Morning TV is something I’ve never particularly enjoyed. I like to get up and go of a morning rather than sit and watch people talk about trivial news stories, I’ll read my news via online newspapers or from links shared on social media (so long as it’s a source I know and trust), but I know for many the ritual of waking up and sticking on some morning TV whilst they have breakfast and get ready for the day is as essential to them as breathing.
I’ve had my trial of AppleTV+ for almost a year, and so far all I have watched is a couple of films and Dickinson because nothing else tickled my fancy. But in the hankering for a comedy, I stuck on The Morning Show, because what else says funny than Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, and Reese Witherspoon? Turns out morning TV is a whole lot more dramatic than I expected.
Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the rise of the #MeToo movement, The Morning Show is rocked to its foundations when it is discovered that one of their anchors, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) is accused of sexual misconduct in the workplace by former employees of the UBA TV network that produces the show. In response to this Mitch is immediately fired without investigation, and his co-host Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) enters panic mode as she believes the network will also get rid of her. Acting in her own interests, Alex spontaneously announces that Mitch’s replacement will be Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) a reporter who recently made headlines for an off-air outburst she had against some protestors.
With Bradley never having anchored a show before, and Alex in the early stages of a meltdown, the crew of The Morning Show do whatever is necessary to keep the show on the rails. Meanwhile UBA executives do boardroom battles with each other to ensure their empire doesn’t come crumbling down around them; and Mitch attempts to clear his name insisting that he never did anything wrong.
I’ve had my trial of AppleTV+ for almost a year, and so far all I have watched is a couple of films and Dickinson because nothing else tickled my fancy. But in the hankering for a comedy, I stuck on The Morning Show, because what else says funny than Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, and Reese Witherspoon? Turns out morning TV is a whole lot more dramatic than I expected.
Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the rise of the #MeToo movement, The Morning Show is rocked to its foundations when it is discovered that one of their anchors, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) is accused of sexual misconduct in the workplace by former employees of the UBA TV network that produces the show. In response to this Mitch is immediately fired without investigation, and his co-host Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) enters panic mode as she believes the network will also get rid of her. Acting in her own interests, Alex spontaneously announces that Mitch’s replacement will be Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) a reporter who recently made headlines for an off-air outburst she had against some protestors.
With Bradley never having anchored a show before, and Alex in the early stages of a meltdown, the crew of The Morning Show do whatever is necessary to keep the show on the rails. Meanwhile UBA executives do boardroom battles with each other to ensure their empire doesn’t come crumbling down around them; and Mitch attempts to clear his name insisting that he never did anything wrong.
The Morning Show is like Netflix’s House of Cards but with the glitz and glamour of show business rather than the walls of the Oval Office. To say the least I was extremely impressed with how the show handled sensitive subject matter like #MeToo in an objective way, and also make it thoroughly entertaining. The mystery of whether Mitch did actually rape anybody, and who these accusations are coming from, is kept under wraps until very late in the season and to see this unfold is thrilling. It’s bold of The Morning Show to allow a character like Mitch Kessler to be given so much sympathy considering how it usually goes when someone is accused of rape, but I’m glad to see that something finally had the balls to present the story impartially. The fact that regardless of whether Mitch is innocent or guilty he will never have a career in TV again is presented excellently, so whilst everyone villainises him much in the way we do with anyone who is accused of such horrible acts, it was great to see the show acknowledge that if Mitch is innocent as he so claims his life is over anyway.
It's also great to see Carell, Aniston, and Witherspoon take on roles that are so far removed from what I know them for. To me they’re all funny people, so to see them in a serious drama is a significant change of pace; but it did allow me to connect with them more because I, like the viewers of morning TV, saw these people as happy, funny, and people always with a smile on their faces; so to see the other side of that was captivating and they all deliver outstanding performances.
The Morning Show doesn’t just focus on these three characters of course, and #MeToo isn’t the only sensitive subject the show throws itself into. You have Charlie Black (Mark Duplass) the producer of The Morning Show who is arguably the only person who is actually nice and not just looking out for themselves, then there’s head of the new division Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) who’s new to UBA and wanting to massively shake things up; Yanko Flores (Nestor Carbonell) and Daniel Henderson (Desean Terry) who are also hosts of The Morning Show, and many more interesting side characters.
