Beginning in the fall of 2021, fans of Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, began watching to see what was going to happen in the intense series. The series has plenty of big names with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Shari Belafonte, Marcia Gay Harden, Julianne Margulies, Embeth Davidtz, Mindy Kaling, Martin Short, Brett Butler, Hasan Minhaj, Will Arnett, Dave Foley, Kathy Najimy, the Foo Fighters (!), and Holland Taylor. Phew! That is a big cast! The majority of the attention, of course, is paid to the two leads – Aniston and Witherspoon.
To catch those up who are not familiar with the series, it is centered around the people involved in a network morning show – The Morning Show. In season one there was plenty of drama going on behind the scenes and on camera on the morning news show. Season two does not slow down in regards to the drama.
The Morning Show has to deal with the aftermath of Bradley (Reese Witherspoon – Wild, Legally Blonde) and Alex (Jennifer Aniston – from television’s Friends) on-air revealing of the UBA dirty laundry in regards to Mitch Kessler’s (Steve Carell – The 40 Year Old Virgin, The Big Short) misconduct and the ensuing cover up. Executives, especially Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup – Watchmen, Almost Famous), are in full damage control, as a result.
On top of that, Alex has quit the show and disappeared. Ratings go down without her familiar and popular presence. While the show is in turmoil, Bradley’s personal life is a mess as well. Cory is attempting to keep the show and his job above water.
While the second season involved plenty of strong acting from the cast, there was an attempt to squeeze too much in. The story becomes too busy and involved. Makes it really hard to follow all the storylines as well as what to care about. You are not sure what the point is or what is being said by the writers/directors as the storylines are not really linked to one another. Every one seems to be existing on an island.
Despite all the flaws the show remains very watchable. Not as good as season one, but still kept me interested. Hot button topics like misogyny/sexism, behaviour in a pandemic, feminism, toxic workplaces, and racism/prejudice remain at the center of the series. What keeps me interested is all the grey areas. Not one of the characters is completely likable. They are all flawed, which makes them very human, if not totally believable.
Loads of season two is rather unbelievable. Equal parts ridiculous to the point of making you roll your eyes and grounded in reality. Yet still poignant in many parts. We really seem to be able to go behind the scenes to being to understand how the television industry is one built upon misogyny and exploitation. But how, even knowing that, we don’t turn away.
The series has been renewed for a third season, so the story will continue.