An inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the team.
Season Three of “The Morning Show,” the acclaimed Apple TV series, covers a lot of ground, from corporate intrigue to racial inequity to male-dominated workplace behavior to felony conduct. It’s a rich mix of drama and dialogue that propels the narrative forward, unfolding a complex cast of characters and simmering tension.
Jennifer Aniston stars as Alex Levy, co-host of The Morning Show (TMS), alongside Reese Witherspoon as Bradley Jackson, former TMS co-host who takes the sought-after evening news slot at the UBA network. Billy Crudup as Cory Ellison is the CEO, desperate to cut costs to keep the company’s streaming service in the black as revenues fall in the wake of the pandemic. UBA’s board chairman, Cybil Richards (Holland Taylor), whose family has shepherded the organization for eighty years, disagrees with Cory’s miserly approach and wants the network to reclaim its former status as an industry leader.
To shore up financing, Cory pursues a potential buyout offer from Hyperion, a corporation owned by tech billionaire Paul Marks (Jon Hamm). As part of the courtship, Bradley and Cory take a space flight sixty miles into the lower thermosphere with Marks after Alex backs out at the last minute. Alex is uneasy about the news division’s potential loss of integrity once it becomes part of a conglomerate.
Soon after the Hyperion rocket returns to Earth, a cyberattack exposes confidential UBA information, bringing internal conflicts and other compromising relationships to light. Among the more sensitive revelations is an email from Cybil, sent years earlier, referring to TMS co-host Chris Hunter (Nicole Beharie) as Aunt Jemima. The unsavory revelation, combined with being pitted against Cory and other board members supporting the buyout, leads to Cybil receiving a vote of no confidence. She is replaced by Leonard Cromwell (Stephen Fry), who favors the acquisition of UBA because of the boost it will give to the stock price as soon as the board votes to remove Cybil, Cory races to inform Marks, who, as it turns out, no longer wants to do the deal. Paul explains to Cory that UBA represents too much chaos and that he will pursue other options. Cory is forced to scramble for alternative funding sources by hosting an opulent gala at his home in the Hamptons, browbeating Bradley and the president of the news division, Stella Bak (Greta Lee), to pitch advertisers aggressively to keep the company financially viable.
The story detours into a 2020 flashback detailing the relationship between Bradley and fellow co-host Laura Peterson (Julianna Margulies), who retreat to Wyoming and broadcast TMS remotely during the COVID pandemic. Living in such close quarters for months on end, exacerbated by Laura’s disdain for Bradley’s West Virginia relatives struggling with addiction, the two unceremoniously split up.
On January 6, 2021, back on the newsbeat in D.C., Bradley records rioters during the insurrection and unexpectedly captures her brother on video attacking a Capitol police officer. Bradley is suddenly faced with the hard choice about whether or not to delete the footage of her brother, now guilty of a felony, a development representing but one of the many conflicts facing “The Morning Show” characters.
In another example, Alex becomes romantically involved with Paul after convincing him to reconsider purchasing UBA. She scores an exclusive interview, something he never does, and pulls no punches when the questioning begins. Her unapologetic frankness impresses Paul. Not long after, when their romance becomes public, things get really dicey for Alex.
Despite the mountain of intrigue surrounding the personal lives of the anchors, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022 upends most of the planned features scheduled for UBA. Lead stories shift to the implications of the ruling, with the anchors privately fuming at the loss of women’s rights. In a fit of rage, Chris posts a selfie criticizing the High Court. With two million followers and audience expectations of impartiality, yet another controversy emerges. Between Chris, Alex, and Bradley, rival networks have a field day ridiculing UBA.
The seemingly endless swirl of activity teeters and totters, leaving the outcome always in doubt. Created by Jay Carson and Kerry Ehrin[T1.1], “The Morning Show” makes for entertaining and engaging television, boasting a superb cast from top to bottom. Renewed for a fourth, and final fifth, season, the show maintains strong dramatic impact, in part by using recent historical events as a gripping backdrop. This outstanding eight-plus-hour Apple TV series is well worth the time.
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