You know I both hate and adore this show
I'm gonna give it a fresh tomato at least based off of the first three episodes I've watched and I'm curious as to
How Apple TV will make this show?
Available. I haven't been able to see any specifics again
they gave the press just the first three episodes and I think that if they give the audience the first three episodes
People should talk about this show because it gets really good at the end of episode two
Otherwise, I think it's going to be a slow burn or maybe people don't discover it until like the end of the season a little
Bit like succession maybe
This show has a lot of problems
But it's so aggressive and so different in the way
It handles the meetyou discussion
But it should generate its own discussion. And would I think on many other?
services, but since it's on a new service again Apple TV, I
Will be curious to see if it can break through. All right, so let's review and discuss the morning show
So it is a surprisingly aggressive show
But also one that's often sloppy and panders so much to a certain group that at times
Even that group will roll its eyes
Oh, so there's clearly nobody working on this show that actually has worked in morning news and as a result
I think the morning show is often unfair to that very unique brand of programming
I mean, it's the most successful part of every single network's news division for a reason, right?
I mean, I also think it's an odd choice
Because to be so disdainful to morning news
You think that would turn off the group that would be most interested in an expose of morning news
Right the people who watch it
But the morning show is so negative about morning news that even someone like myself who isn't necessarily
the audience for morning news
well
Even I felt it was unfair to the medium Reese Witherspoon's character in particular is like there's a scene where she pitches
Stories from warning news and you're like those are horrible stories. I think anyone would notice that they weren't a fit with the show
She's to be a part of so that was a little weird. I was like
Clearly everyone making this show not only doesn't watch warning news
But thinks it's dumb and I think that's an odd approach to take to something you're covering
But there are blazing that's right
blazing moments of brilliance on the morning show because
it's so bold and its willingness to not only tackle the me2 movement in the entertainment business specifically there will be
crossover there to other industries
but also on its willingness and this is what's very
Surprising about the show its willingness to address that it's not a black and white situation, but instead one far more complex
Those elements make the Morning Show a must watch also to see these huge stars
Say crazy stuff, like wow being unusually honest and aggressive. We'll talk about that as well
now if you can make it to the end of
episode 2 when the first big Power Move is made and it is awesome to see female characters making power moves when an other
shows like succession Shiv is annoyingly on the sidelines both being put there by others and
Voluntarily sitting there, but if you can make it to the end of episode 2 you will be hooked it
I was like, I don't know about this show and then I was like, I love it as I said
but I don't know even as it progressed from there again, I only saw the first three episodes, but I was like
I'm gonna hate and love this show
Now by far my favorite moments though are in episode 3. So again, I wonder how many people will make it that far?
If again if Apple makes it available to binge those first three, it's a very busy show by the way
I think it I would Bend I would I don't know
Yeah, I would maybe trunks of three you not to watch the three episodes to really get it
But my favorite moments are without giving any spoilers away
Jennifer Aniston's monologue to a board room full of men. I think there might have been a woman in there as well
But with mostly men her bright red dress in stark contrast to their sea of dark suits. That was great
It was almost Network like, you know, alright. I got mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore
but with a female protagonist
Which I thought was really great
And then also a searing
conversation between Steve Carell our character and guest star Mark Martin short who plays a me-too ruined
Director they have a shockingly real
conversation from the complicated reality behind a lot of these accusations
- Mitch Kessler Steve Corral's character
Beginning to realize that maybe his actions weren't as harmless as he thought they were as he sees them embodied in short
sitting across from him on his patio
Looking back at him. That was it was amazing powerful stuff both those scenes
Now interestingly for a show about the me2 movement and women in the entertainment business are just in business in general
The morning shows female characters are its weakest
none of them come across as real people but living
arguments emphasis on the argument part
And while you want to root for them because they're fighting the good fight for women in business
both Aniston and Weatherspoon's characters are so grating and so unbending
constantly yelling that ironically they
Represent the women and business stereotype that so many women find themselves trying to combat in real life
Aniston's character has no allies at the morning show and she doesn't try to cultivate any either
while everyone Aurel not everyone but a lot of people are bending over backwards to help Witherspoon's character and she keeps fighting them off very
Aggressively. It's not good. It also doesn't help that Aniston and Witherspoon look strikingly similar particularly in the way their group
They're you know
They're they're my hair and makeup is done on this show and not only in terms of their look but also their age
So having Witherspoon presented as Aniston's
Potential younger replacement just seems ridiculous
also for a show about optics
I can't believe that nobody noticed how bad it looks to have talented charismatic black women only behind the scenes
producing for white women
Particularly when women of color are dominating an actual date daytime TV right now
It's offensive and not accurate
So that was frustrating but speaking of accurate
Perhaps the best character on the show is billie crudup s-- network executive the new head of news coming from the entertainment division
He's the kind of
behind-the-scenes character that everyone loves and both his dialogue and credits delivery are not only entertaining but
Incredibly accurate again for a network executive
Love that very real world
the only potential wrinkle though is that his character does seem to be romantically interested in Witherspoon's many of their
After-hours meetings don't seem quite right and would set off alarm bells and any woman working, right?
