The first season of The Morning Show, an American drama television series, premiered as a launch title for Apple TV+ on November 1, 2019, and ended on December 20, 2019. It features an ensemble cast led by Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and Billy Crudup and focuses on a crisis revolving around a fictional morning show after one of its longtime hosts Mitch Kessler (Carell) is fired due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Mimi Leder, Kerry Ehrin, Michael Ellenberg, Aniston and Witherspoon served as executive producers.
The series was ordered by Apple in August 2017, with Aniston and Witherspoon to star and Jay Carson to serve as a showrunner. However, Carson departed before the filming started and was replaced by Kerry Ehrin. Brian Stelter, the author of Top of the Morning, assisted the writing by providing expert advice. The main cast and executive producers had been assembled by October 2018, while filming for the season started in November 2018 and continued until the following spring.
The season received mixed reviews by critics, who praised the cast's performance and filming techniques but commented on the lack of coherent and purposeful storyline. However, it received the streaming service's first-ever accolades, with Crudup winning a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Award. A second season, taking place one year after the season finale, premiered in September 2021.
Overview The series follows a fictional broadcast media network UBA which produces The Morning Show, a popular morning television program hosted by Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) and Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell). Set primarily in New York City, the season's events span across three weeks of 2019.
In the first three episodes, Mitch departs from the show following anonymous allegations of sexual harassment sent by a member of the crew. While UBA begins the search for his replacement, Alex interviews Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon), a field reporter from West Virginia, who was recently fired from a local news station for a viral clip of her emotionally assaulting a protester at a coal mine. Her downright commitment to journalism attracts the network's news division director Cory Elisson (Billy Crudup), who orchestrates Bradley becoming the new co-anchor at TMS.
After a controversial on-air debut in the fourth episode, Bradley seeks people within the company who knew of Mitch's behavior and allowed him to harass his victims. The season also follows how Mitch's case has affected different people at TMS, including weatherman Yanko Flores (Néstor Carbonell), director Mia Jordan (Karen Pittman) and UBA president Fred Micklen (Tom Irwin). The eighth episode, which pictures Mitch at his peak in 2017, reveals the origins of his sexual misconduct and his accuser, talent booker Hannah Shoenfeld (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). In his attempt to propagate his view on the incident, Mitch coerces Bradley to interview him on TMS. Shortly after, Hannah overdoses, leading Alex and Bradley to expose Fred in covering up the corporation's toxic environment on air.
Cast and characters
Main Jennifer Aniston as Alex Levy, the prominent host of The Morning Show. Working together with Mitch Kessler for over 15 years, she became known as "the mother of morning television" and brought the program its fandom. She wishes to gain respect and increased control over TMS, while UBA executives are secretly planning to retire her because of age concerns and consistent viewership decrease. Reese Witherspoon as Bradley Jackson, a field reporter from Virginia who replaces Mitch on The Morning Show. A person of fiery temper, she often confronts Alex and disrupts order at the show. This is the only season Bradley appears brunette; her hair color is changed to blonde starting from the second season. Billy Crudup as Cory Elisson, the newly appointed Director of the News Division of UBA. He is opportunistic and charismatic, but neither Alex nor other members of TMS trust him. He becomes a close friend to Bradley, whom he personally supports during breakdowns. Mark Duplass as Charles "Chip" Black, a quirky executive producer whose career is repeatedly put under threat by Bradley's actions. Steve Carell as Mitch Kessler, Alex's former co-host who was terminated after several anonymous accusations of sexual misconduct. He denies the allegations throughout the season and struggles to get his job and reputation back. Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Hannah Shoenfeld, a promising talent booker who initiated the interview with Bradley on The Morning Show. She was one of Mitch's harassed victims and, after receiving a promotion intended to silence her, sent an anonymous letter incriminating Mitch of his actions. Néstor Carbonell as Yanko Flores, lead weatherman at TMS who has secret romantic relationships with Claire. Karen Pittman as Mia Jordan, a seasoned producer of the show who works with newcomer Bradley. She is later revealed to have had an affair with Mitch to secure her promotion and becomes a subject of widespread gossips. She refrains from accusing Mitch, unlike other crew members, and is trying to prove her worth to end speculations against her. Desean Terry as Daniel Henderson, host of the weekend edition of TMS who is seeking for a promotion and is backed by Chip to take over Mitch's seat. When Bradley is announced as Alex's new co-host, he stays loyal to the show and reluctantly retains his position. Bel Powley as Claire Conway, a young production assistant from a wealthy and powerful family. Powley describes her character as a "third-wave feminist" whose relationships are defined through a wider conflict at TMS. Jack Davenport as Jason Craig, Alex's supportive husband who takes care of their daughter Lizzie while she attends college.
