Overview

• CNN aired the play live on June 7 in the first-ever broadcast of a Broadway production and the show closed its Broadway run the next day
• The drama portrays Edward R. Murrow’s challenge to Senator Joseph McCarthy as a timeless story of journalistic integrity in the face of political pressure
• CNN deployed twenty cameras and fourteen operators to capture the performance in a single uninterrupted telecast
• Reviews were mixed, with some critics praising its urgency and thematic resonance while others faulted Clooney’s performance and the production’s overt political parallels
• Commentators drew parallels between McCarthy-era tactics and President Trump’s rhetoric, underscoring the play’s contemporary relevance