Aaron Sorkin’s Golden Globe-nominated drama set at the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) flashes back to September 2011 as the second season opens, but an on-air remark by anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) gets him KO’d from coverage of the 9/11 anniversary. Meanwhile, Jim (John Gallagher Jr.) volunteers to fill in for a reporter covering the Mitt Romney presidential campaign in New Hampshire; and Neal (Dev Patel) investigates the beginnings of Occupy Wall Street. But there’s a ticking time bomb that threatens the reputation and existence of “News Night” in a controversial report about U.S. soldiers using chemical weapons in the Middle East, and the show’s attack-dog lawyer, Rebecca Halliday (Marcia Gay Harden), comes down hard on the staff, especially Maggie (Allison Pill), whose integrity is questioned after a life-changing experience while on assignment in Africa. Also starring in Season 2 are Hamish Linklater as Jerry Dantana, Jim’s temporary replacement; Grace Gummer as Hallie Shea, another reporter on the Romney campaign; and Constance Zimmer as Taylor Warren, a Romney spokesperson who is unhappy with the candidate’s treatment by the press.