The Newsroom Preview: A Look At Dev Patel's Blogging Character Neal

From what we've seen of the promos for Aaron Sorkin's upcoming HBO drama The Newsroom, the series seems set up to tackle the subject of the inner workings of a cable news network from various angles. The latest video promoting this Sunday's series premiere takes a closer look at one particular character and his role on the series and at the news channel where the show takes place.

Dev Patel hasn't done a whole lot since the 2008 Academy Award winning Slumdog Millionaire, but he's been around, playing roles in The Last Airbender and more recently, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. And come this Sunday night, we'll see him in The Newsroom playing Neal Sampat, a man mistaken by Jeff Daniels' character to be an IT guy at the cable network, but who is actually Will McAvoy's blogger…

I like Patel, so I'll be interested to see how he handles this role, especially considering it looks like he's kind of looked down upon by his peers. Though his connection with the online community could prove to be vital to the channel and McEvoy's ACN news program News Night.

For a better look at The Newsroom's season premiere and creator Aaron Sorkin's segment on tomorrow night's Rock Center With Brian Williams, check out this preview.

The Newsroom premieres Sunday June 24 on HBO.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.