Network is a 1976 American satirical black
comedy-drama film written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Sidney
Lumet, about a fictional television network, UBS, and its struggle with
poor ratings. The film stars Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch
and Robert Duvall and features Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty and Beatrice
Straight.
Howard Beale, longtime evening newscaster for the Union Broadcasting System (UBS), learns from friend and news division president, Max Schumacher, that Beale has just two more weeks on the air because of declining ratings. The two commiserate and drunkenly lament the state of their industry. The following night, Beale announces on live television that he will commit suicide on next Tuesday's broadcast. UBS immediately tries to fire him after this incident, but Schumacher intervenes so that Beale can have a dignified farewell. Beale promises to apologize for his outburst, but once on the air, he launches into a rant about life being "bullshit." Beale's outburst causes ratings to spike, and much to Schumacher's dismay, the UBS upper echelons decide to exploit the situation rather than downplay it. When Beale's ratings seem to have topped out, programming chief Diana Christensen reaches out to Schumacher with an offer to help "develop" the show. He declines the professional proposal, but accepts a more personal pitch from Christensen and the two begin an affair.
When Schumacher decides to end Beale's "angry man" format, Christensen persuades her boss, Frank Hackett, to slot the evening news show under the entertainment programming division banner so she can develop it. Hackett agrees, bullying the UBS executives to consent and fire Schumacher. In one impassioned diatribe, Beale galvanizes the nation, persuading viewers to shout "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" from their windows. Soon afterward, Beale is hosting a new program called The Howard Beale Show, top-billed as "the mad prophet of the airwaves". Ultimately, the show becomes the most highly rated program on television, and Beale finds new celebrity preaching his angry message in front of a live studio audience that, on cue, chants his signature catchphrase en masse: "We're as mad as hell, and we're not going to take this anymore!" Max and Diana's romance withers as the show flourishes, but in the flush of high ratings, the two ultimately find their way back together, and Schumacher separates from his wife of over 25 years for Christensen.
