The Morning Show: the cruel world behind an American smile

By Petr Malasek 22/01/2021

Image Courtesy of Apple

3:30 AM. The time when other people sleep, Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) and Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) wake up to be ‘America's family’ - main hosts of The Morning Show, the most watched breakfast news program in the US.

However, due to claims of sexual misconduct, Mitch is fired and Bradley Jackson, (Reese Witherspoon) an impulsive and hot-headed field reporter, takes his place. This sparks rivalry and intrigue, not only between the hosts, but also in the upper levels of the UBA network, a TV company where the show is aired.

The ten-episode Apple TV+ Original series keeps the audience on their toes. At one moment, we believe Mitch’s story about the evil MeToo movement, so in another, we can see that it was even worse than we thought. We feel this emotional rollercoaster with every single character on the show. We do not know whether we should cheer for them or hate them. The depth of characters and their motives are brilliantly crafted. The characters are also highlighted by actors who play them.

Jay Carson, the creator of the series, went for two comedy actors, Jennifer Aniston (mainly known as Rachel Green from ‘Friends’) and Steve Carell (mainly known as Michael Scott from ‘The Office’). In The Morning Show, they play characters that are completely different, dramatically and emotionally. These two, accompanied by actors like Reese Witherspoon, Mark Duplass, or Billy Crudup, force us to binge-watch the whole show, as we need to know what happens next.

The audience gets more information than individual characters. We can see how certain people act, how they lie to save their position or to get rid of their superiors. However, this fight is not happening only inside the UBA network - this media conglomerate is surrounded by sharks from other networks and newspapers, wanting to take a bite.

The series shows us the cruel work of the TV world with intrigues and fights on all levels of the network. The show also touches upon topics of the hardships of career growth in such an environment and raises questions whether being rich is more important than being with your family.

Despite the fact that characters sometimes change their mind very quickly, even though no one would expect them to do so, it is a great show to watch. It has great pace, keeps us on our toes and will be stuck in our heads for a couple of days, as we will be trying to decipher who was innocent - so we can conclude that no one really was.

Against the most known streaming services, like Netflix or Prime Video, Apple TV’s platform is a David versus Goliath story. However, if Apple continues making shows like this, it can become a worthy competitor.

The Morning Show is available to stream on Apple TV+.