Recurring Tom Irwin as Fred Micklen, the authoritarian President of UBA. He is skeptical of Cory's and Alex's approaches and seeks to turn their moves against them and Chip. He also becomes the target of Mitch, having previously covered up his affairs with crew members. Kate Vernon as Geneva Micklen, a member of the fictional New York Theater Fund and Fred's wife. Joe Tippett as Hal Jackson, Bradley's brother who is a confessed drug addict. Embeth Davidtz as Paige Kessler, Mitch's wife who divorces him in the first episode. Martin Short as Dick Lundry, a disgraced movie director who had faced and admitted similar accusations as his friend Mitch. Marcia Gay Harden as Maggie Brener, a conceited yet reputable journalist from New York Magazine. Mindy Kaling as Audra Khatri, a glossy morning news anchor at YDA, the fictional rival company, who is pushing Daniel to quit TMS and become her co-host. Oona Roche as Lizzy Craig, the daughter of Alex and Jason.
Crew members
Victoria Tate as Rena Robinson, Chip's assistant Hannah Leder as Isabella, a production assistant Roman Mitichyan as Sam Rudo Joe Marinelli as Donny Spagnoli, a director Ian Gomez as Greg, a director Janina Gavankar as Alison Namazi, Daniel's co-host of the weekend edition Shari Belafonte as Julia, a floor manager Ahna O'Reilly as Ashely Brown, a former audio engineer and Mitch's accuser Eli Bildner as Joel Rapkin Amber Friendly as Layla Bell, a producer Joe Pacheco as Bart Daley Michelle Meredith as Lindsey Sherman Andrea Bendewald as Valérie Augustus Prew as Sean, a producer Katherine Ko as Dhillon Reece-Smit David Magidoff as Nicky Brooks, a producer
Episodes
Production Development On November 8, 2017, it was reported that Apple ordered a full 10-episode season of an untitled morning show drama series. Together with the remake of Amazing Stories, it was one of the first original series acquired by the company. Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jay Carson and Michael Ellenberg were set to executive produce the series, with Carson also serving as a lead writer. On April 4, 2018, five months after the series order, Carson left the production team and Kerry Ehrin was appointed as a showrunner and a lead writer for the series. She reworked the entire script for the season from scratch, restraining from on-site research in order to fit in previously set production deadlines. On July 11, 2018, Mimi Leder was announced to direct and executive produce the series.
Themes At the moment of announcement, the series was set to explore the challenges faced by the workers on morning television, with additional input provided by journalist Brian Stelter. However, the fall of 2017 saw the rise of MeToo movement and a wave of sexual abuse lawsuits against media personalities, most notably Harvey Weinstien and Today host Matt Lauer. In light of these events, it was decided to pivot the initial conception and instead focus on the experience of women in the workplace. This required reassembling the writing team and searching for a female head writer who could provide personal expertise and create an authentic presentation.
When Ehrin pitched her concept for the series, she planned to devote the entire season to exploring the #MeToo movement and its aspects from multiple perspectives. Most female characters represent feminists of different levels of involvement and views on power, working relationships, and personal identity. Nevertheless, the producers aimed to preserve a balance between opposing viewpoints. The male co-anchor was envisioned as a composite character based on television anchors and other celebrities exposed as sexual predators in 2017; Ehrin specifically wanted him to look "likeable", hence casting Steve Carell for the role. Ehrin told the Los Angeles Times that she was more interested in telling the story of a character rather than in modeling him after a specific real-life person.
Casting and filming Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon were confirmed to star in lead roles during the announcement of series order, marking Aniston's first role on television since the conclusion of Friends in 2004. Almost a year later, in a series of announcements made between October 23 and 26, 2018, it was revealed that Carell, Billy Crudup, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Duplass and Néstor Carbonell joined the series. On November 7, 2018, Karen Pittman, Bel Powley and Desean Terry officially joined the cast in regular roles. In March 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported that Jack Davenport would also star in the series, becoming the last addition to the main cast.
Filming for the series started on October 29, 2018, and concluded in May 2019. Despite the series being set in New York City, a relatively small number of scenes were shot there, while most of the season was filmed in Los Angeles. Apple and the producers avoided publicity and shared no details throughout the filming aiming for no on-set disruptions and plot leaks.
Marketing and release The series was announced as part of Apple TV+ original series lineup on Apple Special Event on March 25, 2019. It was revealed on stage by Aniston, Witherspoon and Carell, who shared the new title and premise for the season. On August 19, 2019, Apple released a full-length official trailer for the series.
During the Apple Event held on September 10, 2019, it was announced that Apple TV+ would launch on November 1, 2019. On October 28, 2019, the series premiered globally on a close screening at Lincoln Center in New York, which was attended by principal cast members as well as Apple CEO Tim Cook. The first three episodes were available with the launch of the service, while the remaining seven were released every Friday until December 20, 2019. The release coincided with the publication of Ronan Farrow's book Catch and Kill which further exposed Weinstein, Lauer and other sexual predators and revived interest to the topic.
Reception Critical response