‘Great News’ borrows from the best, but the laughs are genuine

The show is set in a local TV newsroom where Katie Wendelson (Briga Heelan) is struggling to get her boss, Greg (Adam Campbell), to give her real stories to produce and not just fluff.

The show was created by Tracey Wigfield, who also plays the wacky and weird weather reporter at the station (she dreams of being able to actually control the weather, and she’s not kidding).

Oh, and Tina Fey is among the executive producers, as is her producing partner and “30 Rock” showrunner, Robert Carlock.

The two shows also share a vision of weird misfits who bumble their way through their jobs in the background but still manage to produce TV.

Viewers of a certain age will look at the self-important, terminally insecure news anchor Chuck Pierce (John Michael Higgins) and immediately think Ted Baxter.

The writing is sassy enough to make you indifferent to the show’s source material, including, of course, the Robert De Niro movie “The Intern.”

Martin dominates every scene she’s in and, in truth, the double Tony winner’s acting style, honed by multiple Broadway roles over the years, is so broad, only a powerful ensemble cast like this one could even share the screen with her.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle and co-host of “The Do List” every Friday morning at 6:22 and 8:22 on KQED-FM, 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento.