The Morning Show — an Entertaining Review

Really enjoyed season 1; enjoyed season 2, but less so; will definitely watch season 3. "Watchably stupid" pretty much sums it up.

The acting is bad? Why are they so bad at doing pretend tv?

It's better than I expected. I'm looking forward to season 3.

It’s stupidly watchable

I couldn't get through Season 1. I liked Aniston in it, Reese less so. But it became laughably bad when Karen Pittman delivered a speech in the newsroom on speaker about her affair with Steve Carell. They lost me then.

It’s a good waste of time tv. Fast forward the intro section though, it’s way too long. Billions (in the same category as an ok, if unbelievable, waste of time tv) understands its place and has a 3 second intro.

It’s a bit overwrought.

It really is a mess. You can sense there is no one clear singular vision as to what the show should be. A lot of these actors like to grab executive producer credits for these series so you have to blame them for greenlighting these scripts and storylines.

They lost me a bit with the lezbo stuff. But I’ll watch S3.

The writing is execrable. It was clear that Steve Carell told his agent to get him off this goddamn thing however he could.

The "very special episode " of Aniston getting covid was one of the most entertainingly bad things I've ever seen. Or is that "watchably stupid?"

I liked the first season OK, had trouble getting through the second. The scenes with Carrell and Valeria Golino were horrible and felt endless. Ditto the shit with Reese's brother, why was that done? I also agree with this review that Cory Ellison's motivations and principles seem to entirely shift from one episode to another and the fact that he's still probably the most interesting person on the show is completely to Crudup's credit.

At least they got rid of Daniel, the most unpleasant and poorly acted character on the show.

I would rather watch paint dry

Episode 2 was fucking hilarious lol. The show is starting to take itself less seriously and finally finding its footing. This season is going to be a riot.

LOVING Stella so far. She's the MVP this season.

It's so stupid. I watched a few episodes of season 1 and turned it off in disgust.

I remember thinking that no thinking journalists or adult humans would behave this way. There was so much noise, but nothing really was at stake, and there was no one to care about. The writing was dumb without any compensating humor or camp that would have at least made it fun.

You could see tons of money up there on the screen but Apple didn't spend anything on the scripts.

WTF with Reese's I'M EXHAUSTED!!

I thought the first season was one of the best explorations of what #metoo is on about that I've seen. The fact that the Carrell character was so personable, and so genuinely unable to see that he'd done anything to hurt anyone, was a great starting point. As it unfolds we have it explained to us, as it is to him, why the power imbalance is such an important factor.

But it was a one-arc show and should have stopped there. The only thing interesting in Season 2 was Carrell's arc.

OP - If I wanted watchably stupid, I'd turn on cable news.

All the Botox is creeping me out.

If any other clams made this bullshit show, it never would've made it past a pilot.

Reese and Aniston are every frau's favorite movie stars. Reese sells fucking Buicks, for god's sake. There's a massive contingent of loopy American broads who will pay to see these two in anything.

Yes the premise is so stupid. As if a major New York tv station would hire a 15 minutes of fame hick reporter to be their new co-anchor.

It's been known to happen, R22.

I want to watch Season 3, but not enough not to wait until the season is over and I can watch it all at once with a one-month subscription.

Aniston needs to lay off the fillets. She’s starting to resemble Miss Piggy.

[quote] Yes the premise is so stupid. As if a major New York tv station would hire a 15 minutes of fame hick reporter to be their new co-anchor.

R22 The network didn't make the hire. Alex did it. Bradley was a 15-year regional field reporter who went viral in a video that someone in the crowd at one of her stories (a West Virginia coal mine protest) had posted to Twitter. She was booked on the show in NY as a guest, to talk about the viral video. In the segment, which Alex thought was ridiculous and made it a somewhat tense on-air exchange, Bradley happened to catch Cory's eye (head of news) because for a pregnant pause Bradley had responded to Alex's hostile questioning in a way that put Alex on the ropes on her own national TV show. You're wondering, is Bradley going to plunge the knife and finish Alex off or throw her a life line? (Of course, she helped Alex save face.) That got Cory's attention, because here's a reporter from out of nowhere who could go toe to toe with an egomaniac like Alex and do it on her own turf. Cory then talked to Bradley about possibly doing some field reporting...Alex assumed he was talking to Bradley as an anchor replacement for her (early on it's made clear Alex thinks *everything* is a potential job threat/takedown)...Alex had a public moment at a dinner in her honor where she went off script and announced Bradley as her co-host on the show. Alex backed the network into a corner. They had to play along, or else admit with inevitable PR fallout that they'd been played by Alex.