Even though credits character continues to insist
He just likes working odd hours, but it's not just when they meet. There are a lot of odd hours in the entertainment business
There's just a vibe there
Which I have to say wouldn't in other circumstances be totally fine. If he's done above board and through human resources, right?
But since Crudup is such a champion for Witherspoon's character. It's a little bit a little bit iffy to think that
She wouldn't have the position. She wouldn't get this amazing opportunity that she gets it's not totally because of credit
But she wouldn't be put into play by
Credit if he wasn't interested in her and then if it does turn out that he's interested in her
Well that woman he become less of a champion for her and will the show then be saying that there really is no such thing
As a platonic male/female business relationship, it's real. I don't know
I have mixed feelings about it because I think it's somewhat it could be someone accurate
But I don't know I think did not have any relationships were in the show depicted where men and women are just simply working together
Platonically is scary. So but it's like kind of like the real-world scariness of business relationships between men and women so
I'm not sure how I feel about it
Marc do but I do think Billy Crudup is doing a fabulous job
Mark, Duplass is also good as the kind of inept showrunner that slowly kills the show with his lathe lazy ineptitude and it's pretty frickin
obvious for episode 1 that he should also be fired and I wonder if ever it will be realized by the characters on
The show it often isn't in real life. I mean his character is
Incompetent but so often is the case with people who are in charge in any business
now on that note as the morning show progressed at least the first three episodes if
Can clear that it needed one episode up front or maybe a flashback episode to come?
To show what it was like at the morning show before Carol's character was fired
You know at the beginning of this at the beginning of the morning show, right?
That's how that's how they they hit the ground running with his foot being fired
because
There's just so much talk about how things used to be
Both good and bad that it would be nice to not only see what everyone's talking about
But to see how much of it is true and how much is their perception for instance again?
How could Aniston's character be the lead on a show for so long right on you know?
She's the anchor the co-anchor and not have a single person on the show in her corner was Carol's character
Really her only Ally. Is that why she takes his Lots he's lost particularly hard both personally and professionally
Which in and of itself I thought was very interesting
It's a very big question mark that hangs over the show and shouldn't be there at least for not the entire first season
I'll forgive it if they do a flashback episode back to Aniston and Witherspoon
They are both
Obviously huge stars and they use their star power as both a shield and a sword to play such grating characters simultaneously
to soften soften their characters edges through familiarity and the softer characters
They've played in the past
But also in getting you to pay attention to what they're saying because of who is saying it
This is Jennifer Aniston Reese Witherspoon. You can't help but listen if they're gonna lose their
It gets your attention and the same I think goes with Steve Carell his Mitch Kessler says some horrible tone-deaf things
But you you realize that Steve Carell wouldn't take this role if there wasn't something to it
So you listen and I'm definitely listening to this show and I think if you can get through the first three episodes
Even just the first two you will be listening as well
And if people don't listen to this show
I do feel it would be the fault of Apple TV because I think it's a well I think it's it's a it's it's
interesting and unique enough I think to cut through the chatter and there's a lot of chatter these days both in terms of streaming and
The me2 movement so that's my review of the first three episodes the morning show
I'm curious to hear your thoughts down below. It debuts Friday November first
We'll see how many episodes become available to watch
If it's the first three, I recommend you power through them in one sitting or at least I did it in two
But anyway again, share your thoughts down below be sure to subscribe today
And of course as always you can check out some more episodes right now