When Apple TV+ entered the streaming race in 2019, one of the shows in its arsenal was the TV-business dramedy The Morning Show. Its heart continues to be the rise and fall of various personalities of a TV news network, but what makes the new season different is how women have won and men have been ousted.
As Season 4 wins positive reviews, we see former anchor Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) in charge, having brought about a merger of networks UBA and NBN, with Stella Bak (Greta Lee), who begins the season as the leader of the new network, UBN.
The new season begins two years after the events of Season 3, with the backdrop being early 2024, ahead of the Paris Olympics. Stella and Alex are running the house alongside UBN board president Celine Dumont (Marion Cotillard). We are yet to know the outcome of the decisions made by the media house last year.
In the final scenes of Season 3, Alex was supporting Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) as she turned herself in to the FBI for covering up her brother’s involvement in the incidents of January 6, and Cory (Billy Crudup) was being forced out of the network.
For Jennifer Aniston, even after four seasons, the show remains groundbreaking. “It’s probably the only show I’ve been a part of that is so current. We’re really current. And we did not intend to be that way. Once the #MeToo movement happened and we had half of our scripts written, you couldn’t avoid incorporating that issue into the scripts. And then as the season kept going and our writers kept writing, it just became very topical of what was going on in the real world, with 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 just an exciting show to be a part of. It really is,” said Aniston, over a video call with a select group of journalists from across the world.
Dinner table discussion
In the new season, there is chaos everywhere as the political landscape is changing and numbers are bad for the network. Board president Celine has a questionable strategy. Since the season begins in 2024, there is plenty of talk around artificial intelligence and deep fakes.
“I think it’s just very forward thinking, this show. It’s dealing with things that people are talking about right now. We’re talking about AI, we’re talking about deep fakes. Workplace dynamics that are always prevalent, high net worth individuals buying networks, buying rockets. So The Morning Show is always forward-thinking. And it’s fun to be part of a show where you’re really talking about things that people are discussing at their dinner tables,” said Reese Witherspoon.
The word ‘thrilling’ is an apt description of the new season as the newly formed UBN is different, yet part of the same fabric. The former underdogs now have the power to change. Yet, with every hire and every firing, a trade-off is made. The characters now have their way, but at the same time, need to make choices to keep the place alive.
There is a lot going on: AI deep fakes, Olympics, politics, asylum seekers, planes deteriorating, climate change protesters and whatnot. Entering the show with the new season are actors Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons and Boyd Holbrook.
Cotillard’s Celine has a mean streak while Irons’s Martin Levy plays Alex’s father, and Holbrook’s Brodie is a popular and provocative podcaster and talk show host.
“Jeremy Irons, the almighty Jeremy Irons. I was so nervous to meet him. And boy, was he so disarming and lovely. A big kid, playful, like an actor’s actor. He finished a take and was like, ‘How was that? Was that good? Should we do it again?’ You know, he’s just divine. And I was so excited that we were having Alex’s father be a part of this show this season, just so that we could sort of peel back and understand what made Alex, Alex,” said Aniston.
Witherspoon’s character (Bradley) is in a tough spot. She is digging for dirt on a story that may put the network on a slippery slope and, at the same time, she’s still reeling from her brother’s treason.
“At the end of season three, Bradley is in this terrible position because she discovered that her brother was part of the insurrection on January 6. And she redacted the footage that she had recorded of him in order to save him from prosecution. So she ultimately decides to turn herself in to the FBI. So at the beginning of this season, you just don’t know where she is,” said Witherspoon.
Power of journalism
That’s the beauty of The Morning Show: It has always been a show packed with big stars, playing characters who are probably working among us. Imagine Aniston negotiating political asylum for deserving refugees.
Playing Alex and Bradley has taught them a lot about reinventing oneself. “There are things about this world that very much mirror the film and television world, where there’s a lot of phoniness, but who your real friends are, who really shows up for you, is usually a very small group of people. And that, I think, is at the heart of this show,” said Witherspoon.
Both of them believe in the power of journalism and its role in society. “I think journalism is so important, an ability to look at things from a vantage point that’s not being manipulated. And I find that I’m confused all the time. Like I sometimes don’t know what to trust or where to get news from,” said Witherspoon.
Aniston chirped in: “And if you’re scrolling, it’s the almighty algorithm. Because if you spend two minutes or over three seconds or whatever it is on a certain clip of something, then you start getting fed. And you’re just trying to understand or hear something out. Then you’re getting fed that exact same information. So it’s no wonder some people believe something completely different than, say, another person will believe something completely different. It’s hard to know where the truth actually does lie.”
That makes Witherspoon look at the concept of individual journalists. “It’s also interesting to watch the rise of the individual journalist as a voice to be trusted. You’re seeing that more and more now, and I’m interested in following that space. Can that voice that feels so independent be corrupted by greed or the ability to buy their company?”
The power of The Morning Show is such that the Emmy-winning drama series has been renewed for Season 5 by Apple TV+. “The Morning Show has been a standout from the very start, debuting as one of the flagship series on Apple TV+,” Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV+, said in a statement. “It’s been incredibly rewarding to see it not only entertain but also resonate with audiences worldwide. Thanks to the outstanding cast and creative team — led by Jennifer, Reese, Charlotte and Mimi — The Morning Show continues to deliver addictively entertaining and provocative stories that we’ve all come to love.”