Bumpy ride through a dirty workplace
Ratings are down and network stock shares are sliding in season two of The Morning Show, Apple
TV+’s hourlong drama set inside the cut-throat world of one of America’s most popular am news shows. The program is still reeling from a sexual misconduct scandal involving its former star host, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carrell), and the suicide of the young staffer he preyed on, Hannah Shoenfeld (Gugu Mbatha-Raw).
But a new year is dawning. 2020 will surely be better than 2019, right?
Season two of the series continues to weave its dog-eat-dog newsroom narrative around thorny #MeToo matters but now adds the presidential election, the Covid-19 pandemic and the racial reckoning that contributed to one of the wildest news years ever to create a chaotic mix of topical satire and pressure-cooker entertainment.
It’s best to watch, and possibly rewatch, the season one recap before jumping back into The Morning Show, though, because the combination of a sprawling ensemble, rapid-fire plot elements and time-jumping can get confusing. Duplicitous network exec Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) is terminated by the UGA board in the opening moments of the new season, and then we travel three months back in time to find out why.
The narrative picks up during the last days of 2019. Kessler’s onetime co-host, Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston), has been writing a memoir since resigning on air and exposing the rotten and permissive newsroom culture that allowed men like Kessler to excel and left women like her fighting for their jobs and integrity. She became a feminist icon after her frank public admission, but privately, she’s racked with guilt. What could she have done to stop the deadly turn of events at the network?
Kessler’s replacement, the wily Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon), is now hosting The Morning Show with Eric Nomani (Hasan Minhaj). Ellison, who is overseeing news operations, senses he’s in danger of losing his sleazily won position if he doesn’t boost viewership. He pleads with Alex to return. Bradley is furious that Alex is back, and as a she-hero no less, so the pair’s rivalry reignites. It’s another tumultuous ride through a dysfunctional and dirty workplace, and as in season one, The Morning Show — which can be stressful and heavy-handed — won’t be everyone’s favourite.