When we spotted the phrase "the most trusted name in news" in one of the early trailers for Aaron Sorkin's new series, "The Newsroom," we thought that sounded awfully ... familiar, shall we say.

And it turns out that might not be the only thing about Sorkin's anticipated summer series that will remind us of our home base.

"The Newsroom" is a behind-the-scenes look at a nightly cable news program, with Jeff Daniels' Will McAvoy serving as the show's anchor. Alison Pill, Olivia Munn and Dev Patel all portray members of the newsroom's staff, and Emily Mortimer serves as the show's new executive producer.

While doing research for the show with CNN, Sorkin said "The biggest thing I picked up was that, as cynical as people are about the news and journalism, journalists themselves are honestly, constantly thinking about the ideal," as he told us at the premiere for the series in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

"They want to do the news well and I was really moved by that," he said. "I wanted this show to be a love letter and a valentine to what you do."

And while he did draw some inspiration from those on staff - Munn's character Sloan Sabbith is partially based on CNN anchor and correspondent Christine Romans - Sorkin emphasized that "The Newsroom" is a work of fiction.

"All of the characters on the show are fictional. I don't know Christine Romans at all," he said. "I met her for the very first time on Monday night when we had a screening in New York for newspeople. And I've always been a fan of Christine Romans' broadcasts and I try to understand what she's saying. I'm illiterate when it comes to finance and the economy."

Munn's Sloan is "who I've always imagined Christine Romans is. I'm sure I got it wrong but that's who inspired [Munn's] character."

Romans also has a fan in Munn: "I think that's wonderful. She's [who] I consider one of the women who I think is so great to have on TV," the actress said. "She's smart, and beautiful, and intelligent, and strong, and doesn't try to shy away from any of that. Because she's appealing on the eye she doesn't try to dumb herself down. She's smart. She doesn't try to cover up more or wear a big bag over her head, which I think is important. It's a good message to put out to women who want to be able to be everything and think that they can."

"The Newsroom" bows on HBO (which shares a parent company with CNN) June 24 at 10 p.m. ET.