten, and on those three occasions, Jane — how to put this? — naaaaaaailed it. She China Syndrome‘d Jeff Daniels with her nuclear reactions, and cleanup was FEMA-worthy. She wore Sam Waterston around her neck like a beige dickey in 9 to 5. And now, watching the relatively tame first episode of The Newsroom’s second season, I’ve found five more reasons to watch the show going forward. It remains to be seen whether I’ll be able to stomach both the hammy writing and ceaselessly urgent performances from Jeff Daniels and crew, but here are five things that were unerringly great.

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