When The Morning Show first premiered on Apple TV+, it quickly proved itself genius at tightly weaving real-life news headlines into the complicated lives of its multifaceted characters.
Season one was fantastic. Season two was even better. Season three is truly phenomenal. The Emmy, SAG, and Critics Choice Award-winning drama, which has already received an early renewal for season four, is one of those rare gems that gets better and better every season with its extraordinary ensemble cast led by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.
The series, initially inspired by Brian Stelter’s 2013 book, “Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV,” has boldly tackled divisive news headlines, workplace issues, and the ever-present battle between fact and fiction.
In separate interviews, executive producers Mimi Leder, Kristin Hahn, and Lauren Neustadter talked about how the team behind this series has been able to develop gripping storylines continuously throughout three seasons and 30 episodes.
They explained that this season’s central theme is truth and what that means to different people under various circumstances. Each explained that season one was focused on the Me Too Movement and the gender reckoning that followed. Season two, they added, was the fallout of that as the world was hit with the pandemic.
Leder, who has directed numerous episodes, said truth was the most crucial ingredient this season. “The most important issue that we wanted to talk about and weave through our characters is this state of the truth and how it pertains to journalists worldwide. And we wanted to focus on the lies and stories we tell ourselves. The truth is an endangered species.”
Season three is incredibly gripping, and each separately commended this season’s showrunner, Charlotte Stoudt, for the many twists and turns. The stakes are higher than ever as UBA’s future hangs in the balance. Tech billionaire Paul Marks (Jon Hamm), a space-exploring tycoon, comes into the picture and is interested in buying the legacy media company.
Elon Musk and his purchase of Twitter, now known as X, comes to mind, but each assured me Hamm’s character is an amalgamation of many newsworthy magnates who feel they can buy anything and anyone.
Paul’s interest in the network’s star, Alex Levy (Aniston), quickly adds to the drama as many wonder if viewers can trust a news empire run by someone like him.
Truth, Leder confirmed, was strategically weaved into every storyline. “We brought in Paul Marks as this catalyst who changes the landscape of UBA forever. He’s an innovative genius who is going to save the day. But of course, it’s a lot more complicated than that. He’s an accelerant; he pushes everyone in the story toward their truth, even the things they haven’t acknowledged about themselves.”
No secret is safe when a company-wide hack exposes everyone’s darkest secrets. This storyline is a reminder of the Sony hack years ago. What’s so brilliant about the series is how it not only covers actual news headlines but also puts them front and center in the lives of these characters. The art-imitating-life storytelling exemplifies for the audience how these worldwide news headlines impact individuals. Behind every salacious headline are lives that are often forever changed; we will see that this season.
“Something we have always endeavored to do is thoughtfully reflect the world we’re living in and the issues people in media are grappling with, and this season is no exception,” said Neustadter, president of film and television at Hello Sunshine.
Neustadter loved Stoudt’s ideas for where the show could go and credited her with centering season three on the subjectivity of truth and what happens when two sides do not agree on what that means. “On top of that, she had this brilliant idea for the hack, which would lead to everybody’s truths coming to light. No secrets are safe anymore. One of the things that this show does well is take risks. We push the envelope. This is not a show that plays it safe. We go to places that you wouldn’t expect, and it’s something the show has done consistently.”
Another theme with this show is women standing up for one another. As Leder explained, though Steve Carell’s womanizing Mitch Kessler’s storyline was wrapped up last season, his ghost still haunts UBA. “Though we’ve pivoted away from sexual misconduct, we are still very much focused on women’s autonomy and how it is undermined. Women’s power is now being challenged with abortion and reproductive rights. Women’s agency is at stake.”
As for the strong female characters, Neustadter loves how these women are there for one another no matter what. “I think these relationships are so beautifully drawn. They show up for each other in unexpected ways. I don’t think there are a lot of shows on television where you are watching these kinds of riveting, complex dynamics between female characters, and that’s just something that I think is so extraordinary about this show. At Hello Sunshine, this dynamic is always so important to us.”
Hahn, Aniston’s producing partner, applauded Stoudt for her fantastic work this season. She also credited the showrunner for seasons one and two, Kerry Ehrin. Hahn credits Ehrin, who created The Morning Show with Jay Carson, for naming Witherspoon and Aniston’s characters, Bradley Jackson and Alex Levy. Their gender-neutral names, she pointed out, were very intentional.
These were strong women fighting for their rightful place at the table, and though it would never be an easy battle, they would not surrender to misogyny. As Leder noted, “Women never have it easy, do we? We always have to fight a little harder.”
“The biggest theme this season is: What is the truth? We are all pursuing the truth, including where we get our news. We’re also looking at it through the lens of these very human, flawed people who are the ones sitting in the chairs bringing us the news. We’re looking at their truth and also asking what’s yours? What are you made of? What lies are you telling yourself and other people? That lens is focused on every single character this season,” said Hahn.
“I think the one thing that’s threaded throughout all of our seasons, underneath it all, is the power dynamics of the workplace and how those play out. I love that you don’t have to work in a newsroom to relate,” Hahn continued. “These power dynamics are integrated into our lives no matter where we work.”
Of the new season, Hahn credits Stoudt with its nail-biting twists and turns. “Everything is more heightened this season. The show goes to unexpected places. Charlotte is just a genius at creating catalytic moments that are combustive. Those catalytic moments explode, and all the characters must deal with the shrapnel.”
This season, fans will see how real-world events, including the January 6 insurrection, the pandemic, racism, women’s reproductive rights issues, and the Ukrainian War, have impacted all the characters.
Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Julianna Margulies, and Greta Lee round out this ensemble cast. In addition to Hamm, Nicole Beharie and Tig Notaro join this season.
Season three premiered with two episodes on Wednesday, September 13, followed by one new episode weekly through November 8.
Read the full article here