Is it super soap opera? Yes. But there was more to the story than the way you described it. The writers developed a whole sequence of events to lay it out.

[quote] Yes the premise is so stupid. As if a major New York tv station would hire a 15 minutes of fame hick reporter to be their new co-anchor.

Even more unbelievable a major NYC station having their lead news anchors be two 50ish white women.

Is it a NYC TV station?

I watched the first season, mostly in misery, but I remember the show as being a national network morning show like Good Morning America, not a NYC affiliate.

Same point applies….never would see a couple of blonde white chicks sottin’ around talkin’. And for good reason.

R29 - Well, unless it was on Fox News.

Horrible acting. I couldn't get past the first season and even that was a hate watch.

I've never understood why Aniston is as famous as she is.

R31 Anyone who starred in one of the biggest shows of all time, and married and divorced one of the most famous movie stars in the world, would be just as famous as she is. What's so hard to understand?

I’m convinced Aniston and Witherspoon are just too famous to really commit to delivering interesting characters, at this point. You can tell they’re both concerned about their America’s Sweetheart images - neither is willing to “go there” the way Billy Crudup does, for example. Alex’s lust for power and Bradley’s constant blundering should be veering into antihero territory, but both of these actresses are fixated on remaining “likable” and thus won’t commit to explicit villainy or the soapy antics that would be truly fun to watch. You can tell they’re holding back. I can’t help but wonder if the show might have been much better with two actresses who aren’t “brands” the way Aniston and Witherspoon are.

I don't know. I thought Aniston was the best thing about Season 1 - at least as far as I got - but like all shows these days they had multiple plots which distracted from the best one. And Billy Crudup's acting is like a cigar store Indian.

The Atlantic posted an article the other day basically saying exactly what R33 said.

Weird that Reese wasn't in the latest episode. Also weird that they're visiting the race issue yet again and that they're doing it without even mentioning Daniel.

R36 - Is it a race to the botox center?

The Morning Show is one of the few TV projects these days with perfect hair and makeup. The show is trash, but Reese and Jenn are gorgeously lit and styled in Season 3.

The show has gotten so much better this season now that the supporting cast get more focus. It'd be better off without the leading stars because at this point they contribute nothing but take up screentime.

The black anchor who appears in episode 1 was perfect. She definitely gave off that obnoxious morning show co-host vibe.

This show is ridiculous and I’m loving it. I think it finally managed to find some of its original voice, which was silenced by the Me Too storyline. I only recently learned the original concept focused on the rivalry between The Morning Show and the show hosted by Mindy Kaling.

I loved that Bradley went into space without bothering with months of conditioning. I love Jon Hamm as a tech billionaire. I love that Mark Duplass is collecting a paycheck for doing absolutely nothing.

I just realized there are several scenes in which Jennifer and Reese aren’t filming with each other. It’s clear they’re using stand-ins when Alex and Bradley interact.

[quote]I just realized there are several scenes in which Jennifer and Reese aren’t filming with each other. It’s clear they’re using stand-ins when Alex and Bradley interact.

I've never heard of such a thing!

"Either get on the Alex Levi train or stay behind at the station."

How the writers must have hated Aniston to put those words into her mouth. I thought the point of being a star is that you could throw a fit when you were given idiotic things to say.

I have never been an Anistan but I thought she did “go there” in the first season and deserved the praise she received for her performance. Crudup is fucking brilliant despite the shite writing and amateur hour acting from Witherspoon. He still steals every scene he’s in. Duplass represents the audience. Often bewildered as to why he’s still there and if it’s ever going to get better.

R45 I've been having a blah day but your comment really cheered me up....it's so true, and I love the part about Duplass!

Are the real-life morning shows even a big deal like they are portrayed on this series? I haven't watched one since the days of Matt and Katie!

They do generate cash flow —so many ads

The show is cartoonishly and exhaustingly self-righteous.

Is Julianna Marguiles still scissoring with Reese Witherspoon?

No…her character was with someone else in the 2nd episode, and the first episode went out of its way to establish Bradley was having one night stands with various women.

It's entertaining trash.

R33, an example of this in season 2 was when Alex daintily barfed in her bath tub when she had Covid, (was the toilet too crass, or were the camera angles not ideal?) and did hair and make-up before going on camera to “be real” about how awful COVID was. One could say that was part of Alex’s character, but why build it up to be this big, daring thing when she pretty much looked like she always does?

I barely made it through Season 1. they already were running out of ideas.

Billy Crudup is great at playing a total asshole.

The show is NOT great, but I’d actually say Season 1 is hands down the best. There haven’t been any exceptional moments like Alex and Corey’s Sweeney Todd duet, but it’s been very watchable. Also, unlike a lot of shows, the new characters and expanded roles of previously supporting characters, have done a great deal to make TMS even better.

