The Morning Show (American TV series)

The Morning Show, also known as Morning Wars in Australia and Indonesia, is an American drama television series starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell that premiered on Apple TV+ on November 1, 2019. The series is inspired by Brian Stelter's 2013 book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV. The show examines the characters and culture behind a network broadcast morning news program. After allegations of sexual misconduct, the male co-anchor of the program is forced off the show. Aspects of the #MeToo movement are examined from multiple perspectives as more information comes out regarding said misconduct. Subsequent seasons focus on other political topics and current events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, racial inequality, the Capitol insurrection, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The second season premiered on September 17, 2021. In January 2022, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on September 13, 2023. The series was renewed for a fourth season ahead of the third season premiere.

Premise
Alex Levy co-anchors The Morning Show (TMS), a popular morning news program broadcast from Manhattan on the UBA network, which has excellent viewership ratings and is perceived to have changed the face of American television.

In the first season, after her on-air partner of 15 years, Mitch Kessler, is fired amidst a sexual misconduct scandal, Alex fights to retain her job as a top news anchor while paired with a new partner, Bradley Jackson, a field reporter whose series of impulsive decisions increasingly threatens the network.

In the second season, the network CEO attempts to convince Alex to return to TMS as the COVID-19 pandemic engulfs the United States and the show itself. Meanwhile, Bradley deals with an identity crisis.

In the third season, the network struggles for viewers for its subscription service and contemplates a takeover by tech titan Paul Marks.

Main

 * Jennifer Aniston as Alexandra "Alex" Levy, co-host of UBA's TMS
 * Reese Witherspoon as Bradley Jackson, former TMS co-host and news anchor at UBA
 * Billy Crudup as Cory Ellison, CEO of UBA
 * Mark Duplass as Charlie "Chip" Black, executive producer of TMS
 * Néstor Carbonell as Yanko Flores, the meteorologist of TMS
 * Karen Pittman as Mia Jordan, a producer at TMS
 * Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Hannah Shoenfeld, talent booker for TMS (season 1)
 * Bel Powley as Claire Conway, a production assistant at TMS (season 1; guest season 2)
 * Desean Terry as Daniel Henderson, co-host of the weekend edition of TMS (seasons 1–2)
 * Jack Davenport as Jason Craig, Alex's ex-husband (season 1)
 * Steve Carell as Mitch Kessler, the recently fired co-host of The Morning Show (seasons 1–2)
 * Greta Lee as Stella Bak, President of UBA's news division (season 2–present)
 * Ruairi O'Connor as Ty Fitzgerald, social media expert at UBA (season 2)
 * Julianna Margulies as Laura Peterson, YDA co-host and former news anchor at UBA who begins a relationship with Bradley (season 2–3)
 * Nicole Beharie as Christine Hunter, a former Olympian and new TMS co-host (season 3)
 * Jon Hamm as Paul Marks, a tech billionaire looking to buy UBA (season 3)
 * Marion Cotillard as Celine Dumont, a savvy operator from a storied European family (season 4)
 * Jeremy Irons as Martin Levy, Alex's father (season 4)


 * Aaron Pierre as Miles (season 4)

Recurring

 * Shari Belafonte as Julia
 * Victoria Tate as Rena Robinson, Chip's assistant
 * Hannah Leder as Isabella
 * Joe Marinelli as Donny Spagnoli
 * Eli Bildner as Joel Rapkin
 * Amber Friendly as Layla Bell
 * Tom Irwin as Fred Micklen, UBA's president
 * Joe Pacheco as Bart Daley
 * Janina Gavankar as Alison Namazi, co-host of the weekend edition of TMS (seasons 1–2)
 * Joe Tippett as Hal Jackson, Bradley's brother
 * Michelle Meredith as Lindsey Sherman (seasons 1–2)
 * Andrea Bendewald as Valérie
 * Marcia Gay Harden as Maggie Brener, a reporter and journalist
 * Augustus Prew as Sean (seasons 1–2)
 * Katherine Ko as Dhillon Reece-Smit (season 1)
 * Ian Gomez as Greg (season 1)
 * Oona Roche as Lizzy Craig, Alex and Jason's daughter (seasons 1–2)
 * Markus Flanagan as Gerald Drummond
 * David Magidoff as Nicky Brooks (season 1)
 * Mindy Kaling as Audra Khatri, a rival morning news anchor
 * Embeth Davidtz as Paige Kessler, Mitch's ex-wife (seasons 1–2)
 * Kate Vernon as Geneva Micklen (season 1)
 * Roman Mitichyan as Sam Rudo (season 1)
 * Mark Harelik as Richard (seasons 1–2)


