Creators: Jay Carson; Kerry Ehrin
Writer: Jay Carson; Kerry Ehrin; Jeff Augustin and more…
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Steve Carell
Tagline: “The news is only half the story”
Trivia: The Wall Street Journal tabulated an average of 32 shots per episode contain Apple products, though the producers of the show stated they weren’t pressured by Apple to include their products.
On November 1 2019, a new player came into the scene of streaming giants… Apple TV.
I was lucky to stay at my sister’s place where they had Apple TV and could watch their flagship show called The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon & Steve Carell.
To be honest, I’ve watched only 3 episodes, but had no urge to continue watching, it wasn’t captivating enough to care for the characters, or the story, in order for me to see how it would develop. That on it’s own is a verdict.
I was disappointed. I would have expected powerhouses and great actresses such as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, who are fighting for equal pay & representation of women in film and TV to join to a program that would stand for something and open a new era for women in the media.
Instead The Morning Show is a proof that no matter how much money you throw on a show, and how many big stars and great actors and actresses you get involved, if your message is not clear no matter how many great minds would be on board the results would be mediocre.
The Morning Show is riding on the #MeToo wave, but nothing in the show demonstrates that there is a change that is going to take place.
Everything in the 3 episodes I saw was predictable and I could not care much for any of the characters. Saying that, it doesn’t mean that we don’t see a great display of acting.
Both Aniston and Witherspoon are excellent in the way they bring their character into life, but that is not enough to hold us at the edge of our seat if the character is not relatable or interesting.
The most frustrating element of the show is the stand they took when talking about sexual harassment in the workplace, which is to sympathize with men accused of sexual misconduct.
Each time Steve Carell is on screen and talks about the accusations against him I cringed. What are they trying to tell me, that I need to feel sorry for him?
Watching him break down in tears after struggling to make coffee is, at best, confusing. Are we supposed to laugh at this privileged rich dude’s incompetence? Are we supposed to feel sorry for him? And why should I care?
The Morning Show is an example that if we want to see change after #MeToo movement and #Time’s Up it’s not enough to put two women as the Protagonists, they need to stand for something and have something valuable to say and bring to the table.
The only reason I gave it 3 stars and not less is the fact that at least we have a show that is willing to deal with these issues and bring them up front for all of us to think about it and discuss what can be changed.
Bottom line – this show gets 3/5 in my book