One story that gets quite a lot of attention as it recurs often throughout both Season 1&2 is that of Daniel’s desire to take Alex’s spot as head anchor of The Morning Show but feels as though he’s constantly held back from that dream because he’s black. Depending on who addresses that concern, and their ethnicity, depends on the answer he receives; from the black staff members on the show he’s told that they feel he is definitely being held back because of his skin, but anybody else (whether they be white, Asian, or any other ethnicity other than African-American) simply says he isn’t charismatic or interesting enough to be the lead anchor. It’s then left to the viewer to decide whether he’s being discriminated against which is a nice touch, there’s clearly a problem of race within the ranks of The Morning Show and UBA, but it appears to only be black people that are feeling the effects of that…or at least enough to identify it as discrimination.
Other subjects such as homosexuality, abortion, and suicide are also tackled by The Morning Show, and each of these subjects is handled in much the same way. It leaves it open for your opinion, but not in a way that feels as though the show is afraid to take sides. You get the validation of your own opinion that you want from some characters, whereas some oppose that viewpoint, yet the characters are always so complex that whilst you may disagree with them on some things, others you will find yourself aligning with them. There’s no ‘woke lefties’ and there’s no ‘right extremists’ within the core cast, but instead just a melting pot of complex individuals and their mostly well-informed views.
It's also great to see Carell, Aniston, and Witherspoon take on roles that are so far removed from what I know them for. To me they’re all funny people, so to see them in a serious drama is a significant change of pace; but it did allow me to connect with them more because I, like the viewers of morning TV, saw these people as happy, funny, and people always with a smile on their faces; so to see the other side of that was captivating and they all deliver outstanding performances.
The Morning Show doesn’t just focus on these three characters of course, and #MeToo isn’t the only sensitive subject the show throws itself into. You have Charlie Black (Mark Duplass) the producer of The Morning Show who is arguably the only person who is actually nice and not just looking out for themselves, then there’s head of the new division Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) who’s new to UBA and wanting to massively shake things up; Yanko Flores (Nestor Carbonell) and Daniel Henderson (Desean Terry) who are also hosts of The Morning Show, and many more interesting side characters.
One story that gets quite a lot of attention as it recurs often throughout both Season 1&2 is that of Daniel’s desire to take Alex’s spot as head anchor of The Morning Show but feels as though he’s constantly held back from that dream because he’s black. Depending on who addresses that concern, and their ethnicity, depends on the answer he receives; from the black staff members on the show he’s told that they feel he is definitely being held back because of his skin, but anybody else (whether they be white, Asian, or any other ethnicity other than African-American) simply says he isn’t charismatic or interesting enough to be the lead anchor. It’s then left to the viewer to decide whether he’s being discriminated against which is a nice touch, there’s clearly a problem of race within the ranks of The Morning Show and UBA, but it appears to only be black people that are feeling the effects of that…or at least enough to identify it as discrimination.
Other subjects such as homosexuality, abortion, and suicide are also tackled by The Morning Show, and each of these subjects is handled in much the same way. It leaves it open for your opinion, but not in a way that feels as though the show is afraid to take sides. You get the validation of your own opinion that you want from some characters, whereas some oppose that viewpoint, yet the characters are always so complex that whilst you may disagree with them on some things, others you will find yourself aligning with them. There’s no ‘woke lefties’ and there’s no ‘right extremists’ within the core cast, but instead just a melting pot of complex individuals and their mostly well-informed views.
Season Two of the show tackles the onset of COVID-19 and how the pandemic affects not only the events from Season One, but also gives viewers a peak behind the curtain as to what was going on in the world of news broadcasting during the early days of the pandemic. Some don’t believe it really exists and some are so overly cautious they don’t want to be near people. Some people think it’s a priority to report on it, and some would rather air fluff pieces to make people feel better about everything that’s wrong in the world. Whilst Season Two wasn’t as strong in my eyes as Season One, it did continue in the same stead of bringing up difficult subjects and tackling it from every point imaginable.
I had a great time with The Morning Show and I can’t wait to see what comes of Season Three. If you’re considering AppleTV+ then The Morning Show is something you should absolutely check out. I’d even say it might be worth subscribing just to watch it, however due to the general lack of other content on AppleTV+ (though that does seem to be changing with the increased presence of new shows) the service still seems difficult to recommend for people looking to subscribe long term.
I had a great time with The Morning Show and I can’t wait to see what comes of Season Three. If you’re considering AppleTV+ then The Morning Show is something you should absolutely check out. I’d even say it might be worth subscribing just to watch it, however due to the general lack of other content on AppleTV+ (though that does seem to be changing with the increased presence of new shows) the service still seems difficult to recommend for people looking to subscribe long term.