 * Theo Iyer as Kyle, Cory's assistant (season 2–present)
 * Choni Francis as RJ Smith (season 2–present)
 * Tara Karsian as Gayle Berman (season 2–present)
 * Holland Taylor as Cybil Reynolds, a seasoned board member of UBA (season 2–present)
 * Valeria Golino as Paola Lambruschini, a documentarian who befriends Mitch in Italy (season 2)
 * Jack Conley as Earl (season 2–present)
 * Aflamu Johnson as Aflamu (season 2–present)
 * Hasan Minhaj as Eric Nomani, Bradley's new co-host (season 2)
 * Patrick Bristow as Gordon (season 2)
 * Katie Aselton as Madeleine, Chip's girlfriend (season 2)


 * Tig Notaro as Amanda Robinson (season 3)
 * Stephen Fry as Leonard Cromwell (season 3)
 * Clive Standen as Andre Ford (season 3)
 * Natalie Morales as Kate Danton (season 3)

Season 1

 * Adina Porter as Sarah Gravele
 * Brett Butler as Sandy Jackson
 * Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as Gabriel
 * Fred Melamed as Neal Altman
 * Ahna O'Reilly as Ashley Brown
 * Natalia Warner as Cecily
 * Martin Short as Dick Lundry, a disgraced movie director
 * Andrew Leeds as Alan
 * John Marshall Jones as Noah
 * Zuri Hall as herself
 * Kelly Clarkson as herself
 * Kelly Sullivan as Vicki Manderly
 * David Morse as Mr. Jackson
 * Julian Morris as Andrew
 * Cheyenne Jackson as himself
 * Robert Cicchini as Robert
 * Mike O'Malley as Tim Eavers
 * Romy Rosemont as Sheila Lutkin
 * Brian Bowen Smith as photographer
 * Paul Guilfoyle as Reid
 * Ethan Cohn as Jared
 * Dana Davis as Christine
 * Maria Sharapova as herself
 * Hayes MacArthur as Marlon Tate

Season 2

 * Will Arnett as Doug Klassen
 * Dave Foley as Peter Bullard
 * Kathy Najimy as Sylvia Portman
 * James Urbaniak as Backstage Manager
 * David Bowe as Clyde Canter
 * Patrick Fabian as Jeff
 * Foo Fighters as Themselves
 * David Paymer as Mr. Shoenfeld
 * Brian Stelter as Carl Richardson
 * Meredith Scott Lynn as Linda
 * Martin Short as Dick Lundry, a disgraced movie director

Season 3

 * Alano Miller as Marcus Hunter
 * Maria Canals-Barrera as Mercedes
 * Ilia Volok as Pavlo
 * Andrew Patrick Ralston as Elmer
 * Esther Perel as Herself
 * Will Arnett as Doug Klassen
 * June Diane Raphael as Eagle News Anchor
 * Meredith Scott Lynn as Linda
 * Retta as Herself
 * Fortune Feimster as Herself
 * Brent Bailey as Zach
 * Sasha Alexander as Salma
 * T.V. Carpio as Emma
 * Daniel Kash as Seth
 * Samantha Sloyan as Cheryl
 * Lindsay Duncan as Martha, Cory's mother
 * Eyal Podell as Larry Pane
 * Shannon Woodward as Jess Bennett
 * Elizabeth Perkins as Elena Daniels
 * Joanne Baron as Brenda Litchfield

Season 4
The first episode, "My Roman Empire," is written by Zander Lehmann and Charlotte Stoudt, and directed by Mimi Leder.

Development
On November 8, 2017, it was announced that Apple had given the production a series order consisting of two seasons of ten episodes apiece. The series was set to be executive produced by Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jay Carson, and Michael Ellenberg. Carson was expected to act as a writer and showrunner for the series as well. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Media Res, Echo Films, and Hello Sunshine. On April 4, 2018, it was announced that Carson had departed the production over creative differences. He was replaced as executive producer and showrunner by Kerry Ehrin. On July 11, 2018, it was reported that Mimi Leder would serve as a director and executive producer for the series. On October 23, 2018, it was reported that Kristin Hahn and Lauren Levy Neustadter would serve as additional executive producers for the series.