Sorry, I meant to say Season 3 is hands down the best.

Did Corey and Bradley sleep together? I can't remember.

The biggest improvement in season 3 is no Steve Carrell. I hate when shows keep a character around after their storyline has come to a logical conclusion simply because the actor is popular. Way too many shows have tried this and it never works out well.

R56 - I hated that duet. It was cringeworthy. But who knew Jenny could sing?

I love this show. Though I’m such a procrastinator I haven’t made it through season 2. The only I thing I don’t like is the way Reese plays Bradley. She is the weak link, and she is usually a great actress.

Lordy help me, Bradley is an asshole and Reese Witherspoon is at her limits as an actress. I was recently watching The Bear and Ebon Moss-Barach plays a character fearlessly without fear of being disliked. He doesn’t veer into comic broadness or cultivated vulnerability when it’s time to be obnoxious, and Reese is unable to play ugly humanity. (Kate Winslet has the same fears.)

Surprisingly to me, Jennifer Aniston can play convincingly hard-nosed and controlling.

Didn’t even notice Daniel was missing this season. 😂

What an improvement. The actor was *perfectly cast for the part, annoying af, cringy and exhausting. Either means he’s a great actor or the part was written for him.

Watchably stupid sums it up. Love Anniston for reasons I can’t describe. Reese is godawful in absolutely everything. The rest of the cast is very talented and the script is spectacularly mediocre.

It bears repeating that the opening credits and theme song are the worst on tv.

This writer has had sufficient!

This last episode was insane. Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm have fantastic chemistry and it was fun to see them interact. But the Stella scenes were…yikes.

Post-menopausal Pap

I thought to myself—-never in a million years would Stella go along with that “tip” request. But a few minutes later she was telling Mia no big deal if her reporting asset gets in harm’s way…

The writing is not very good.

It wasn't perfect by any means, but I really liked season 1. Season 2 was pretty terrible, and season three isn't any better. There are moments though in even the worst episodes that actually are pretty good, but most of the writing sucks. I did enjoy Jenn and Jon in Coney Island.

He face is marshmallow-y. Little puffs here, there. And she cannot enunciate if her life depended on it

Her—Aniston^

I hate Stella and I hate the actress.

I feel like I'm over being lectured to about how problematic attitudes are. Obvs Cybil Aunt Jemima thing was out of line - terrible even - but I still do not get why her saying "anyone in that anchor chair should be grateful' was a rallying cry for racism. I would have thought that ab jenna hager, savannah guthrie etc too. Why did everyone freak when she said that? I don't want to right the wrongs or be educated on race during a TV show I jsut want to be entertained. AITA?

R73 It's because of how it initially came across to the audience. It sounded condescending. Cybil obviously meant something different than how it came across and immediately tried to elaborate, but as the saying goes, if you're explaining you're losing the argument.

R68, those two interactions are completely consistent. I thought the way Greta Lee played the restaurant scene was great.

The writing was bad—I didn’t mention the actor. I like her.

The restaurant scene was stupid. Do you really think in a climate where everyone is terrified of being canceled that anyone would actually pull that kind of toxic shit in the middle of a restaurant? It was also obvious that they cast an Asian woman as the waitress because they wanted the two straight white men to be seen as as monstrous as possible by tormenting a woman of color, but couldn't risk Stella also seeming "problematic" by casting a black or brown woman as the waitress.

r73 the reason you couldn't understand the insult is why these stories are being told on TV. If anyone comes to their boss with a legitimate complaint and their ultimate response is that "you should be grateful to have your job". Of course you'd be insulted. Let's not forget, she compared her to a black syrup selling character, the network was gleefully underpaying her, and she had to jump through more hoops then any else that's taken the job.

After all that racism, financial discrepancies, and discrimination, Sybil comes back with, "Be grateful." Naw, old gurl needed to kick rocks and bounce.

r77 yes, that can happen in the middle of a restaurant. And that restaurant was closed by the time they were ready to close out. They were the last customers or it was next to empty from what we can see. Would it happen? Yeah, I can see drunk assholes doing that, ever heard of Vegas, Cannes, or Dubai?

But I agree it could have been written a little bit better and they should have had them in a private backroom though I doubt Stella would want to be actually alone with them.

All the white males on this show are toxic.

The white womenfolk ain’t all that either…

The most toxic man on the show is Cuban American.

You would think with all the money that Apple is throwing at this show, it would be a hell of a lot better. I can’t believe it got renewed for another season.

I love how all of the black women are saintly and flawless.

84 put down the pipe.