News dudes!
On Sunday evening, shortly after the conclusion of the latest episode of The Newsroom, Aaron Sorkin’s HBO fantasy about how broadcast journalism should be conducted, a Twitter acquaintance (and fellow journalist) reported reading the following Facebook status posted by a friend:
“The Newsroom is phenomenal. How do I become a news reporter?”
Apparently, my acquaintance’s friend was being sincere. Despite the obvious answer—Don’t start your journalism career by watching The Newsroom—it got me thinking: What other career aspirations might other HBO series have prompted?
- “The Sopranos is phenomenal. How do I become a gangster?”
- “Deadwood is phenomenal. How do I become a cowboy gangster?”
- “Boardwalk Empire is phenomenal. How do I become an old-timey gangster?”
- “Treme is phenomenal. How do I become a New Orleans jazz musician?”
- “Six Feet Under is phenomenal. How do I become a funeral director with daddy issues?”
- “The first season of The Wire is phenomenal. How do I become a drug dealer?”
- “Hung is phenomenal. How do I become a gigolo with a giant penis?”
- “Bored to Death is phenomenal. How do I become a hipster detective?”
- “Eastbound and Down is phenomenal. How do I become a washed-up baseball player?”
- “John From Cincinnati is phenomenal. How do I become a cosmic surfer dude?”
- “The Comeback is phenomenal. How do I become a self-referential vanity project?”
- “The second season of The Wire is phenomenal. How do I become a crooked union boss?”
- “Curb Your Enthusiasm is phenomenal. How do I become a bald asshole?”
- “In Treatment is phenomenal. How do I become a bad psychiatrist?”
- “Big Love is phenomenal. How do I become a polygamist?”
- “John Adams is phenomenal. How do I become John Adams?”
- “Flight of the Conchords is phenomenal. How do I become a hipster Kiwi?”
- “The third season of The Wire is phenomenal. How do I become Martin O’Malley?”
- “Tell Me You Love Me is phenomenal. How do I become a rumor about unsimulated sex scenes when in fact I’m using prosthetics?”
- “Extras is phenomenal. How do I become a movie extra?”
- “Carnivàle is phenomenal. How do I become a magical circus freak?”
- “Tracey Takes On… is phenomenal. How do I become Tracy Ullman?”
- “The fourth season of The Wire is phenomenal. How do I become a student in an underfunded elementary school?”
- “From the Earth to the Moon is phenomenal. How do I become an astronaut more boring than the ones portrayed in Apollo 11?”
- “Tales From the Crypt is phenomenal. How do I become the Cryptkeeper?”
- “Oz is phenomenal. How do I become a prison snitch?”
- “Rome is phenomenal. How do I become a sleazy plutocrat?”
- “Game of Thrones is phenomenal. How do I become a sleazy plutocrat in a make-believe realm?”
- “The fifth season of The Wire is phenomenal. How do I become a drunken cop who invents a fake serial killer by abusing the bodies of dead homeless men?”
- “Sex and the City is phenomenal. How do I become a shoe fetishist?”
- “Da Ali G Show is phenomenal. How do I become a reporter?”
- “Entourage is phenomenal. How do I become a douchebag?”
- “How to Make it in America is phenomenal. How do I become an East Coast douchebag?”
- “Arliss is phenomenal. How do I become a sports agent douchebag?”
- “Real Time With Bill Maher is phenomenal. How do I become a left-wing douchebag?”
- “Dennis Miller Live is phenomenal. How do I become a right-wing douchebag?”
- “Dane Cook’s Tourgasm is phenomenal. How do I become a joke-stealing douchebag?”
- “True Blood is phenomenal. How do I become a vampire douchebag?”
- “Luck is phenomenal. How do I become a dead horse?”
Photo by John P. Johnson/HBO