On June 22, 2020, Aniston revealed in a Variety interview with Lisa Kudrow that the show's development began prior to the Me Too movement, but was ultimately reworked to include and partially focus on it.

The show cost $15 million per episode, with Aniston and Witherspoon each earning $2 million per episode, not including producing fees and ownership points. On January 10, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a third season.

On May 1, 2023, Apple renewed the series for a fourth season.

Casting
Alongside the initial series announcement, it was confirmed that Aniston and Witherspoon had been cast in the series' lead roles. In October 2018, it was announced that Steve Carell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Billy Crudup, Néstor Carbonell and Mark Duplass had been cast in series regular roles. On November 7, 2018, it was reported that Bel Powley, Karen Pittman, and Desean Terry had joined the main cast of the series.

On October 9, 2020, Greta Lee and Ruairi O'Connor officially joined the second season as regular characters. On November 13, 2020, Hasan Minhaj was also announced as a new cast member. On December 3, 2020, Julianna Margulies announced she joined the second season of the series. In August 2022, it was announced that Jon Hamm and Nicole Beharie had joined the main cast for the third season, with Tig Notaro joining in a recurring role.

Filming
Principal photography for the first season commenced on October 31, 2018, at the James Oviatt Building in Los Angeles. Filming continued in Los Angeles until filming started in New York City on May 9, 2019. Production on the first season also concluded that May, after seven months of filming.

Production on the second season began on February 24, 2020. On March 12, 2020, Apple TV+ halted production on the series due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second season resumed filming on October 19, 2020. Between February and March 2021, Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Duplass, and Hannah Leder were spotted in Los Angeles filming the second season. On May 18, 2021, filming for season two concluded.

Production on the third season began on August 16, 2022, and it was announced on February 11, 2023 that the season's filming had wrapped up.

Production on the fourth season began on July 8, 2024.

Release
After the Apple Special Event of March 25, 2019, Witherspoon announced on Instagram that the series would premiere in the fall of 2019. It premiered on Apple TV+ on November 1, 2019. In January 2021, Apple announced that the second season would premiere in 2021. The second season premiered on September 17, 2021. It was announced that the third season would premiere on September 13, 2023.

During the Apple Special Event, a teaser trailer was released with footage from the series as well as footage from other original series set to premiere on Apple TV+. Furthermore, Aniston, Witherspoon, and Carell were at the event to promote the series. On August 12, 2019, Apple released a first look trailer for the series. It was also revealed that the series would be titled Morning Wars in Australia, in order to distinguish the series from the Australian morning talk show of the same name.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes it received an overall score of 64%, and an overall score of 61 on Metacritic.

For first season of The Morning Show, the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 61% approval rating, based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Flashy, but somewhat frivolous, The Morning Show often feels more like a vanity project than the hard-hitting drama it aspires to be—but there is pleasure to be had in watching Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon give it their all." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 61 out of 100 based on reviews from 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The second season of the series received a 67% from Rotten Tomatoes based on 51 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Morning Show's second season has a slew of stupendous performances—but too many characters attempting to address too many hot-button issues makes it hard to know what any of them are actually trying to say." At Metacritic, the website gave the second season a 60 out of 100, based on 25 reviews.

The third season of the series received a 72% from Rotten Tomatoes based on 78 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Leaning into its soapier elements while bolstering an already star-studded cast with some welcome additions, The Morning Show upgrades from a shaky prestige program into an addictive guilty pleasure." At Metacritic, the website gave the third season a 65 out of 100, based on 30 reviews.

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave a positive review and wrote: "The Morning Show doesn't have the cinematic gravitas of the Showtime series The Loudest Voice or the Aaron Sorkin poetry of HBO's The Newsroom. It's more along the lines of the solid but underachieving Sports Night TV series from the late 1990s."

Audience viewership
According to TV analytics provider TVision, The Morning Show has been viewed by panel members 5.03 times as much as the average Apple TV+ original series or shows TVision has measured since Apple TV+ launched in November 2019. The series became the second-most watched Apple TV+ series after Ted Lasso.

In December 2023, Deadline reported after the third season was released, the show became Apple TV+’s most watched series.