The Big Picture

• The Morning Show returned for a third season with a storyline focusing on the aftermath of Mitch's sexual misconduct accusations and the clash of egos between Alex and Bradley.
• The series takes inspiration from real events chronicled in the book Top of the Morning , but adapts the story to a fictional network and show. Season 2 covers the early months of 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The seriousness of COVID-19 is depicted throughout the season, with Alex getting infected and the team realizing the gravity of the situation.

After an almost two-year hiatus, The Morning Show finally returned for a third season on Apple TV+. The hit show depicting life and drama at a morning news program premiered in 2019, focusing on the problems surrounding one of its hosts, Mitch Kessler's (Steve Carell), sexual misconduct accusations. Turning the show’s world upside down, the first season deals with the network’s damage control while finding a new lead to co-host the show along with Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston). Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon), a local news reporter who gains notoriety following a live confrontation, seems to fit the bill and is recruited as co-host against Alex’s wishes, causing a clash of egos to top the already tense working environment.

The Morning Show takes inspiration from Top of the Morning, a book by Brian Stelter that chronicles the backstage drama that happens on shows like Today and Good Morning America. Though adapting the story through a fictional network and show, the series is rooted in reality, using real events as the backdrop of the series’ narrative. Season 2 takes place in the early months of 2020, with the team covering a couple of presidential debates and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Morning Show

An inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the team.

‘The Morning Show’ Goes Boldly Into 2020

Season 2 starts on the last day of 2019, nine months after the first season’s finale. Cory (Billy Crudup), after facing a possible firing for allowing Alex and Bradley’s impromptu exposé of UBA’s wrongdoing, comes up triumphant, now becoming CEO of the network. Bradley leads The Morning Show with new co-host Eric (Hassan Minaj) and she’s very confident of her status as a TV personality. She even considers moving to another time slot, but is surprised when she learns the one leaving is Eric. Alex, having retired after the exposé, is now living in seclusion in the suburbs. Cory seeks her out in hopes of having her return to the show to compensate for Bradley’s waning popularity, which she eventually accepts. Mia (Karen Pittman) and Daniel (Desean K. Terry) fight for more representation, arguing with Stella Bak (Greta Lee), the new UBA News president, about having more screen time for him — to which she bluntly responds he doesn’t have the “it” factor.

Though better days seem to be in line for The Morning Show, Hannah’s (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) family isn’t done with them, filing a lawsuit seeking compensation for the same amount as Mitch’s exit settlement. Cory’s true nature as a morally divided strategist comes to light when he urges the network to pay Hannah’s family. It’s also revealed he made a deal with Fred Micklen (Tom Irwin) after the exposé to help him get the CEO position in an attempt to correct the network’s ways. When he learns an article tarnishing Hannah’s image is about to be published, he warns her father. His guilt over Hannah’s fate makes him go out of his way to keep the article from coming out, exchanging it for a more scandalous story that affects one of his own.

The Complex Relationships In ´The Morning Show’ Are Further Explored

Bradley and Alex’s relationship is tense after the latter returns to the show. Bradley confronts her, now as equals, about how she felt abandoned by her after the exposé. Alex in turn defends her after Eric says she’s difficult to work with. When Laura Peterson (Julianna Margulies), a UBA News anchor, enters the mix, their stories take a turn. She interviews Alex about her return, asking difficult questions about the show’s toxic workplace culture and her relationship with Mitch. Laura and Alex have history, as they used to be friends, but Alex ghosted her after learning she was a lesbian. Laura helps Bradley come to terms with her own sexuality, as the latter accepts she feels attracted to her and they start a relationship. Bradley’s conservative background makes them keep it a secret, which is eventually exposed by Cory when he exchanges the Hannah article for exposing them.

Alex and Bradley’s reunion is short-lived, as Alex bails on her before the Las Vegas presidential debate, letting Bradley take the spotlight once again. Alex’s relationship with her male co-workers is then explored, contrasting how she relates with Mitch and Chip (Mark Duplass). Her guilt and need for closure take her all the way to Italy, where Mitch is hiding from the world. Realizing they’ll never be able to fix something so broken, she just asks for him to release a statement denying they slept together, because their relationship will be disclosed in Maggie Brener’s (Marcia Gay Harden) upcoming book. With Chip, all the opposite happens, as he’s the one protecting and desperately looking for her after her disappearance. When they reunite and explode, she bluntly expresses how she thinks he’s spineless. Regardless, he’s still there for her in the most difficult of times.

The Same As His Career, Mitch’s Life Ends in a Plunge

Mitch’s time in Italy, for as far away as he is, is still a tough one. His reputation precedes him, and he is confronted by an angry woman who considers he should be shunned out of society forever. He meets Paola Lambruschini (Valeria Golino) after she defends him from the woman, and they form a sort of friendship. Since she doesn’t see him as a total monster, he slowly opens up with her. Being a documentarian, he then agrees to give her a raw account of what happened with Hannah. Mitch believes he’s on some sort of redemption road until Alex shows up at his doorstep, reminding him he’ll never outrun his past. Their heated reunion gives the two lost souls one last moment, one last talk, one last connection, and one last goodbye.

Unfortunately, Mitch was a monster. He might have not realized it at the moment, but he abused his power and preyed upon vulnerable women. He reaches a new low when yet another allegation comes out, as a preview of Maggie’s book, that states he targeted women of color. The weight of guilt leads him to let go of his car’s wheel after he’s almost run off the road. When the show gets confirmation of his demise, contrasting feelings invade them — culminating in a memorial where awkward words are expressed about Mitch.

Jennifer Aniston Was Almost Written Off 'Friends' in the First Season

So no one told you life was gonna be this way...

The Reality of COVID-19 Permeates ‘The Morning Show’ Season 2

Since the whole season takes place between January and March 2020, many episodes reflect how lightly we took the coronavirus menace at the beginning. At a dinner with all the show’s hosts, they discuss if the topic is newsworthy, with Stella not considering it “exciting TV.” Given she doesn’t think about Daniel as one of the show’s key players, she sends him to Wuhan to cover the crisis. It doesn’t last long, as he’s evacuated shortly after, and is the first one to mention “social distancing,” a term which Bradley jokingly states her family has carried out with her for a while now.

It's not until COVID attacks one of its own that the gravity of the situation hits the team. Alex gets infected, unclear if it happened while in Italy or after getting back, but exposing her recklessness anyway. Aniston excels in portraying the pain of the infection at a time when no treatment or vaccine was available. The fever, the headaches, even the state of daze are all there. Chip once again proves to be unconditional to Alex when he enters her apartment, falsely arguing he’s infected as well but asymptomatic. With his help, Alex makes a special transmission in which she apologizes for traveling and exposing the team, imploring everyone out there to stay safe.

Though it can be argued the season’s focus was scattered, Alex and Bradley’s relationship remains at the center of the show. After having several face-offs, they end up admitting they might not be good friends, but they are important ones. Alex trusts Bradley with giving the news about Mitch’s death, saying she’s the only right person to do it. Bradley, when questioning Maggie about her book, defends Alex and asks fierce questions about the author’s fixation with her. These women who were originally pitted against each other now have each other’s back.

The Morning Show is available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

Watch on Apple TV+

ncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kwamxjKamq6aZo7Ruv8eormarlZbAsLqMa2SrnZOWvXA%3D