The glitzy, yet not always glamorous, world of early morning television has been examined by Apple TV+’s ‘The Morning Show’ for three seasons, with its fourth installment set to premiere this week on the streaming service.
Starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon (both of whom also executive produce the series), Billy Crudup, Greta Lee, Steve Carrell and a slew of other Hollywood big hitters, the show continues to use its characters and their situations to keep its plots as contemporary as they can.
“It’s probably the only show I’ve been a part of that is so current. We did not intend to be a show that was that way, but once the Me Too Movement happened and we had half of our scripts written, you couldn’t avoid incorporating that issue into the scripts,” explains Aniston at a press conference for the show.
“As the season kept going and our writers kept writing, it just became very topical of what was going on in the real world: Art imitating life, life imitating art. It’s very exciting, because you sort of wait to see—did our writers see again into their crystal ball and is this actually going to happen? And then sure enough, a lot of things just tend to happen. It’s an exciting show to be a part of, it really is.”
The Me Too Movement pulsated the storyline in the first season of ‘The Morning Show,’ showing the aftermath of co-host Mitch Kessler’s (Carrell) firing due to sexual misconduct. Once he was cast out, Alex Levy (Aniston) was then paired with a new partner, Bradley Jackson (Witherspoon), to replace him on camera. Season 2 of the show tackled another worldwide event—COVID-19—and the aftermath of the virus among other obstacles, while Season 3 delved into the complicated nature of power struggles and even threats of cyber-attacks. At the forefront of it all is always Alex and Bradley, taking on problems and hopefully, solutions for the network.
“I think this season really shows women in leadership roles behind the scenes—in the boardroom, having ownership over the network and the dynamics that happen between female power players. That’s something you don’t see a lot because it doesn’t happen a lot. So [the writers] are imagining a whole world,” explains Witherspoon.
“One character—Marion Cotillard’s family owns the network and obviously, Alex Levy has been there for years as an employee and a really important part of the on-camera talent. But now she’s in a position of having to be in charge of the budgets and [all that.] I think it’s really well played because it’s not a natural relationship between [the two of them.] There’s a lot of friction.”
Other new actors joining the fold include Jeremy Irons coming on as Levy’s father, Boyd Holbrook taking on the role of a provocative podcaster, plus Aaron Pierre and William Jackson Harper. The ever-changing relationships mirror the push and pull between newsrooms, consumers and everyone in between.
“The world of journalism is changing every minute. Who do you trust? Who do consumers actually trust for the truth? And what is the truth? We’re really lucky that we had already established this format and then we get to expand into all of these different storylines,” Witherspoon continues.
“Podcasts are so important right now…should we be believing them or believing NPR? And now NPR is defunded, how is that happening? And we’ve been able to track it and trace it for the past seven years that we’ve been making this show. We’re seeing the evolution of modern broadcasting and journalism unravel in this kind of soapy, fun format. We get to learn about what goes on behind the scenes as well.”
And what’s in store for her character this go-around? “Bradley goes to a very bizarre place this season… I can’t say where. But it’s completely unexpected and out of nowhere and I think people will be shocked,” she says.
Aniston’s Alex also has a lot in store for the fourth season as well.
“Alex is now in the position of greater power in the C-Suite and she’s realizing what a cutthroat experience that is…be careful what you wish for,” says Aniston. “Basically, corruption does not know gender. There’s a wonderful exploration of wanting a position of power and then the internal conflict of interest that she’s constantly grappling with. And where she ends up at the end is a different place.”
‘The Morning Show’ is continuing to do what it does best: Facing certain topics head-on—whether it be sexism, ageism, power dynamics, the veiled world of media or current political issues—while also showing the cracks that are there to ultimately empower those who fall through. And that reach is there for much more than just amusement—especially for women in the world of entertainment and beyond.
“We hope [it inspires] more [female] directors, more writers, just more creatives behind the camera. It’s so exciting that [Reese and I] have been able to do this together, because we’ve grown up together. And there was a time when women would not be invited to the table that we get to sit at now,” finishes Aniston.
“It was not even thought of—or it was almost how cute, how adorable that you think you could be a producer of a show. Hopefully, we’re able to inspire young women to just go for what you want… go for the gold. Just don’t take no for an answer.”
‘The Morning Show’ Season 4 will premiere Wednesday, Sept. 17 with the first episode, followed by one episode weekly until Nov. 19.
