completely up to date thanks to The Voice

Apple TV+ has been out for a while now. In a new series of articles we review the best movies and series. And we begin our review of The Morning Showof which season 3 has already been announced recently.

The best series on Apple TV+?

For Apple, the services they offer are increasingly important. Apple Music, iCloud and also Apple TV+ provide a large part of the revenue. The latter service competes against monster Netflix. One of the series that is definitely worth watching (and subscribing) is The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve “The Office” Carell. A good series, which because of all the commotion around The Voice is up to date again.

The script for the first season (now there are two with ten episodes each, season 3 is in the works) was almost ready when the MeToo movement was given a boost in 2017 thanks to Harvey Weinstein’s escapades. The story that dealt with the harsh world of American morning talk shows largely went to the trash. The Morning Show was supposed to be about MeToo, and the abuse of power by men in the (media) world.

That turned out to be a good choice, because even now (and now again) the subject is completely on top of mind, due to the vicissitudes surrounding Voice coaches Marco Borsato and Ali B.

The Morning Show

The story begins with the most popular morning show on American television: The Morning Show. Presenter Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) is fired on the spot for sexually transgressive behavior.

Presenter Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston), who is considerably less popular with the broadcasters, gets a new co-host in the form of aspiring journalist Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon). Although Levy himself gets Jackson on board, in the next twenty episodes the two ladies are sometimes like water and fire, and sometimes best friends.

nice cast

In addition to Whitherspoon, Aniston and Carrel, the role of Billy Crudup, who plays channel boss Cory Ellison, is particularly striking. Ellison is one of the bosses who goes behind the scenes on corpses and manipulates everyone into the desired role, but still shows a sensitive side every now and then (especially to Jackson). Crudup captures the role perfectly. He’s charming, but tough. Crudup won an Emmy for his role on The Morning Show.

Fifty Shades of grey

Without MeToo, The Morning Show would have been an entertaining but not very special series. But the MeToo adaptations and the fact that the creators gave both Aniston and Witherspoon important roles in the production gave the show a lot more depth and even a bit of a controversial nature.

In The Morning Show, the makers show that the whole MeToo story is not so black and white. Men who are (sincerely) aware of no harm, women who blame themselves for things, and the world that puts everything under a magnifying glass. Sexually transgressive behavior and desired bed escapades alternate.

The Morning Show shows that there are more than fifty shades of gray. It remains unclear whether Kessler and Levy ever slept together and the truth hangs like a sword over Levy’s head. The show shows how hard and sneaky the media world is, how the press is abused to leak to, and how corpses are (literally) gone behind the scenes of major television shows.

Great nuance from MeToo

Witherspoon and Aniston were involved early in the production process as producers, and it’s clear they know the media and showbiz world inside out. The MeToo story is explained with great nuance and that is the great thing about the series. There is no good and no evil. The viewer’s anger regularly gives way to pity when it comes to Kessler, who becomes isolated after his dismissal and is (rightly) looked at by everyone.

But the show also shows that, apart from the abuse of power, the ladies also play games behind the scenes. It shows how destructive and ruthless the television world can be. That nuance is so clever, it would have been much easier for the makers (Aniston and Witherspoon) to choose a clear side – that of the victims. Instead, they choose to present things as they probably are: incredibly complicated.

Apple TV+

The Morning Show can be seen on Apple TV+. Other well-known series are See, For All Mankind and Ted Lasso. Apple TV+ costs €4.99 per month and you get three months free with a new Apple device.