It’s impossible to talk aboutThe Morning Showwithout also considering how “important” this series is to its streaming home. It’s the star-studded flagship for the launch of Apple TV+, a brand new streaming service from the tech giant responsible for changinghow the world uses cell phones. It’s whatHouse of Cardswas to Netflix, and whatThe Mandalorianwill be to Disney+. It’s the show that will make the most significant first impression when people are introduced to Apple TV+, which is why they reportedly spent a whopping $300 million on the first two seasons, signed huge stars likeJennifer Aniston,Reese Witherspoon, andSteve Carell, and even landed prestige talent like composerCarter Burwell(who’s scored pretty much every Coen Brothers movie) to make his longform TV debut. It’s a big deal, and Apple TV+ is treating it as such. So, then, was the hullabaloo all worth it? IsThe Morning Showactually any good? Well yeah, actually. It’s not a bad addition to the onslaught of “prestige TV.”
The Morning Showis really three different TV shows in one, all on a collision course with one another. There’s the story of Alex Levy (Aniston), co-anchor of a popular nationwide news program called “The Morning Show” who is deep in contract negotiations with the network to extend her run on the show despite being perceived as being past her prime; there is Alex’s co-anchor Mitch Kessler (Carell), whose arc opens the series as he is very publicly fired from “The Morning Show” after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct leak to the press; and then there’s Bradley Jackson (Witherspoon), a “conservative” (the kind of fictional, liberal-leaning conservative you only see on TV) field anchor working for a conservative news network in middle America who gains national attention after a confrontation with a coal mining protestor goes viral.
The show opens with Mitch’s firing, which gives Alex a chance to shine as the face of The Morning Show’s public response and, somewhat grotesquely, the recipient of a ratings boost. Meanwhile, Jackson is called up to appear on The Morning Show thanks to her viral video, although the no-nonsense journalist isn’t keen on playing games or bucking her prickly persona for the benefit of The Morning Show’s feel-good-story-loving audience. Then there’s Kessler, who privately fumes about being ousted from the show and claims he was only guilty of having consensual affairs with lower-level staffers.
Indeed,The Morning Showdoesn’t simply use the misconduct storyline as an inciting event—it’s the backbone of the season-long arc. This is very much a show made during and for the #MeToo era, and curiously showrunnerKerry Ehrin(Bates Motel) aims to provide some insight into the accused’s point of view. Don’t get me wrong, the show doesn’t condone Mitch’s actions nor does it ask the audience to sympathize with him. But this three-pronged story does devote one significant arc to Mitch’s POV.
The show purposefully leaves the details of Mitch’s misconduct vague for the first few episodes, and it’s no coincidence that someone as charming and likable as Steve Carell is cast in the role. WhileThe Morning Showis very careful not to endorse Mitch’s comments, it does provide a window into his line of thinking and ill-conceived next steps. And his existing dynamic with Alex makes the situation all the more complex.
Aniston delivers a terrific performance as an intrepid, successful woman who’s tired of fighting so hard merely to be considered on equal footing with her male counterpart, only to find she must fight twice as hard now that her career’s future is in limbo. Aniston is unafraid to make Alex prickly or even at times somewhat unlikable, which makes the character all the more compelling. Frankly, it’s the kind of role men have been lauded for playing for years in some of the most celebrated TV shows of all time, and it’s refreshing to see not just a “female version” of a complicated character, but one with a uniquely feminine perspective. This is not plug-and-play Walter White or Don Draper, “but as a lady instead.” It’s a new, fully formed, complicated female character.
Carell, too, is solid, although Mitch’s screentime in the first three episodes (the only ones available for review) is more limited than that of Alex’s or Bradley’s, and I have a feeling we’ll get closure on his story one way or another by the season’s end. Then there’s Witherspoon, whose character feels like it went through the most changes behind the scenes. She’s introduced as a conservative, then in the next episode is described as a liberal conservative, then in the third episode she’s described as a libertarian. Politics take a significant backseat in what feels like it could be the most significant “network note” to the show as a whole, but despite reports that Apple wanted its shows to be PG-rated, there area lotof f-bombs thrown around throughoutThe Morning Show’s first three episodes.
But back to Bradley. In actuality, Witherspoon is only five years younger than Aniston, but in the show Bradley—described as a single, childless 40-year-old—is pitted as a potential threat to the well-established Alex Levy. It’s a bit of an odd fit even if Aniston and Witherspoon’s chemistry is wonderfully tense and loaded with subtlety, but it does feel like Bradley settles a bit more into an established character by the third episode. Until then, the show isn’t entirely sure what it wants her to be: redneck liberal, fierceSoutherner, green ingénue, or diamond-in-the-rough talent.
There is much thatThe Morning Showwants to chew on thematically, and to Ehrin’s credit it succeeds more often than it fails. As a #MeToo capsule it tackles the issue with complexity, refusing to paint clear black-and-white lines and instead relishing in exploring the grey area we all actually live in; there are no clear heroes and villains. As a chronicle of the changing media landscape, it’s a bit less successful but nonetheless compelling, andBilly Crudupis a scene-stealer as Cory Ellison, the oddly charming, possibly creepy, definitely crazy head of the network who’s only been in the job for a short time. Crudup delivers a monologue in the pilot that is chilling and strange and aspirational all at once, and while you’re not sure whether you love him or hate him, you definitely want to see more of him.
The true MVP of these first few episodes, however, is directorMimi Leder, who helms the first two installments and sets the stage for what’s to come. Leder has had an esteemed career with credits ranging fromERtoDeep Impactto theRBGbiopicOn the Basis of Sex, but it’s her work on HBO’s underratedThe Leftoversthat’s been most striking in recent years, and she continues that streak withThe Morning Show. The way she positions actors in a scene or composes a shot is all entirely in service of the characters and driving home the emotion of any given scene, and her work is crucial to the tightrope walk of tone that occurs through the first couple of episodes. The show is tackling very serious subject matter, but it never feels overly dramatic or self-serious. There is time for levity, and the show is often very funny, but the humor comes organically from the story or characters. It’s a “dramedy” for lack of a better word, but it really does ultimately just feel quite human.
It’s unclear ifThe Morning Showis destined to make the same pop cultural imprint thatHouse of CardsorStranger ThingsorBreaking Baddid. The TV landscape is positively flooded with content at the moment, and there’s more competition for your eyeballs than ever. But you can’t say Apple TV+ didn’t put all it had intoThe Morning Show, and despite reports of some creative upheaval behind the scenes, the resulting show is a pretty smooth ride. There’s a lot to like, and it’s a series that is tackling complicated issues like sexual misconduct, unchecked misogyny, women in positions of power, and the changing media landscape with refreshing complexity. As far as first impressions go, this introduction from Apple TV+ ain’t too shabby.
Rating: ★★★
The Morning Showwill be available to stream exclusively on Apple TV+ on November 1st. For more on Apple’s content, check out our reviews forSee,Dickinson, andFor All Mankind.
